"We Are The World": A Retrospective with Phil Singh

There comes a time when the call must be heeded to revisit one of the most significant moments in Gen X pop culture history: the star-studded 'check your ego at the door' collective recording known as "We Are The World," which took place following the American Music Awards on the evening of January 28, 1985. (A quick tip of the cap to the captivating Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which reignited a desire to revisit this historical event). On this episode of the pod, guest contributor and fellow Gen Xer Phil Singh joins Rick to watch and comment in real-time on the 7-minute video for "We Are The World," rehashing tidbits learned about the night from the Netflix doc as well as from dozens of other interviews and videos about the inspiration behind, gathering and recording of, and video for the song that followed on the heels of the U.K.'s own star-studded "Do They Know It's Christmas" charity single. Part fashion police, part amateur music critics, Rick and Phil inject perspective, thoughts, and humor into what they see unfold in the "We Are The World" video, from the outfits to the vocal pairings to who brought their A-game and cared about the effort to who came off as less than stellar. They also discuss how the song has aged and how it stands up today. The magnitude of "We Are The World" for us Gen X'ers cannot be overstated. The star power of the artists in the room, many of whom were still climbing to the peak of their icon status, and the realization that putting together something like this for one night only and making the impact it made could never quite be duplicated made this retrospective a must to revisit through a new lens 40 years later.