'The Greatest Night in Pop' reveals the making of 'We Are the World,' and it is riveting
From Stevie Wonder reminding Bob Dylan how to be Bob Dylan, to Diana Ross wanting Daryl Hall's autograph, to Waylon Jennings walking out in protest, it's a must-watch.
Dozens of top artists of the 80s joined forces to raise money for famine-stricken Africa in 1985.
Every Gen Xer and baby boomer remembers how big of a deal "We Are the World" was when it came out in 1985. The USA for Africa project brought together dozens of the era's most famous musicians to record the song, which raised millions of dollars in aid for famine-stricken Ethiopia and became an anthem for the global fight against hunger. (A painfully cheesy anthem by modern standards, but this was the 80s, after all. Cheese was the order of the day.)
The music video was filmed during the studio recording of the song, showing superstars like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cindy Lauper, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins and more. And up until now, that felt like the story—these musicians all got together to record the song, they did, it was epic, the end.
But there is soooo much more to the story than that, as showcased in the Netflix documentary, "The Greatest Night in Pop." And it is absolutely, 100% worth a watch.
Lionel Richie serves as the main storyteller in the documentary, which is fitting since he was one of the main orchestrators of the project. He and Michael Jackson wrote the song—which is an entire story in and of itself. They thought they had plenty of time, and then they learned they needed to have it written and ready to record by the following week. There was a fight at Michael Jackson's house between his dog and his talking bird during the songwriting process. At another one point, MJ's enormous pet snake got lost and scared the bejeezus out of Lionel Richie by knocking over some albums and hissing behind him.
Richie talks glowingly about Jackson's incredible talents, but Richie deserves a shout out as well for his energy and endurance. "We Are the World" was recorded overnight and into the morning after the American Music Awards ended. That night, Richie served as the host of the AMAs, performed two songs there, won multiple awards during the ceremony, and then hightailed it to A&M Studios to record "We Are the World," which he co-wrote. And on top of all of that, he served as a handler of sorts for the multiple personalities who were there in that room, keeping everyone on task and focused without being heavy-handed about it. It's genuinely impressive to witness.
But seeing how these big musicians acted when they were all in a room together is the most delightful part of the documentary. Quincy Jones had put up a handwritten sign telling everyone to "Leave your ego at the door." Easier said than done in a group like that, but at the same time, these huge stars were starstruck themselves. We see it over and over again, these household names giddy over meeting their idols, feeling shy around one another, being nervous about their solos and other evidences of oh-so-obvious humanness.
Huey Lewis describes how his legs shook when it came time to sing his solo part—which was originally supposed to go to Prince, who never showed. Diana Ross went up to Daryl Hall and asked for his autograph, telling him she was his biggest fan, prompting the whole group to start signing one another's music. They all spontaneously sang "Day-O" to Harry Belafonte to celebrate him, as it was his advocacy that had initially prompted the project. Seeing how much these artists admired one another is really sweet.
But there were some snags along the way, too, which are equally interesting to watch play out. At one point, Stevie Wonder tried to insert some lyrics in Swahili into the song, which prompted country singer Waylon Jennings to bail on the whole project, reportedly saying, "No good old boy sings in Swahili.” (The idea was nixed anyway, as Swahili isn't spoken in Ethiopia and, as Bob Geldof pointed out, they weren't singing to the people they were helping, but rather to the people who had the means to give.)
Bob Dylan appears to be completely out of it through much of the night—a fact that has led to plenty of stoner jokes over the years. But by the end, we see that Dylan was just completely out of his element in a room full of genuine singers, and it took Stevie Wonder literally mimicking him to get Dylan to feeling comfortable performing his part in the song.
The whole documentary is worth a watch to witness the creative chaos of the process, the drama that inevitably comes up when big personalities get together and the bonds that were built through this heartfelt project. Leveraging fame and utilizing art to save lives was a beautiful idea, and seeing it all come together is really something.
"The Greatest Night in Pop" can be seen on Netflix. Highly recommend.
- Listen to a Grammy Award winner's song about world hunger. It's simply stunning. ›
- These 15 projects show how we could feed the world sooner rather than later. ›
- Rehearsal footage from 'We Are the World' shows how incredibly talented everyone was in the '80s ›
- Stevie Wonder mesmerizes 1972 audience with the first talkbox performance - Upworthy ›
"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."