Who Bodied Their Verse On "We Are The World"??

BIlly Joel = Zach Galifianakis

Cyndi's dancing is cute. Bruce is like John Travolta in a bad movie. Kenny Roger ain't so bad imo.

but the first MJ chorus is the best thing happening here.

Stevie Wonder announced at 1 am that he would like to substitute the "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" sound for a line in Swahili.[16][17] At this point, Waylon Jennings left the recording studio and never returned; he allegedly felt that no "good ole boy" ever sang in Swahili.[16][17] A heated debate ensued, in which Geldof revealed that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili.[16] Michael Jackson also disagreed with using a Swahili line, choosing to stick with the the "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" sound, which, after being sung a few times, ran into opposition as well.[16] The participants eventually decided to sing something meaningful in English.[16] They chose to sing the new line "One world, Our children", which most of the participants enjoyed, apart from Tina Turner, who liked "sha-lum sha-lin-gay" better.[16]

it's mj vs ray for me. mj is so technically sound, immaculate phrasing. restrained and subdued for him, too, which is nice to hear. you can tell he mapped out every single syllable though, whereas ray seems--SEEMS--to be winging it, and that bit of emotion fits the song better than mj's approach.
also thought tina, willia, dionne, and stevie killed it.

Ray Charles sold this one

I forgot I had "Future Days" playing while I was listening to this

Diana Ross - Big talent dwarfed by massive ego.

Mr. In NYC, with love I say to you that no fan of Killing Joke is in a position to claim that the presence of a massive ego has any mitigating effect on said person's talent.

Moreover, if Alex can point out how her "massive ego" affects her WATW performance, I'd like to read it.

Because absolutely everything about "We Are The World" sucks a massive bag of greasy cocks, that's why.

Jaz (since JOhn invoked him) may indeed have an outsized ego (though he's quite humble compared to La Ross), but at least he's ENTERTAININGLY INSANE at the same time (plus, he rocks).

http://www.gtdtimes.com/files/2009/01/surprise.jpg

Glad we settled that.

Alex, you forgot Jeffrey Osborne, who's second to last.

btw Jones' decision to pair Dionne Warwick's plummy diction against Willie's behind-the-beat phrasing is the kind of instinct you can't buy.

Most underrated duo trading off lines segment at about the 2:25 mark: Daryl Hall then Steve Perry.
Otherwise mostly good voices giving good performances: Ray, MJ, Stevie, James Ingram, Cyndi Lauper and Willie stand out.
There was a making of "We Are the World" video that came out at the time which shows Stevie Wonder sitting at a piano trying to get Bob Dylan to sound like the Dylan of the mid-60's. A priceless clip that I've not been able to find on Youtube, so if anyone has a link, please pass along.

I prefer "We Fuck the World", which was sung by those puppets back in like 2000

Ok...several things

1. alex's statement about the talent is wayyyyyyyyyyy wrong.
2. the song is so goddamned corny. it sounds like it came out of a song vending machine, almost as bad as "Power of the Dream".
3. the fact that it was for charity redeems it. musically though...why do these types of songs have to sound so ridiculously overwrought?
4. thank god this didn't have the LOL factor of Will Smith rapping a la "Voices that Care" in 1991.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeGVObZgVbs

not much of a satire there. too obvious.

Obviousness was always part of Culturcide's charm.

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Love the bad English...

ok I did that wrong

Daryl Hall - Legitimately huge talent.

o_O of all the people on the list this is the one you choose to lionize O_o

For the record, I prefer Canada's b-side.

Kenny Rogers - Oh please. COMPLETE crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZYcqlEZxGQ

I love Alex in NYC's "let's go through them" post although I'm stunned he was aware of the existence of James Ingram and wonder how he knows Springsteen's a nice guy. Also, I agree with his assessment of Al Jarreau but "Wheezing, oversung gasbag" and maybe even "washed-uppedness" characterizes Dylan from the very beginning of his career (a positive in my book).

And what's with all the "yay subtlety" cheerleading? What, did y'all really want the Bruce of Nebraska? One of the things that makes "We Are The World" such great pop music is its mixture of subtlety and OTTness, the way it creates an illusion of a complete spectrum of pop vocalizing.

Presented with such a buffet, though, I have no clue where to park my plate. Lionel Richie's marvelous opener seems found in amber. But Steve Perry is certainly the most surprising. Too bad "the choir/chorus" isn't an option.

the concept of a choir should be erased from human consciousness.

Do you like black music then?

congrats on the most wtf question i've ever been asked on ilx

See, this is why I don't live in Naperville.

i don't care if your choir is black, white, purple

I was trying to pair it with your wtf remark.

(xxpost)

nor do I but I don't see what that has to do with anything
xxxxp

Well, let me be clearer: using WATW's choir to indict all choirs is like saying you hate synthesizers because of "My Humps."

true but i do hate all choirs regardless. next i will tell you how i hate peanut butter and jelly so you can reach your wtf'd quota for the month.

ok gregorian shit is alright

true but i do hate all choirs regardless. next i will tell you how i hate peanut butter and jelly so you can reach your wtf'd quota for the month.

Do you the peanut industry?

*hate the peanut industry?

NO, Granny likes an assortment of meats (esp hams and sausages) different than your typical bland sandwich shop

First of all, as a guy named after Al Jarreau, fuck you guys.

While most of the performers either maintain a properly respectful tone or get their showboat on, Ray sounds totally elated to be doing this and his parts validate the whole enterprise.

Brooce is by far the worst, the only completely laughable performance.

steve perry & huey lewis are always to be lol'd @, now matter how noble the cause

Tina's part is the most phoned-in.

Kim Carnes' two word part sets a new world record for brevity.

Stevie for the win.

Steve Perry in 1985 looks like a dude in Brokencyde or something in 2009.

i wish the guy that played Kreese in Karate Kid had sung on it

Every time you diss the concept of a choir, someone somewhere is dying.

choirs are awesome. bland generic triad arrangements aren't.

My vote:

Street Talk [Columbia, 1985]
The head Journeyman's USA for Africa cameos were so discreetly intense and discreetly tossed off they made me wonder what I'd been missing. Now I know--musical gastroenteritis. Pat Boone didn't understand, so why should Steve Perry--oversinging signifies not soul and inspiration but will and desperation. Upped a notch for good intentions, and just in case Sam Cooke has finally taught him a lesson. C

ray charles is amazing on this song -- the way he comes charging in at the end is one of those 'stand up and cheer' moments, like he's just arrived to bring some genuine feeling and warmth and redeem the whole event. which he pretty much does. it's worth listening to the whole thing every time just to get to his part.

it's a pretty terrible song (though "there comes a time, when we heed a certain call" is a memorably weird opening line), but there's some great performances on it. cyndi is wonderful. dylan's cameo is great because he obviously doesn't give a shit about what he's singing and sings it exactly the way you'd expect him to -- "just yoooooo and meeeeee!"

clap your hands if you believe you're not starving!

I like Greil Marcus' response "When you're done and out" ("The Ethiopians are 'down and out'?").

what does it mean to body a verse?

“If you just believe, there’s no way we can fall.” Yep, that’s all it takes to end famine in Ethiopia, just believing.

In one of the "making of" videos IIRC, there's a moment with A. Jarreau recording his part and he's so not ale to follow the rhythm you have to wonder how that's possible for a "professional" singer (especially after such a long career) !

He was a jazz guy, it was him being avant garde

I like Greil Marcus' response "When you're done and out" ("The Ethiopians are 'down and out'?").

― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, December 16, 2019 4:52 AM (two days ago)

marcus also pointed out how weird it is that a song written by two guys who'd done pepsi commercials centers on the line "there's a choice we're making," which sounds like an unconscious echo of pepsi's then-current slogan "the choice of a new generation"

xpost

killed their verse in outdated rap slang

It's time: Who Bodied Their Verse On "Tears Are Not Enough"??