10 Music collaborations that changed the world

From the 1985 classic “We Are the World” to 2014′s agriculture anthem “Cocoa na Chocolate,” pop stars around the world have been coming together to make music for a cause for decades. Whether it’s to raise awareness for apartheid or funds for famine relief in Africa, benefit concerts and songs have rocked the hearts, minds and ears of activists – and helped make real and lasting change.

Here’s ten music collaborations that show how some of the world’s biggest artists used their voices for the humanitarian issues of their time: 

1. Concert for Bangladesh (1971)

George Harrison, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and more 

This sold-out concert, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, was the first benefit concert that brought artists ranging from the legendary Beatles to Bob Dylan for a humanitarian cause. The concert, held in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, raised awareness on the refugee crisis in Bangladesh after the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and more than $200,000 dollars for relief efforts. Most notably, it set a precedent for music as a tool of social change.

2. Gift of Song (1979)

Various, including ABBA, Rita Coolidge, Elton John and more

Pop music artists, including ABBA, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart and Donna Summer, gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to sing a “Gift of Song” to the world’s children. Broadcasted in 60 countries and reaching over 200 million, the event served to kick-off the International Year of the Child, a year that brought awareness to children’s issues and eventually led to the first universal declaration of children’s rights. The single also raised $4 million dollars for UNICEF’s life-saving programs.

3. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and Live Aid (1984)

Band Aid, including Bob Geldof, Bono, Paul McCartney and others

Band Aid, a charity band founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, first released “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (1984) to raise money for the famine crisis in Ethiopia. It was no surprise that the collaboration with rock stars like Bono, Paul McCartney, Paul Young and more resulted in more than six million copies sold, raising $14 million dollars for relief. The single also peaked at No. 1 in more than 15 countries.

In 1985, the band held “Live Aid,” one of the most influential charity concerts. Two decades later, Geldof organized Live 8 Concerts (2005) which brought together more than 1,000 musicians in the US and UK. The concerts also served as political actions that coincided with the G8 summit on world poverty.

4. ”We Are the World” (1985)

USA for Africa, including Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Billy Joel and more

Following Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” single, USA for Africa produced ”We Are the World,” a song produced by Quincy Jones and written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The song features a number of renowned artists like Willie Nelson, Diana Ross and Billy Joel. The collaboration generated more than $100 million dollars  to fight a famine that killed nearly 1 million people in Africa between 1983 to 1984. USA for Africa foundation continues the legacy of philanthropy. 

5. Farm Aid (1985)

Various, including Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Tom Petty and many more

Inspired by a remark by Bob Dylan at his performance at Live Aid, ”Wouldn’t it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?” Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized Farm Aid. The concert, first held in Champaign, Illinois brought 80,000 music-lovers to raise awareness about the issues farming families faced, and raised more than $9 million dollars to assist America’s family farmers. To this day, Farm Aid  acts as an advocacy platform and resource network for farmers, while still producing an annual benefit concert.

6. “Sun City” (1985)

Artists United Against Apartheid, including Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel and others

Known as the most fervent political music single, “Sun City” brought 54 artists from across genres to take a stand against apartheid. From rock stars like Bruce Springsteen to hip-hop pioneers like Kurtis Blow, this collaboration drew attention to apartheid and urged artists to stop playing at venues that practiced the racist policy.

7. “Blackfella Whitefella” (1985)

Warumpi Band

1985 was sure the year of music collaborations for social change, and it did not stop there. Like “Sun City,” “Blackfella Whitefella,” a song by Australia indigenous group Warumpi Band, served as a political statement on racism against indigenous groups in Australia.

8. A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) and Human Rights Now! (1988)

Various artists including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel and many more

Organized by Amnesty International, “A Conspiracy of Hope” (1986) and “Human Rights Now” (1988) were a series of global benefit concerts raising awareness on human rights atrocities around the globe and in 1988, the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Artists included Tracy Chapman, Youssou N’Dour, The Police and local guest artists from each host country that participated. Most notable? The venuesincluded countries like Hungary, Costa Rica, India, Argentina, Zimbabwe and more.

9. “America: A Tribute to Heroes” (2011)

Various artists including Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and others

On the 10-year remembrance of September 11, 2001, a day we will never forget, artists from across genres came together for “America: A Tribute to Heroes.” The concert was not just a tribute to those who lost their lives but also a benefit to the September 11 Telethon Fund. The telethon raised more than $150 million for the victims of the terror attacks. In the video above Willie Nelson closed out the telethon with an ensemble version of “America the Beautiful.”

10. “Cocoa na Chocolate” (2014)

Various artists, including D’Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma

Africa’s hottest recording artists have come together to support our Do Agric campaign, and together have written and recorded the track “Cocoa na Chocolate.” The artists involved include some of the hottest artists from Africa, including D’Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma, Diamond and Omawumi. And get this – it’s the biggest music collaboration in Africa’s history. Their message is simple: agriculture in Africa has the potential to provide food, create jobs and boost economies, but African leaders need to invest now. The song dropped last month, and only time will tell whether it will ignite an agriculture revolution.

http://www.one.org/

Live Aid and USA for Africa

Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath,1984-88

Toward the end of the 1980s, several crises, including famine, economic collapse, and military setbacks in Eritrea and Tigray.

 Famine and Economic Collapse

Ethiopia had never recovered from the previous great famine of the early 1970s, which was the result of a drought that affected most of the countries of the African Sahel. The late 1970s again brought signs of intensifying drought. By the early 1980s, large numbers of people in central Eritrea, Tigray, Welo, and parts of Gonder and Shewa were beginning to feel the effects of renewed famine.

By mid-1984 it was evident that another drought and resulting famine of major proportions had begun to affect large parts of northern Ethiopia. Just as evident was the government's inability to provide relief. The almost total failure of crops in the north was compounded by fighting in and around Eritrea, which hindered the passage of relief supplies. Although international relief organizations made a major effort to provide food to the affected areas, the persistence of drought and poor security conditions in the north resulted in continuing need as well as hazards for famine relief workers. In late 1985, another year of drought was forecast, and by early 1986 the famine had spread to parts of the southern highlands, with an estimated 5.8 million people dependent on relief food. Exacerbating the problem in 1986 were locust and grasshopper plagues.

The government's inability or unwillingness to deal with the 1984-85 famine provoked universal condemnation by the international community. Even many supporters of the Ethiopian regime opposed its policy of withholding food shipments to rebel areas. The combined effects of famine and internal war had by then put the nation's economy into a state of collapse.

The scale of the disaster was evident by mid 1984, but it was the BBC television news reports of Michael Buerk and cameraman Mohamed Amin, broadcast on October 23 and 24 1984, that galvanised a huge international response. Buerk described the scenes of dying families huddled in feeding camps as "a biblical famine in the 20th century".

Live Aid in 1985

In 1985 Bob Geldof was the host of Band Aid at Wembly Stadium.  Band Aid was all brought about initially after Bob Geldof has watched Michael Buerk’s reports on the news in 1984, which documented the famine and suffering in Africa.  His initial response to help stop the people suffering was to make a hit record, this record starred all the famous people of the 1980’s. This single raised £8 million and was the biggest selling single in the UK at that time.

The idea of the concert stemmed from this single, Bob Geldof encouraged people to perform, for nothing, to raise money for this brilliant cause.  The bands took to the stage and history was made, other countries run concerts too, these countries included Germany, Russia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Australia and Japan.  The event as a whole contributed 16 hours of music all of which was live, and over 1.5 million people tuned in to watch the events unfold.  The proceeds of which exceeded 110 million, which was more than was ever hoped for.  Concerts for charity have been hosted since, but not one has lived up to the expectations of Live Aid. It was described as 'The Day Rock and Roll Changed the World'

Billed as 'The Global Jukebox' and hosted by Britain and the USA, Live Aid became the biggest live rock event ever, featuring an amazing line-up of rock stars. Spanning two continents, the concerts were broadcast direct from Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. There were also contributions from countries including Japan, Australia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Russia and Germany . The whole event featured 16 hours of live music and was watched by over 1.5 billion people worldwide. The final amount raised exceeded all hopes and totalled over £110m.

The concert began at midday in London with a fanfare for Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Then Status Quo took to the stage to kick off the event with 'Rocking All Over The World'. Each band was given 17 minutes for their set and they performed for free.

Band Aid was the name of the group which recorded the original single "Do They Know It's Christmas? / Feed The World". Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the song was recorded on November 25th 1984 by a group consisting of almost 40 of the UK and Ireland's best-known pop stars of the time. Originally Geldof hoped to raise £72,000 for charities from sales of the single, but that estimate was exceeded almost immediately the record went on sale; it went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the best-selling record ever (at the time), and to raise over £8 million worldwide.

Some of the Artists who performed at Wembley: 

Status Quo, Phil Collins (also with Sting), Sting, U2, Queen, The Who, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Paul McCartney.

Frequent appeals by Bob Geldof reminded viewers of the motive for the occasion: "Don't go to the pub tonight. Please stay in and give us your money. There are people dying now."

Bob Geldof was given an honorary knighthood in 1986.

U.S.A. for Africa

The U. S. A. For Africa was a very heartwarming project and it affected many people around the world when they heard about it. There are many artists who are involved in different foundations which help such projects in order to stop poverty and help in disasters. It was the name that forty five musicians used when they recorded the hit single, We Are the World., in 1985. The song was a number one hit in the U. S. and in the U. K., in April of that year. The artists were predominantly U. S. musicians and the song was led by Harry Belafonte, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie. The recording was a live performance and it was released with the Live Aid DVD set which was released on November 8, 2004. The proceeds of the single were to go to the USA for Africa Foundation and was going to be used for the relief of the famine and disease in Africa. Some critics claimed that the money went to the government of the affected countries instead of to the people so they felt that it was all a waste of effort. Some of the countries affected were governed by a military type of rule and often times this means that any money donated to the government would not go to the people at all. It is not known if the people got any benefit from the donation of this project.

We Are The World/United In Song  came as a response to DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?. It was dedicated to the 40 plus artists and musicians, who paved the way 25 years ago for this new release, with special thanks to Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones "producer extraordinaire," whose musical and creative talents have made We Are The World the anthem it has become today. The global artists featured on United In Song represent the next generation of musicians to use their talents to inform and ignite action. Each song presented speaks to an issue or cause valued and supported by the respective artists.

Live 8

A series of free, simultaneous concerts in 10 cities was the climax of ONE's contribution to a global movement resulting in unprecedented commitments to cancel debts, double aid and deliver near universal access to AIDS treatment at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. However, these promises mean nothing if they are not delivered and ONE is working hard to ensure they follow through. 2005 was a historic turning point in the fight against poverty and disease rules.In the month leading up to the July 6 to 8, 2005 G8 Summit, ONE mobilized 1.5 million people in the United States to sign the ONE Declaration, wear the white band, and send 500,000 letters to President George W. Bush expressing those demands.

The mass mobilization received strong support from Nelson Mandela, Bono, Bob Geldof and a number of other leading ONE supporters, including Brad Pitt, Beyonce, George Clooney and Djimon Hounsou.

20 years after the historic fundraising Live Aid concerts, Bob Geldof organized Live 8 - this time calling for justice, not charity. The string of concerts on July 2, 2005 in each of the G8 countries and in South Africa was timed to harness the massive momentum of the global movement to maximize pressure on the leaders of the world's most powerful countries. More than 1,000 musicians (including U2, Pink Floyd, Will Smith, Elton John and Madonna) performed at the concerts. More than 2 million people attended Live 8; over 30 million people took action and an estimated 2 billion watched Live 8 on TV.

As a result of a combined effort of thousands of organisations as part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty with the added boost of Live 8, and the Commission for Africa report (which detailed policy demands), G8 leaders pledged on July 8 to double development assistance to Africa (from 2004 levels), reaching an extra $25 billion per year by 2010. The G8 also agreed to cancel remaining debts for qualified countries, and to strive to provide universal access to life-saving ARVs for AIDS patients and education for children.

Work done by Prado and De Marchi