The Greatest Night in Pop: Netflix offers first glimpse at documentary about 1985 charity single

New documentary delves into the chaos and behind-the-scenes drama that accompanied supergroup’s recording of one of the biggest charity singles in history

Lionel Richie has promised fans are in for a treat when they tune into Netflix’s forthcoming documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop, which delves into the making of the 1985 charity single, “We Are the World”.

A trailer released this week teases footage that shows some of the biggest artists of the time, including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles and Bob Dylan, cramming in Jim Henson’s studio to record the track.

The documentary, which was directed by Bao Nguyen, also interviews Springsteen, Lauper, Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick, among others, about their memories of that fateful day on 25 January.

It features never-before-seen footage, along with new details about the song’s creation decades after its release.

“The greatest artists of a generation came together to save some lives,” Richie says in the trailer, “but we only had one night to get this right.”

He explains how the song was the brainchild of singer and activist Harry Belafonte, who asked him if he would write a song to raise money for hunger relief in Africa.

Produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian, “We Are the World” went on to raise more than $63m. The song sold 20 million copies, and won four Grammy Awards and an American Music Award.

Bob Dylan during the ‘We Are the World' recording session (Netflix)

Despite its success, however, recording the song with so many creative egos in one room was a daunting and often chaotic endeavour, despite the sign outside that said: “Check your egos at the door.”

It was a night like nothing the music industry had ever seen, and likely never would again. The session was loaded with tantrums, clashes and plenty of attention on Dylan, whose blank expression in footage from the recording session has since become a social media meme.

“If Bob Dylan seemed zoned out in the video, it’s likely because he was the focus of much attention and adulation,” The Independent’s Mark Beaumont wrote in a retrospective on the single in 2020.

“Diana Ross walked through the door and promptly jumped into his lap, Nelson cornered him to talk about golf and jazz-pop singer Al Jarreau got short shrift from the folk legend. ‘Bobby, in my own stupid way I just want to tell you I love you,’ Jarreau told Dylan, who simply blanked him entirely and walked away, leaving Jarreau sobbing, ‘My idol!’”

Singer-songwriter Kim Carnes had a more pleasant experience with Dylan, telling The Independent that he was “easy to talk to”.

“[He was] exactly how I would have expected him to be. It was an amazing, memorable night and nobody had an ego, nobody tried to pull rank. People were really excited to be there and be part of something really monumental.”

“The whole night was filled with magic,” singer-songwriter Kim Carnes told The Independent in 2020. “From start to finish, it was incredible to be part of that.”

The documentary will make its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 19 January, and will be available to stream on Netflix on 29 January.