The special instruction Quincy Jones sent out to the several dozen
pop stars invited to participate in the recording of “We Are the
World” was this: “Check your egos at the door.” Jones was the
producer of a record that would eventually go on to sell more than
7 million copies and raise more than $60 million for African famine
relief. But before “We Are the World” could achieve those feats, it
had to be captured on tape—no simple feat considering the number
of major recording artists slated to participate.

With only one chance to get the recording the way he and writers
Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wanted it, Jones convened the marathon recording session of “We Are the World” at around 10
p.m. on the evening of January 28, 1985, immediately following
the conclusion of the American Music Awards ceremony held
just a few miles away.

Singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte was the initiator of the events
that led to the recording of “We Are the World.”

A soloist booth song sheet used for the 1985 recording
of ‘We Are the World’, individually signed by the artists
involved.

Red behind the mic at CKWX, 1961.

Robert "Red" Robinson (March 20, 1937 – April 1, 2023)

Bob (Red) was the first disc jockey to play rock and roll music 
in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Red Robinson with Buddy Holly.

Red taking a guitar lesson from Eddie
Cochran.

(From left) Mary Ann Ganser (died 1970), Betty Weiss,
Marge Ganser (died 1996) and Mary Weiss of The
Shangri-Las pose for a portrait Circa 1964.

Mary Weiss, the lead singer of 1960s pop group The Shangri-Las,
has died at the age of 75.

The female group rose to stardom with a run of hit songs about
teenage love and tragedy, including “Remember (Walking In The
Sand)” and “Leader Of The Pack”, which was later inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s singles category.

Mary vanished from the music scene for decades, returning in
2007 to record her first solo album with Norton Records.

The announcement of her death, made on Friday, did not disclose
the cause.

In 2019, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,
Ohio honored the Shangri-Las’ "Leader of the Pack",
on which Weiss sang lead, in its Singles category.

With a career spanning over fifty years, Dolly Parton has been
described as a "country music legend" and has sold more than
100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-
selling artists of all time.         

       
She has received 11 Grammy Awards out of 50 nominations,
including the Lifetime Achievement Award; ten Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and is
one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music
Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award; five Academy
of Country Music Awards, also including Entertainer of the
Year; four People’s Choice Awards; and three American
Music Awards.

Dolly with Porter Wagoner.

On January 17, 1966, the National Broadcasting Corporation
ordered 32 episodes of a new TV show, "The Monkees," for
its upcoming fall schedule. Little did producers know that the
fake pop music band they were launching would become an
actual pop culture sensation—whose records would even
outsell the Beatles. The sitcom aired from 1966 to 1968.