If you like music, pop culture history, celebrities, or anything of the sort, you must watch The Greatest Night in Pop. The new Netflix documentary tells the story of the making of the hit record “We Are the World,” and both the basics of the story and the details surrounding those involved will tickle the part of your brain that’s invested in iconography.
‘The Greatest Night in Pop’ Could Never Happen Again
Without spoiling too much (though to be fair, this event did happen nearly 40 years ago), “We Are the World” was recorded at night after most of the people involved – all of whom were uber-famous musicians at the top of their game – had been at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. It would be like if Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Drake, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, and more went to a recording studio after the Grammys and collaborated on a hit.
Part of what makes The Greatest Night in Pop so special is that the magic that was captured that night could never happen again. Unsurprisingly, organizing the recording session was a bit of a logistical nightmare, and it only worked because so many of the musicians were in town for the awards ceremony, and they were all willing to stay up for another eight or more hours to record a song they weren’t being paid for.
Sure, in 2008, popular musicians banded together to record an updated version of the song to benefit Haiti, but none of the artists were sacrificing a night of after-parties and publicity opportunities to do so. Modern technology would make communication regarding something like this easier today, but many of the aforementioned musicians also move with round-the-clock security details and require great accommodations to enter buildings, which would be even more of a nightmare than organization. What happened in 1985 just can’t be replicated.
A Genuinely Good Documentary
The musicians involved in the making of “We Are the World” knew that night couldn’t be replicated while they were recording, and that spirit is captured in The Greatest Night in Pop. Beyond being a highly entertaining story, the documentary is very well-produced.
Lionel Richie gives an oral history of the weeks preceding and the recording session with anecdotes from others involved peppered throughout, and because the music video was shot that night while they were recording, there’s footage of almost the entire event. We’re given a rare look at artists like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Quincy Jones, and Bruce Springsteen doing what they do best with some of the best to ever do it. Like Diana Ross said of the recording session, you’re not going to want The Greatest Night in Pop to end.
The Greatest Night in Pop is streaming now on Netflix.