Quincy Jones To Unveil 'we Are The World 25' Today

By: Janine Coveney

The video of the 25th anniversary update of the all-star benefit single "We Are The World" will be unveiled tonight (February 12th) during the telecast of the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics at 7:30 p.m. ET. The tune, executive produced once more by Quincy Jones and co-writer Lionel Richie, features a who's who of recording artists and even some actors to recreate the original 1982 recording featuring co-writer Michael Jackson.

Oscar winning Crash director Paul Haggis directed the video of the recording, which took place February 1st at Henson Studios in Hollywood.

The video also incorporates older footage of the late King Of Pop, singing with his sister Janet Jackson. "It's something we wanted to see, but his mother requested it too, for Janet to sing with Michael," said Jones, who produced the original track and helped orchestrate the re-recording. "It was perfect. It was meant to be."

Following the world premiere, fans will immediately be able to download the song and view exclusive footage from the recording session on the official website: WORLD25.org. Downloads will also be available on iTunes, with proceeds going to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti.

Recently, Quincy Jones recalled how the original recording was inspired back in 1982. He had just used an all-star choir -- including Richie, Jackson, and Patti Austin -- for Donna Summer's "State Of Independence" and wanted to use them again. Meanwhile, the LiveAid all-star concert had just raised millions to fight famine in Africa, as Jones told BermudaFM: "Lionel and Ken Kragen called me up, and Harry Belafonte said, 'Live Aid has done something and we're doing nothing.'And he said, 'Let's do a tour.'I said, 'You can't take all those maniacs on tour.'No, I said 'my friends.'But I know who they are, and I said, 'You don't go on the road with that many people. Instead, let's do a 12-hour session on one song.'And we got the same thing done. And it was one night I'll never forget as long as I live."


HIP-HOP R&B POP ROCK TOP MUSIC	Quincy Jones To Unveil 'we Are The World 25' Today Quincy Jones To Unveil 'we Are The World 25' Today By: Janine Coveney The video of the 25th anniversary update of the all-star benefit single "We Are The World" will be unveiled tonight (February 12th) during the telecast of the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics at 7:30 p.m. ET. The tune, executive produced once more by Quincy Jones and co-writer Lionel Richie, features a who's who of recording artists and even some actors to recreate the original 1982 recording featuring co-writer Michael Jackson. Oscar winning Crash director Paul Haggis directed the video of the recording, which took place February 1st at Henson Studios in Hollywood. The video also incorporates older footage of the late King Of Pop, singing with his sister Janet Jackson. "It's something we wanted to see, but his mother requested it too, for Janet to sing with Michael," said Jones, who produced the original track and helped orchestrate the re-recording. "It was perfect. It was meant to be." Following the world premiere, fans will immediately be able to download the song and view exclusive footage from the recording session on the official website: WORLD25.org. Downloads will also be available on iTunes, with proceeds going to benefit the Haitian earthquake relief efforts and the rebuilding of Haiti. Recently, Quincy Jones recalled how the original recording was inspired back in 1982. He had just used an all-star choir -- including Richie, Jackson, and Patti Austin -- for Donna Summer's "State Of Independence" and wanted to use them again. Meanwhile, the LiveAid all-star concert had just raised millions to fight famine in Africa, as Jones told BermudaFM: "Lionel and Ken Kragen called me up, and Harry Belafonte said, 'Live Aid has done something and we're doing nothing.'And he said, 'Let's do a tour.'I said, 'You can't take all those maniacs on tour.'No, I said 'my friends.'But I know who they are, and I said, 'You don't go on the road with that many people. Instead, let's do a 12-hour session on one song.'And we got the same thing done. And it was one night I'll never forget as long as I live."