EmmaMcG said:

MotownSubdivision said:

EmmaMcG said:

MotownSubdivision said:

Touche. However...

The overall star power of the artists in WATW was on another level than Band Aid. Popular as that mostly British ensemble was, collectively, they weren't as big as their American counterpart which was composed of several world class and well-traveled names, some of which have been in the business for decades at that point (Ray Charles, Stevie, Tina, Billy Joel, Diana, Dylan, Willie Nelson, etc.).

Not to mention this was done when most of these stars were at the peak of their popularity. Many of the older names were also experiencing a career resurgence or were still riding high, charting alongside the younger talent and being considered legends at that stage of their careers (such as most of the above mentioned names). I don't know much about the subsequent Band Aids but I doubt even the biggest name involved could compare to the biggest name in the original.

I guess I'm moving the goal posts a little but you catch my drift?
[Edited 4/28/19 5:32am]
[Edited 4/28/19 5:33am]

No, I know what you mean. The later Band Aids were full of the likes of Coldplay, One Direction, Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran. I wouldn't personally put them anywhere near the level of the guys in the original or the We Are The World thing. Well, Bono and Paul McCartney were involved as well but I don't rate McCartney and Bono is the kind of man who'd go to the opening of an envelope so his inclusion doesn't mean much. Although I suppose the argument could be made that the likes of U2, George Michael, Duran Duran etc were, at the time, more popular than the American artists you mentioned. Popularity and record sales do not equal quality, I know, but they did help raise awareness. Now, personally, I hate both songs. So whichever people prefer makes no difference to me. I was merely seeking to be a smartarse by pointing out that WATW was not an original idea.

MotownSubdivision said:

Touche. However... The overall star power of the artists in WATW was on another level than Band Aid.

What about Sun City which had veteran & then newer current acts like Miles Davis, Ringo Starr, Ruben Blades, Herbie Hancock, Bob Dylan, Gil Scott Heron, Charlie Wilson, Fat Boys, Pat Benatar, Run DMC, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Cliff, Bruce Springsteen, David Ruffin, Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel, and many others. There's Eddie Murphy's Yeah song which also had a lot of famous singers and maybe Donna Summer's State Of Independence. Probably one of the first of this kind of thing was George Harrison's Bangladesh concert in the early 1970s.

PeteSilas said:

he wrote a bio?

No, but there is a book about him. I read it years ago.

cool, never heard of it.thanks.

MickyDolenz said:

PeteSilas said:

he wrote a bio?

No, but there is a book about him. I read it years ago.

ladygirl99 said:

I think it was American Music Awards when Lionel Ritchie thought Prince and his bodyguard was very 'outrageous' when Prince accept award and didn't say that much during the first award accepted just said Thank you and walked off the stage left the presenters somewhat bemused, and when Prince won another award he bought up the Revolution and Wendy did the speech and they left again and that when the camera also show Smokey Robinson's puzzled face lol.

Still get the giggles when I see the video on Youtube. But glad Lionel still show respect toward Prince even though they rarely crossed paths.

Lionel thought everything was "outrageous" that night. He used the word constantly--it was a joke for weeks afterward (there was no internet... things lasted longer back then).

MickyDolenz said:

I think Prince said he would have been really nervous around all those arists at WATW because he respected them so much. I take him at his word for that. He proably just would have felt uncomfortable doing it. I know we were all hoping he would do it at the time. "For The Tears In Your Eyes" was done for the WATW album. We were also hoping to see Prince at Live Aid, but they just premiered the video "For the Tears In Your Eyes" during the broadcast.

could be, i didn't buy it at the time and thought it was an excuse when he said that but now, after hearing of his social anxiety issues, it could be.

Now it makes even more sense that the response song to the whole ordeal is titled, "Hello".

ladygirl99 said:

nayroo2002 said:

Now it makes even more sense that the response song to the whole ordeal is titled, "Hello".

I never made that association, but who knows right? It is surely interesting to think about.

I always thought the Hello title was a more polite way of saying "are you fn kidding me? I wrote a song for the cause"!

[Edited 5/4/19 13:32pm]

MotownSubdivision said:

ladygirl99 said:

Yeah funk was phrasing out in the mid-80s and Lionel had to do something and to basically revent himself and to live in lavish life. So he show his diversity music talent to the world that helped him stay revelant for many years. What is crazy is that people called Lionel sellout back then just because he wanted to do music beyond funk/R&B but yeah many R&B and rappers are begging to sell out nowadays especially the minute they want to be in the industry from Cardi B to Chance the Rapper and Travis Scott they are going into mainstream movies and using their songs in mainstream commerical. Crossover is where the dollars it always been.

Yeah I always hated how people are so fast to cry "Sellout!" because an artist doesn't stay in one lane musically or seeks to make their music more accessible. There are sellouts in the music world but Lionel is not one of them (neither is Phil Collins who received/receives the same sort of BS in the rock world).

i was surprised that phil collins had some hate, i heard it made him suicidal too. fuck those people.

PeteSilas said:

MotownSubdivision said:

ladygirl99 said: Yeah I always hated how people are so fast to cry "Sellout!" because an artist doesn't stay in one lane musically or seeks to make their music more accessible. There are sellouts in the music world but Lionel is not one of them (neither is Phil Collins who received/receives the same sort of BS in the rock world).

i was surprised that phil collins had some hate, i heard it made him suicidal too. fuck those people.

Phil Collins has the most SOULFUL tenor voice I ever heard.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

PeteSilas said:

i was surprised that phil collins had some hate, i heard it made him suicidal too. fuck those people.

Phil Collins has the most SOULFUL tenor voice I ever heard.

hate and these guys don't go together, lionel in particular is about the most balanced, nice person you could find, it's why i hated those meaner interviews about his getting his ass kicked. they'd be talking down to him "now lionel, it was more than tabloid trash" like a little kid and lionel had nothing to fight back with, not a mean bone in his body.

PeteSilas said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Phil Collins has the most SOULFUL tenor voice I ever heard.

hate and these guys don't go together, lionel in particular is about the most balanced, nice person you could find, it's why i hated those meaner interviews about his getting his ass kicked. they'd be talking down to him "now lionel, it was more than tabloid trash" like a little kid and lionel had nothing to fight back with, not a mean bone in his body.

What was he going to fight over? He was caught red handed.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

PeteSilas said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

What was he going to fight over? He was caught red handed.

So what that's his business and I don't like how journalists talk down to black people.

Black people have been talked down by worse than a little tabloid journalist..

ChocolateBox3121 said:

PeteSilas said:

ChocolateBox3121 said: So what that's his business and I don't like how journalists talk down to black people.

Black people have been talked down by worse than a little tabloid journalist..

it wasn't a tabloid journalist, it was one of the more "respectable" news shows like 20/20 but I can't remember for sure and i never could find it. either way, lionel was being grilled and i just think it's rude and it happened to mj too with bashir, guys like that don't have it in them to kick the journalist the fuck out. I did see an athlete being grilled the same way one time, the journalist leaned in like they were trying to intimidate the guy, the guy, a football player who was arrogant as fuck just leaned right back at her and repeated the answer which he had already given. It's not just black people that happens to of course but it seems to happen more often. journalists are vultures. The smart people, i'm sure, stipulate beforehand what is off the table for questioning. Eddie Murphy has never been questioned or sabotaged about the t-girls and I'm sure that's no accident.

PeteSilas said:

ChocolateBox3121 said:

Black people have been talked down by worse than a little tabloid journalist..

it wasn't a tabloid journalist, it was one of the more "respectable" news shows like 20/20 but I can't remember for sure and i never could find it. either way, lionel was being grilled and i just think it's rude and it happened to mj too with bashir, guys like that don't have it in them to kick the journalist the fuck out. I did see an athlete being grilled the same way one time, the journalist leaned in like they were trying to intimidate the guy, the guy, a football player who was arrogant as fuck just leaned right back at her and repeated the answer which he had already given. It's not just black people that happens to of course but it seems to happen more often. journalists are vultures. The smart people, i'm sure, stipulate beforehand what is off the table for questioning. Eddie Murphy has never been questioned or sabotaged about the t-girls and I'm sure that's no accident.

Eddie(whom I've worked with) doesn't have or use a computer & he doesn't have ANY social media accounts.

ChocolateBox3121 said:

PeteSilas said:

it wasn't a tabloid journalist, it was one of the more "respectable" news shows like 20/20 but I can't remember for sure and i never could find it. either way, lionel was being grilled and i just think it's rude and it happened to mj too with bashir, guys like that don't have it in them to kick the journalist the fuck out. I did see an athlete being grilled the same way one time, the journalist leaned in like they were trying to intimidate the guy, the guy, a football player who was arrogant as fuck just leaned right back at her and repeated the answer which he had already given. It's not just black people that happens to of course but it seems to happen more often. journalists are vultures. The smart people, i'm sure, stipulate beforehand what is off the table for questioning. Eddie Murphy has never been questioned or sabotaged about the t-girls and I'm sure that's no accident.

Eddie(whom I've worked with) doesn't have or use a computer & he doesn't have ANY social media accounts.

he's never been asked in tv or print about it. that's my point, i've heard he also doesn't like computers around him, he has had some accounts that were 'OFFICIAL" or what have you but those could very easily be his publiscist or somethng.

Right now I'm reading the book Mike D & King Ad Rock from the Beastie Boys put out recently and there's a story indirectly about Lionel in it. Mike D said that when the group moved out to California in the late 1980s, he went to this car dealer that sold tricked out custom cars to celebrities named Randy. Randy told him that he sold cars to Lionel & Kenny Rogers and that Lionel & Kenny were fabulous and so were the cars he sold to them. There's a lot of funny stories in the book like the apartment Mike D & MCA shared in NYC at the beginning of their career and the time they met Bob Dylan at a party for Dolly Parton. They met Madonna before she got a record deal when she was performing in clubs.

MickyDolenz said:

I believe in divine guidance & divine intervention also. People on this site LIVE on what if's & shoulda, woulda.coulda. What's meant to happen will happen.

TrivialPursuit said:

I love this story.

From Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Just saw this; thanks for posting.

I never seen a Lionel Richie before

ChocolateBox3121 said:

What's meant to happen will happen.

So you're saying John Lennon was meant to get shot by Chapman? There's the "shoot me" at the beginning of Come Together and the song Happiness Is A Warm Gun.