Many assume that a fierce rivalry with Michael Jackson kept His Royal Badness from participating in the star-studded charity single — but the truth is more complicated.

Richie opens up about choosing between Madonna and Cyndi Lauper at the time for the song on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Ilana Kaplan is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023.

Prince famously didn’t appear in the star-studded 1985 charity single We Are the World. It featured some of Hollywood’s A-listers like Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Billy ...

Waylon Jennings's We Are the World exit explains why he walked out, the Swahili lyric controversy, and how the iconic charity ...

The easy listening and 'American Idol' star played a hit-filled intimate show for Wells Fargo credit card holders.

I can’t help but watch the making of the timeless song “We Are the World” again and again. This charity single, recorded by a supergroup in January 1985 to benefit USA for Africa, never ceases to ...

"If you’re thrown in a room with a bunch of singers, you have a tendency to get psyched out." “Poor Bob was having a nervous breakdown,” Richie admitted. “He’s trying to sing it.

Based on comments from others familiar with the situation, it seems Prince's feud with Michael Jackson ... He got angry.” Lionel Richie, one of the co-writers of "We Are the World," also made ...