U.S.A. For Africa

6 Degrees: More Prince to keep the ball rolling! (kind of...) In 1985, Prince lost face after allegedly bailing on his planned contribution to all-star charity single We Are the World, produced by Quincy Jones and co-written by Jackson and Lionel Richie. His bandmate and protege Sheila E. (who was actually also invited in the hopes Prince would attend with her) comments on the backlash and why he made his decision, "We were already giving to so many,” she explained, “Not just foundations, but a lot of the times on that tour before we even got to that night, we were already stopping at children's hospitals and doing free concerts for the kids who have cancer and disabilities.” ew.com

"We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World. The following people sang in the chorus: Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Mario Cipollina, Johnny Colla, Sheila E., Bob Geldof, Bill Gibson, Chris Hayes, Sean Hopper, Jackie Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson, Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates, Jeffrey Osborne, Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer, and Smokey Robinson.