How many musicians featured in We Are the World? Details explored as Netflix drops Greatest Night in Pop

Netflix’s latest documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop, looks back at one of the most iconic nights in the history of music. Back in 1975, Harry Belafonte had the idea of forming a supergroup comprising some of America’s greatest musicians and performers of the time.

Headlined by composer and producer Quincy Jones, a range of iconic names worked on We Are The World, with the album going on to record more than 20 million sales. This makes it the ninth highest-selling music album of all time.

Released in 1985, all proceeds from the sale of the album went to combat the African famine epidemic. However, the song was not merely a charity initiative and went on to win four Grammy Awards, one American Music Award, and a People's Choice Award.

This was, of course, also a result of the epic names that were associated with the album. With the Netflix documentary giving viewers a close look at the behind-the-scenes of the recording process, fans are keen to learn about the 54 artists, apart from Quincy Jones, who were associated with the song.

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All the musicians who featured in We Are the World: A list

Initiated and overseen by Harry Belafonte and Ken Kragen, the song in itself was inspired by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas. Belafonte decided to assemble the Avengers (of sorts) of the music industry, and had names such as Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Ritchie, and Stevie Wonder, among a plethora of bonafide legends of the industry.

All 54 of them, alongside Quincy Jones, who was the composer, are listed below:

Soloists in We Are the World:

• Lionel Richie
• Stevie Wonder
• Paul Simon
• Kenny Rogers
• James Ingram
• Tina Turner
• Billy Joel
• Michael Jackson
• Diana Ross
• Dionne Warwick
• Willie Nelson
• Al Jarreau
• Bruce Springsteen
• Kenny Loggins
• Steve Perry
• Daryl Hall
• Huey Lewis
• Cyndi Lauper
• Kim Carnes
• Bob Dylan
• Ray Charles

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Chorus Artists in We Are the World:

• 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
• Smokey Robinson

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Instrument players in We Are the World:

• John Barnes (keyboards)
• David Paich (synthesizers)
• Michael Boddicker (synthesizers)
• Ian Underwood (synthesizers)
• Steve Porcaro (synthesizers)
• Paulinho da Costa (percussion)
• Louis Johnson (synth bass)
• Michael Omartian (keyboards)
• Greg Phillinganes (keyboards)
• John Robinson (drums)

Netflix's The Greatest Night in Pop will cover the above names, with several never-seen-before interviews. This includes those from the likes of Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, who were both genuinely delighted to be a part of the overall initiative.

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Released in March 1985, We Are the World instantly became the fastest-selling album in US history, with various merchandise sales alone raising $63 million for charity. The initiative was mirrored via the We Are the World 25 for Haiti in 2010, to raise funds in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Regardless, with the song and the mammoth efforts it took to pull the initiative off well-documented in The Greatest Night in Pop, music fans of all kinds are sure to be tempted to tune in. The documentary is now available for streaming on Netflix.