Brief History: Benefit Songs

Where have all the charity songs gone? In recent years, that staple of the mid-1980s–the all-star benefit tune–has become a pop rarity. But now, 25 years after “We Are the World” raised $63 million for African famine relief, a new generation of musicians has rerecorded the anthem, with proceeds going to victims of Haiti’s recent earthquake.

The idea of charity records began with the Beatles. Or, rather, with some Beatles. Following the breakup of the Fab Four, George Harrison helped organize 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh, the first star-studded event of its kind. Proceeds from the concert’s live triple album went to UNICEF. Paul McCartney followed suit with a 1979 collaboration, cheekily dubbed Rockestra, for the victims of Pol Pot’s purges in Cambodia. The first certified charity smash didn’t arrive, however, until 1984, when Band Aid–a British and Irish supergroup that included Sting, Bono and George Michael–recorded “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to benefit African famine victims. The effort raised some $18 million and was soon copied across the pond by USA for Africa with “We Are the World,” which quickly became the best-selling song of the decade.

After the 1980s, charity tunes hit mostly false notes (Anyone remember 2008’s “Just Stand Up”?) except for Elton John’s 1997 reworking of “Candle in the Wind,” which benefited Princess Diana’s foundation following her death. The song’s outsize success–it is the best-selling single ever–spawned a wave of imitators too lazy to even think up new lyrics. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was rerecorded and released in 2004 to benefit Darfur. And the new “We Are the World,” featuring an Auto-Tuned Lil Wayne in place of Bob Dylan, may be raising money atop the iTunes charts, but it does so at the expense of botching a sentimental classic. At least its heart is in the right place.