Joshy

Music in Politics

Gabriel Flores

Mr. Ustick

World History

March 30, 2011

Flores 1

Music in Politics

Music is the greatest idea created by man. Most people would not expect it to be used in politics. But in reality, music has been used to help in many ways. A couple of these ways are benefit concerts and special songs recorded for the specific countries that need help. A majorly known benefit concert was “Live Aid”, which raised thousands of dollars for Africa after its many natural disasters. A song that helped that same country was “We are the World” sang by USA for Africa. This same song was remade and recorded by USA for Haiti after the massive earthquake in Haiti. Music is more than amusement for the ears; it can also be used to help politics and other countries.

In the 1980s, Africa was hit with natural disasters that left the whole continent scarred for life. After seeing many pictures of the starving children, famous British artist Bob Geldof organized a series of benefit concerts all over Europe to raise money for the country in distress. This tour was known as Live Aid. The tour consisted of many famous bands and artists such as Elton John, Duran Duran, and the beach boys. The collaboration of the artists raised thousands of dollars. These series of concerts would give inspiration to one of the greatest songs in the history of music.

Around 1985, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song known as “We are the World”. After finishing the song, the two gathered about 30-35 singers and artists to record it with the conducting help of Quincy Jones. This song included artist solos by the two writers as well as Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Cyndi Lauper. This song became a number one hit in the charts after a week and stayed on top for a month. This song was featured in the Live Aid finale in JFK stadium. This song alone raised more than One million dollars for Africa. It wouldn’t be until the year 2010 that “We are the...