Huey Lewis is looking back on the 1985 hit “We Are The World.” On this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the singer recalled the conversations he had with musicians like Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson while recording the iconic song.
“We Are The World,” which was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, brought the music industry’s biggest names together to raise money for children in Africa amid the African famine epidemic in the 1980s. Lewis, Jackson, Richie, Springsteen and Nelson were joined on the track by stars like Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Ray Charles and more.
“I knew then that this was the career event of my life. What’s gonna top this?” Lewis said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “And now 39 years later, nothing really has.”
Lewis admitted that it was “nerve-racking” to perform in front of “the greatest singers in the world,” adding, “You can’t see it in the clip or the [Greatest Night in Pop] documentary but when I’m singing my part, my right leg is shaking.”
Despite the pressure, the artists were still able to hang out with each other on their breaks.
“I found out that Bruce Springsteen is a very funny guy,” Lewis revealed. “He’s a really good joke teller. Who knew?”
He also recalled chatting about sports with Nelson and Dylan.
“Willie Nelson comes over [and] we’re talking about golf,” he remembered. “He says, ‘I hear you’re playing golf.’ I said, ‘Yeah, yeah. We put the clubs on the bus and it gives us something to do.’ He said, ‘Yeah, we’re doing that too.’”
The songwriter continued, “Then Bob Dylan comes over and he says, ‘Are you guys talking about golf?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Wow, that’s outrageous.’ I said, ‘No, Bob. Nashville Skyline was outrageous. This is just golf.’”
The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.
