Flashback: Bob Dylan Rehearses for ‘We Are the World’
In the mid-1980s Bob Dylan was determined to score a hit song. He began making music videos, and in 1985 even teamed up with New Order producer Arthur Baker for his LP Empire Burlesque. That same year he also agreed to sing on “We Are the World” alongside just about every major musician of the day. As this amazing nine-minute video reveals, he had some trouble nailing his lines. Clearly frustrated despite massive encouragement by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie, Dylan sings the same few lines over and over. “I can do that better,” he says towards the end. “That’s a little high for me . . . I don’t think that’s any good at all. You can erase that.” By the end he nails it, though he still seems quite unsure. There’s almost no known footage of Bob Dylan in the recording studio, making this all the more interesting. It also got Bob Dylan back on the singles chart, even if he had to sing with Huey Lewis, Dan Aykroyd and dozens of others to make it happen.