Quincy Jones put A-listers at bay with one simple sentence

Legendary music producer Quincy Jones was involved in some of the most influential singles of the 20th and 21st centuries. Jones, who died Sunday at age 91, had a career spanning more than 70 years and worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra and Little Richard. Producing for some of the biggest names in music is a feat in itself, but what happens when 46 of them are in the same room and need guidance?

In 1985, Harry Belafonte initiated a charity single to alleviate famine in Africa after seeing the success of Band-Aid's “Do They Know It's Christmas?” With the help of Ken Collar, who financed the massive production, a strong team of Jackson and Lionel Richie as songwriters and Jones and Michael Omartian as producers was assembled for what would become “We Are the World.”

The team had a tight deadline to complete the song's arrangement. On January 23, 1985, five days before the American Music Awards And During the legendary recording session, one of the song's performers, Al Jarreau, called Jones to get details. The legendary producer issued a stern order: “After the American Music Awards, we're all going to take off our clothes because we don't want to record a starvation record in a tuxedo.”

The artists involved, most of whom were recruited by Jones because of his influence, did not learn the name of the studio until the day of recording for security reasons. 46 musicians made it into the session, another 50 had to be turned away. Those who made it into the studio were greeted with a short, powerful sign from Jones: “Check your ego at the door.”

In his 2001 autobiography Q, Jones remembered the reason he had to make that reminder in a room with some of the biggest divas in the industry. “If you were cornered, each of them would skin you layer by layer,” he wrote. Surrounded by artists of all backgrounds and genres, the producer also had a life-changing experience as he wrote, “I've never experienced this before or since” the joy I felt that evening interacting with this rich, complex human web worked out of love, talent and grace.

At 10:30 p.m. the singers took their positions, collectively referred to as USA for Africa. Some had been up all day for the awards festivities, while others were just getting started. Under the direction of Jones, who dealt with the chaos of spontaneous changes, surprise guests and the mounting pressure of recording one of the most successful singles in history in one evening, the record was completed by 8am the next day.

The song reached No. 1 on the R&B singles chart, the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and the billboard Hot 100. Outside the United States, the song resonated with audiences abroad as an international rallying cry, also reaching No. 1 in Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

“We Are the World” even became the fastest-selling American pop single in history: 800,000 copies sold out within three days.

In July 1985, four months after the song's March release, USA for Africa raised over $10 million in record sales and public donations, as well as an additional $45 million in merchandise sales. Organizers chose to focus on long-term efforts to support Africa rather than giving the money all at once. The song has since raised over $80 million for humanitarian causes, with 10% saved for hunger efforts in the United States.

The donations were noticeable. After Jackson's death in 2009, one of the single's beneficiaries, Ethiopian Elias Kifle Maraim Beyene, told BBC News: “In 1984, Michael Jackson, along with a number of other leading musicians, created the song 'We Are the World' to raise money for Africa. We received a lot of help from the world and I was one of those who benefited directly.” The wheat flour that was distributed to the famine victims was different from the usual grain that we bought at the market. The locals named the bread after the great artist, it was soft and delicious. When you go through such difficult times, you never forget such events. If you talk to anyone who was in Addis Ababa at the time, everyone will know what Michael Bread is and I know I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Jones died on Sunday, November 3, at his home in Los Angeles.

In a statement to the Associated Press, the Jones family wrote: “Tonight it is with full but broken hearts that we share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones. And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life he led and know that there will never be another like him.”

“He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him very much. We take comfort and are very proud that the love and joy that was the essence of his being was shared with the world through everything he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones' heart will beat for eternity.”