The Greatest Night in Pop – the Making of ‘We Are the World’ Documentary Coming to Netflix

“The Greatest Night in Pop,” a documentary about the making of “We Are the World” is set for a Netflix premiere. The song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones in 1985 is the subject of a new documentary premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Richie, a producer on the film will head to the festival to introduce the film.

On January 25, 1985, dozens of the biggest names in music convened at a studio in Los Angeles, checked their egos at the door and recorded a song to benefit African famine relief that would alter global pop culture history. “The Greatest Night in Pop” shows the challenges of putting the night together in a world before cell phones and email. That group of artists came from different worlds but united to record “We Are the World.” Featuring never-before-seen footage, the film details the early planning stages, including the writing sessions with Richie and Jackson, and goes inside the famed Henson Studios where “We Are the World” was recorded. Many of the artists who were there that legendary evening — Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick, and Huey Lewis — reminisce alongside musicians, engineers, and production crew about one of the most storied nights in music history. The Greatest Night in Pop was directed by Bao Nguyen and produced by Julia Nottingham, the team behind the acclaimed Bruce Lee documentary (Be Water).

“The Greatest Night in Pop” is produced by Richie, Julia Nottingham, Bruce Eskowitz, Larry Klein, Harriet Sternberg, and George Hencken, with executive producers Angus Wall, Amit Dey, and Becky Read. The film premieres at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 19 and will be available to watch on Netflix on Jan. 29.