Drummer and singer Sheila E. joins the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast to discuss the making of the charity song, "We Are the World," and her attempt to get Prince on the recording.
LISTEN NOW: Rolling Stone Music Now | Inside "We Are the World": Untold Stories of the 1985 All-Star Sessions
With the release of Netflix’s music documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop, 1985’s charity song “We Are the World” is again a phenomenon in and of itself. Directed by Bao Nguyen, the documentary features candid video, new interviews, and remastered audio that dives into everything it took to get nearly four dozen superstars in the same room. One of those superstars, Sheila E., sat down with the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast to dive into her experience with the song and its latest documentary.
“That was a dream come true” she recalled of the 1985 jam session. “That was a great moment for sure to have all of those people in the same room, all of us together, and knowing that again, what the cause was for, was magical.”
Just a year prior, Sheila E. had just released her debut album, The Glamorous Life, and its corresponding single became a charting hit. Sheila also became the opening act in Prince’s Purple Rain Tour at the same time that “We Are the World” was being recorded. As one of the newer musicians in the group, Sheila now believes her connection to Prince was a deciding factor in her participation in the charity song.
Prince was noticeably absent from the recording session and song, which fueled rumors of a rivalry with Michael Jackson. It wasn’t an issue of ego or the supposed feud that kept Prince away, Sheila clarified, but rather that he was much too “shy” for such a group. She admitted on the podcast that she had tried to convince Prince to come to the session, telling him that he was “one of the few” not in attendance. “I knew he's not comfortable in that environment, especially being around everyone like that,” Sheila admitted on the podcast. “It would be weird for him. I tried to get him there and then of course, the consistency of Lionel [and] Quincy.”
Producers Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones were reportedly desperate to get Prince in the studio, which made Sheila feel pressured. She recalled, “Lionel and Quincy kept saying, ‘Why don’t you call Prince and see.’ Everyone took turns trying to get me to call him back and have him come down.”
Listen to The 80s and more on the free Audacy app
“I started feeling a little weird,” Sheila continued, “and then I was like, wow, they're not even, there's no attempt to get me. And, like, I was just sitting on the side and waiting… I just thought, wow, they were all my friends. That’s cold-blooded.”
While she felt uncomfortable at the time, the "Queen of Percussion" now believes that all turned out the way it was supposed to and is extremely proud of “We Are the World.”
“Really what we were there for definitely surpassed any negative situation that night and what we were able to do for the people” she stated. “I would do it all over again.”
To listen to the full Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, including interviews with documentary director Bao Nguyen and vocal arranger Tom Beller, click the link above or download the free Audacy app. And of course, make sure to stream the Netflix documentary, The Greatest Night in Pop, available now!