RECENTLY, the British charity group Band Aid 30, led by singer/songwriter/political activist Sir Bob Geldof, launched a new recording of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to raise funds for the fight against the Ebola virus. This recording shows the power of a “celebrity song” sung by several well-known artists to promote a cause.
It was Geldof himself who originated the use of such songs in 1984, when he formed the first Band Aid with Scottish singer Midge Ure to write and record the original version of the song to raise money for the fight against famine in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia. Among those who joined in the recording of the original version were some of the top musical icons of the decade, such as Duran Duran, Culture Club and U2 frontman Bono. The song proved to be a worldwide hit, raising hundreds of millions of pounds, which were used to buy food and bring them to the beleaguered East African country.
When a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, killing some 230,000 people and leaving 1.2 million others homeless, Geldof recorded another version of the song to bring relief to the survivors. Some 75 new artists, not to mention some of those involved in the original recording (like Bono), participated in recording this version.
For the third version, Geldof revised the lyrics to reflect the Ebola threat. He was also able to recruit some of today’s music stars—New Direction, Sam Smith, Paloma Faith, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Ellie Goulding and Clean Bandit—as well as oldtimers, like Sinead O’Connor and—for the third time—Bono.
‘We are the World’
BUT, perhaps, the celebrity song that’s more familiar to Filipinos, who have been oriented more toward American than British pop music, was “We are the World”, which was recorded in March 1985 by the United States-based group USA for Africa, also for victims of the African famine. The initiative for this project came from singer Harry Belafonte, who earned fame for his Calypso songs, like “Banana Boat Song” and “Matilda”.
With the help of fundraiser Ken Kragen, Belafonte contacted the leading singers and musicians of the era to help produce the song. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote “We are the World”, while Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian produced the album featuring the song. Joining Jackson and Ritchie in recording the single were the top musical artists of the 1980s, including Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper. Sales of the album reached a whopping $20 million, the highest amount generated at the time.
Songs for Yolanda relief
WHEN Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) hit the Philippines on November 8, 2013, leaving more than 5,000 people dead and wreaking damage worth billions of pesos, initiatives were also undertaken, both internationally and locally, to produce new songs or compile existing ones to raise funds for the survivors. On the international front, iTunes came up with a compilation of songs recorded by the biggest stars in music today, including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Adele, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys, as well as pop artists of Filipino descent, like Bruno Mars, apl.de.ap and Jessica Sanchez. The deal was that for every download of the compilation, $9.99 would be contributed to the Philippine Red Cross for use in its relief and rehabilitation efforts.
On the local side, several celebrity songs were produced. Among these, two stood out. The first was “Pagbangon”, written by Edward Mitra (music) and Joseph Saguid (lyrics), and produced by the GMA television network. It was sung by Julie Ann San Jose, and the music video was shown repeatedly on GMA 7. It was also uploaded on YouTube OPM2G, with all proceeds from the downloading going to Yolanda survivors through the GMA Kapuso Foundation.
The second was “Pag-Asa sa Paggising”, composed by Jay Burias of South Border and recorded by the band itself, along with Side A and Freestyle. The three bands will also perform the song, as well as their other hits, at a fundraising concert for Yolanda survivors in January.
What makes celebrity songs successful?
BASED on the abovementioned examples, there are six elements that account for the tremendous success of these celebrity songs.
One, the cause must be worthy enough to attract the participation of the people who can make it happen. Causes, such as helping in the relief and rehabilitation efforts that respond to major disasters (famine, earthquakes, typhoons), especially in poor countries or areas with little resources or capability to recover from them, can certainly be classified as such.
Two, a respected or credible organization or individual should initiate and lead the project, and must have enough influence over the songwriters, producers and singers to prompt them to rally and lend their talent, time and celebrity status to the project.
Three, the song must be a good one, inspiring and easy to sing. It must also have meaningful and affecting lyrics, and a nice melody that will touch the heart of the listener and make him or her contribute to the cause.
Four, the music video must be professionally done, showing scenes of the extent of the devastation caused by the disasters, and juxtaposed with footage of the artists singing their hearts out and showing empathy for the victims.
Five, the music video must be promoted, written or talked about in both traditional and “new” media. It can be sold in compact-disc (CD) form in music stores, uploaded on YouTube and downloaded for a fee, with the proceeds going to the cause being supported. Or it can directly ask that contributions be sent to a collection center.
And six, the participants in the project can hold fundraising concerts, in which they could sing the celebrity song, as well as their hit singles. These concerts can also be recorded and replayed on television, with part of the proceeds from the advertisements shown during the broadcast of the concert being earmarked for the cause. They can also be sold in CDs at music stores, again, with part of the revenues from the sale going to the cause.
With all these elements present, celebrity songs can, in the words of the journalist Robert Palmer, “have the ability to reach people around the world, send them a message and then get results.” Aside, of course, from giving us memorable songs that will continue to inspire and unite us in doing good deeds for our fellowmen.
Rene Nieva is the chairman and CEO of Perceptions Inc.
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