who wrote the song the man who sold the world
The Man Who Sold the World "The Man Who Sold the World" is a song written and performed by David Bowie. It is the title track of his third album, with the same name, which was released in the US in November 1970 and in the UK in April 1971. The song has been covered by a number of other artists, notably by Lulu, who had a UK No. 3 hit with her version in 1974, and Nirvana, whose 1993 performance of the song for the television program MTV Unplugged introduced it to a new audience.
We Are the World Before the writing of "We Are the World", American entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte had sought for some time to have a song recorded by the most famous artists in the music industry at the time. He planned to have the proceeds donated to a new organization called United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa). The non-profit foundation would then feed and relieve starving people in Africa, specifically Ethiopia, where around one million people died during the country's 1983–85 famine.[1][2] The idea followed Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" project in the UK, which Belafonte had heard about.[nb 1][4] In the activist's plans, money would also be set aside to help eliminate hunger in the United States of America. Entertainment manager and fellow fundraiser Ken Kragen was contacted by Belafonte, who asked for singers Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers—Kragen's clients—to participate in Belafonte's musical endeavor. Kragen and the two musicians agreed to help with Belafonte's mission, and in turn, enlisted the cooperation of Stevie Wonder, to add more "name value" to their project.[1] Quincy Jones was drafted to co-produce the song, taking time out from his work on The Color Purple.[1][5] Jones also telephoned Michael Jackson, who had just released the commercially successful Thriller album and had concluded a tour with his brothers.[1]