It has long been fashionable for celebrities to care about the plight of the poor in Africa. Even before Angelina Jolie adopted children from the continent, and before Leonardo DiCaprio starred in a film about blood diamonds exported from Zimbabwe, movie stars and musicians alike combined charity with publicity in raising funds for the needy in Africa. One of the most famous examples was a collaboration of some of the top music artists of the 20th century.

On this day, March 7, in 1985, We Are the World, sung in chorus by nearly every member of Michael Jackson’s family, as well as the Pointer Sisters and John Oates, among others, was recorded. Proceeds from the album’s sales went to charities in Africa.

Oates’ band-mate Darryl Hall sang one of the solo lines, along with Michael Jackson himself and Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Tina Turner and a dozen other renowned singers. The record sold well over a million copies within a week of its release. It was the fastest-selling pop single in history: TIME magazine reported a thousand copies selling within days from a single record store in Los Angeles. A typical hit single, the store employee told TIME, would sell 100 – 125 copies a day.