<P> Jackson revealed to Richie that he not only wanted to sing the song, but to participate in its writing as well . To begin with, "We Are the World" was to be written by Jackson, Richie, and Wonder . As Wonder had limited time to work on the project, Jackson and Richie proceeded to write "We Are the World" themselves . They began creating the song at Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family home in Encino . For a week, the two spent every night working on lyrics and melodies in the singer's bedroom . They knew that they wanted a song that would be easy to sing and memorable . The pair wanted to create an anthem. Jackson's older sister La Toya watched the two work on the song, and later contended that Richie only wrote a few lines for the track . She stated that her younger brother wrote 99 percent of the lyrics, "but he's never felt it necessary to say that". La Toya further commented on the song's creation in an interview with the American celebrity news magazine People . "I'd go into the room while they were writing and it would be very quiet, which is odd, since Michael's usually very cheery when he works . It was very emotional for them ." </P> <P> Richie had recorded two melodies for "We Are the World", which Jackson took, adding music and words to the song in the same day . Jackson stated, "I love working quickly . I went ahead without even Lionel knowing, I couldn't wait . I went in and came out the same night with the song completed--drums, piano, strings, and words to the chorus ." Jackson then presented his demo to Richie and Jones, who were both shocked; they did not expect the pop star to see the structure of the song so quickly . The next meetings between Jackson and Richie were unfruitful; the pair did not produce any additional vocals and got no work done . It was not until the night of January 21, 1985, that Richie and Jackson completed the lyrics and melody of "We Are the World" within two and a half hours, one night before the song's first recording session . </P> <P> The first night of recording, January 22, 1985, had tight security on hand, as Richie, Jackson, Wonder, and Jones started work on "We Are the World" at Kenny Rogers' Lion Share Recording Studio . The studio, on Beverly Boulevard in California, was filled with musicians, technicians, video crews, retinues, assistants, and organizers as the four musicians entered . To begin the night, a "vocal guide" of "We Are the World" was recorded by Richie and Jackson and duplicated on tape for each of the invited performers . The guide was recorded on the sixth take, as Quincy Jones felt that there was too much "thought" in the previous versions . </P> <P> Following their work on the vocal guide, Jackson and Jones began thinking of alternatives for the line "There's a chance we're taking, we're taking our own lives": the pair was concerned that the latter part of the line would be considered a reference to suicide . As the group listened to a playback of the chorus, Richie declared that the last part of the line should be changed to "We're' saving' our own lives", which his fellow musicians agreed with . Producer Jones also suggested altering the former part of the line . "One thing we don't want to do, especially with this group, is look like we're patting ourselves on the back . So it's really,' There's a choice we're making ."' Around 1: 30 am, the four musicians ended the night by finishing a chorus of melodic vocalizations, including the sound "sha - lum sha - lin - gay". Jones told the group that they were not to add anything else to the tape . "If we get too good, someone's gonna start playing it on the radio," he announced . </P>

Who sang what parts in we are the world