Music stars from all genres, all around the world have been coming together to make music for a cause for decades. Whether it\u2019s to raise awareness for apartheid or funds for famine relief in Africa, benefit concerts and songs have rocked the hearts, minds, and ears of activists \u2014 and helped make real and lasting change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are ten music collaborations that show how some of the world\u2019s biggest artists used their voices for the humanitarian issues of their time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sold-out concert<\/a>, organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, was the first benefit concert that brought artists ranging from the legendary Beatles to Bob Dylan for a humanitarian cause. The concert, held in New York City\u2019s Madison Square Garden, raised awareness on the refugee crisis in Bangladesh after the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and more than $200,000 dollars for relief efforts. Most notably, it set a precedent for music as a tool of social change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pop music artists, including ABBA, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart and Donna Summer, gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to sing a \u201cGift of Song\u201d to the world\u2019s children. Broadcasted in 60 countries and reaching over 200 million, the event served to kick-off the International Year of the Child, a year that brought awareness to children\u2019s issues and eventually led to the first universal declaration of children\u2019s rights. The single also raised $4 million dollars for UNICEF\u2019s life-saving programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Band Aid, a charity band founded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, first released \u201cDo They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u201d (1984) to raise money for the famine crisis in Ethiopia. It was no surprise that the collaboration with rock stars like Bono, Paul McCartney, Paul Young and more resulted in more than six million copies sold, raising $14 million dollars for relief. The single also peaked at No. 1 in more than 15 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1985, the band held \u201cLive Aid,\u201d one of the most influential charity concerts. Two decades later, Geldof organized Live 8 Concerts (2005) which brought together more than 1,000 musicians in the US and UK. The concerts also served as political actions that coincided with the G8 summit on world poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following Band Aid\u2019s \u201cDo They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u201d single, USA for Africa<\/a> produced \u201cWe Are the World,\u201d a song produced by Quincy Jones and written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The song features a number of renowned artists like Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, and Billy Joel. The collaboration generated<\/a> more than $100 million dollars to fight a famine that killed nearly 1 million people in Africa between 1983 to 1984. USA for Africa foundation<\/a> continues the legacy of philanthropy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Inspired by<\/a> a remark by Bob Dylan at his performance at Live Aid<\/a>, \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?\u201d Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp organized Farm Aid<\/a>. The concert, first held in Champaign, Illinois brought 80,000 music-lovers to raise awareness about the issues farming families faced and raised more than $9 million dollars to assist America\u2019s family farmers. To this day, Farm Aid acts as an advocacy platform and resource network for farmers, while still producing an annual benefit concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Known as the most fervent political music single, \u201cSun City<\/a>\u201d brought 54 artists from across genres to take a stand against apartheid. From rock stars like Bruce Springsteen to hip-hop pioneers like Kurtis Blow, this collaboration drew attention to apartheid and urged artists to stop playing at venues that practiced the racist policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1985 was sure the year of music collaborations for social change, and it did not stop there. Like \u201cSun City,\u201d \u201cBlackfella Whitefella,\u201d a song by Australia indigenous group Warumpi Band, served as a political statement on racism against indigenous groups in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organized by Amnesty International,<\/a> \u201cA Conspiracy of Hope<\/a>\u201d (1986) and \u201cHuman Rights Now<\/a>\u201d (1988) were a series of global benefit concerts raising awareness on human rights atrocities around the globe and in 1988, the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/a>. Artists included Tracy Chapman, Youssou N\u2019Dour, The Police and local guest artists from each host country that participated. Most notable? The venues included<\/a> countries like Hungary, Costa Rica, India, Argentina, Zimbabwe, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the 10-year remembrance of September 11, 2001, artists from across genres came together for \u201cAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes<\/a>.\u201d The concert was not just a tribute to those who lost their lives but also a benefit for the September 11 Telethon Fund<\/a>. The telethon raised<\/a> more than $150 million for the victims of the terror attacks. In the video above, Willie Nelson closed out the telethon with an ensemble version of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2014, Africa\u2019s hottest recording artists came together to support ONE\u2019s Do Agric campaign, and together wrote and recorded the track \u201cCocoa na Chocolate.\u201d The artists involved include some of the hottest artists from Africa, including D\u2019Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma, Diamond, and Omawumi. And get this \u2013 it was one of the biggest music collaborations in Africa\u2019s history. Their message was simple: Agriculture in Africa has the potential to provide food, create jobs and boost economies, but African leaders need to invest now.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s to raise awareness for apartheid or funds for famine relief in Africa, benefit concerts and songs have helped make real and lasting change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"162936,162761,162734,161618,161619,161622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[52],"contributor":[475],"one_content_audience":[],"one_content_type":[],"one_content_tone":[],"class_list":["post-161580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-culture","contributor-vicky-ramirez"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2. Gift of Song (1979) \u2013 Various, including ABBA, Rita Coolidge, Elton John, and more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. \u201cDo They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u201d and Live Aid (1984) \u2013 Band Aid, including Bob Geldof, Bono, Paul McCartney, and others<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. \u201cWe Are the World\u201d (1985) \u2013 USA for Africa, including Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, and more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Farm Aid (1985) \u2013 Various, including Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Tom Petty, and more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. \u201cSun City\u201d (1985) \u2013 Artists United Against Apartheid, including Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, and others<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. \u201cBlackfella Whitefella\u201d (1985) \u2013 Warumpi Band<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) and Human Rights Now! (1988) \u2013 Various artists <\/strong>including Bruce Springsteen, U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and more<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
9. \u201cAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes\u201d (2011) \u2013 Various artists including Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and others<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
10. \u201cCocoa na Chocolate\u201d (2014) \u2013 Various artists, including D\u2019Banj, Femi Kuti, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Judith Sephuma<\/h3>\n\n\n\n