Who Cries For The Children?
After a couple reminiscent email exchanges with folks out West, it was brought to my attention that the incredible 1986 production of Hear N’ Aid won VH1’s The Greatest: 100 Metal Moments. As luck would have it I have a copy of this wonderful video after I stole it from some kids Bar Mitzvah gift bag. The deal was that 40 metal gods got together May 20 and 21, 1985, at the A&M Recording Studios to bang out a song called ‘Stars’ to help the starving kids in Africa. The song was written by Jimmy Bain and Vivian Cambell. The results are so good that I can’t even describe them. Checkout an audio sample of Yngwie Malmsteen’s guitar solo from the song. Also see how many of these Metal Monsters you can name.
Here is Karl Briers recollections on the video:
Hours and hours drooling over Yngwie/Lynch’s riffin’, shock and titillation at the raw fact of just how much Night Ranger’s (!!!) and Guffria’s guitarists RIPPED SHIT UP!!, scorn for the limp C- effort of Twisted Sister’s axeman; worship of Halford’s triple octave vocal incisions and Tate’s serpentine throat skills, disgust with Dokken’s comatose delivery; and of course, veneration for Smalls and St.. Hubbin’s commentaries– likely the only parties to emerge with every ounce of dignity and conviction intact.
Lyrics as follows:
Who Cries for the children I do. [Ronnie James Dio as himself]
Sometime in the night, when you’re feeling the cold [Meniketti]
Take a look at the sky above you [Ronnie James Dio]
Those are faces in the light if the the story were told [Halford]
They are calling you, calling you–yeah! [Dio]
We are magic in the night [Dio]
We are shadow we are light [DuBrow]
We are forever you and I [Meniketti]
We’re stars! [Chorus, including Blackie Lawless (WASP) making evil hand gestures, Nugent holding all of his hair in a huge two-armed hug, and some no-name from Y & T pointing to himself, and 30 others – JKB]
We can be strong
We are fire and stone [Eric Bloom, Blue Oyster Cult]
And we all want a touch of rainbow [Paul Shortino, Ruff Cutt]
But singers and songs
Will never change it alone
We are calling you, calling you [Tate]
We’re the beating of a heart
The beginning, we’re the start [Dokken]
Forever we will shine [Shortino]
[Chorus]
Guitar Solo 12 bars each — [guitarist after guitarist after guitarist spliced together, with a heavy (largely justified) edit bias toward Vivian Campbell [Dio] George Lynch [Dokken] and Malmsteen [Malmsteen] – JKB]
We are magic in the night [DuBrow]
We are shadow we are light [Halford]
We are forever you and I [Tate]
[Chorus] — lots more guitar solos.
By Mid 1987, Hear N’ Aid had raised and donated $1,000,000 for famine relief.