{"id":19165,"date":"2021-01-28T13:25:27","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T18:25:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=19165"},"modified":"2021-01-28T13:25:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T18:25:27","slug":"hear-n-aids-stars-turns-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=19165","title":{"rendered":"Hear N’ Aid’s “STARS” Turns 35"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirty-five years ago, that poverty famine epidemic in Africa was all over the news.\u00a0 By definition, a \u201cfamine epidemic\u201d is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several factors, including war, inflation, crop failure, population imbalance, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality.<\/p>\n

The news of starvation and severely dangerous living conditions in Ethiopia was brought to the mainstream media worldwide.\u00a0 Like many generations of past artists, musician Bob Geldof of the Irish band The Boomtown Rats decided he wanted to do his best to help.\u00a0 Organizing a star-studded line up of some of the top UK pop artists, Band-Aid was formed and recorded the song \u201cDo They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u201d\u00a0 This song\u2019s success and celebrity filled line-up USA for Africa\u2019s \u201cWe are the World\u201d raised a lot of money and awareness, but there was one thing missing: the inclusion of hard rock\/metal artists.<\/p>\n

While attending a 48-hour charity, Radiothon at the radio station KLOS, Dio members Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell noticed that representation from hard rock or heavy metal stars was low. In light of the success of Band Aid\u2019s \u201cDo They Know It\u2019s Christmas?\u201d and USA for Africa\u2019s \u201cWe Are the World,\u201d they forwarded the idea to Ronnie James Dio, also attending the Radiothon, and together decided to create a similar project exclusively built around artists from the hard rock\/heavy metal scene. Together the three co-wrote the song \u201cStars.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1986, \u201cStars\u201d single was released on vinyl in both 7\u201d and 12\u201d versions. For the 12\u201d version, in addition to \u201cStars\u201d were rare live tracks Accept, Motorhead, Rush, Kiss, Dio, Y&T, Scorpions, and a studio version of Jimi Hendrix\u2019s \u201cCan You See Me.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The back of the record sleeve for the single had the following description:<\/p>\n

\u201cOn May 20 and 21, 1985, 40 artists from the hard rock music community gathered at A&M Records Studios to participate in the making of a record called \u201cStars,\u201d as part of a very special project known as Hear\u2019 N Aid. The \u201cStars\u201d single, coupled with the album, a video documentary on the making of the record, and other ancillary products, will raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. 40 artists (including Spinal Tap appearing in character) donated their time and talent over four months to make Hear\u2019 N Aid a reality. \u201cStars\u201d is a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hear N\u2019 Aid Line-up featured:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hear N\u2019 Aid raised $1 million within a year, and in 2017, Ronnie\u2019s wife and manager, Wendy Dio estimated the project\u2019s total amount raised to be more than $3 million.\u00a0 As of now, \u201cStars\u201d has yet to see a re-release that will have the album in CD medium and available across all streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

Thirty-five years later, Hear N\u2019 Aid still sounds fantastic.\u00a0 \u201cStars\u201d is a song that has stood the test of time, and it\u2019s so much fun to hear all exchange of vocals from each vocalist and trying to keep up with each guitar solo as I try and figure out who played what.<\/p>\n

Hear N\u2019 Aid brought awareness of the same things USA for Africa and Band-Aid did but did so by appealing to a metal audience.\u00a0 The song itself is a classic Dio song.\u00a0 It sounds like Dio embracing his \u201cchildren\u201d and letting them know that they, the metal world, is listening and doing their part to offer some relief.<\/p>\n