How "We Are the World" has helped me in life

The 2006 Grammy nominees were announced today. I don't even know half the singers or songs. It's so pathetic. The only one I do know is Justin Timberlake, and I hate him. I don't just hate his music, I think I really hate him in his entirety. I can't put my finger on exactly why; I've never even met the man. But I'm certain of my bad vibe-age regarding him.

So I was feeling down on myself for not knowing any of the Grammy nominees (as if that's the key to health, wealth and happiness). Nonetheless, I was thinking, "Am I not hip anymore? (Maybe I never even was!) Do I really know as much about pop culture as I think I do, or am I delusional?" And then half my self-doubt went away (the pop culture half; I'm still feeling like I'm not hip at the moment) when I saw a list of previous Grammy winners and We Are the World was listed as Song of the Year in 1985, and I realized how much I really do know about pop culture.

I L-O-V-E-D We Are the World! To eight year old me that song and its 40 singers were my whole world for a good two months. I listened to the song constantly (my poor parents) and I watched "The Making of We Are the World" over and over again; I even memorized the album cover! I'm dead serious. Any name I didn't know at the time (like James Ingram) I researched. I researched until I knew everybody.

Now, some may see this as a waste of brain space. After all, what good can possibly come from knowing all the singers who participated in We Are the World? Well, it did help me win a game of Trivial Pursuit in 2001, some sixteen years later! It was a fierce game of boys against girls. The final question to win was something like:

"Who was the only non-American to participate

in the recording of We Are the World."

I pulled up my mental database of artists and came up with the answer for the win.

The answer is DAN AYKROYD. He's Canadian.

Another little tidbit I know is that Dan Aykroyd and his wife, Donna Dixon, are very very very good friends with Fran Drescher. They're so close that Fran and her ex-husband stayed with Dan & Donna for a period of time following a violent and traumatic break-in to their home.

Oh, here's another little nugget of knowledge. American Idol's Randy Jackson was a contributing vocalist on the album.

I know--I know way too much about We Are the World. Maybe that's why I'm not hip.