Why Waylon Jennings Stormed Out Of “We Are The World” Recording Session

February 2, 2024 5:55 am Published by Cheryl Johnstone

Netflix released an awesome documentary on Monday, January 29 called “The Greatest Night in Pop”, about the making of “We Are the World” in 1985.

There were 46 of the biggest vocalists of the time in the same room all night long, but Waylon Jennings stormed out halfway through.

The vibe was good until Michael Jackson suggested everyone sing a gibberish part that some thought mocked an African dialect.

This caused an argument to break out, until Stevie Wonder thought he found a good solution by suggesting they all sing a Swahili phrase.

And this was too much for Waylon Jennings who informed all of the megastars that he was out.

He said, “No good old boy sings in Swahili,” and left the studio.

After that a larger fight broke out and the Swahili line was eventually scrapped.

Waylon can’t be seen in any of the group photos, or the video for the song, but he is credited as being part of the chorus.

This post was written by Cheryl Johnstone