None of the singers of the original song were invited to participate in the update, which was recorded at the same Hollywood studio once again under the oversight of Quincy Jones and the song's co-writer Lionel Richie.
In all, more than 70 stars lent their voices to the song, and they all seemed in awe of each other.
"As celebrities, we're fans of one another, so we're all looky-looing in there, and getting autographs and numbers," said Natalie Cole.
Streisand, Celine Dion and Tony Bennett appeared to inspire the most stares. Fifteen-year-old Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber, who sang the opening line originally performed by Richie, joked that he would ask his new friend, R&B singer Akon, to get the telephone number of Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls.
Streisand, a noted perfectionist, ran through multiple takes of the line originally sung by Diana Ross, each one seemingly better than the previous one. Jazz singer Patti Austin came into her recording booth to coach her.
Guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana sang along, even though he is not a singer. Two members of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, appeared to ignore each other.
'INSPIRED CHAOS'
Classical crossover tenor Josh Groban described the event as "inspired chaos."
"Everybody left their ego at the door," he said, referring to a sign that Jones hung in the studio during the original session on the old A&M Records lot on January 28, 1985.
"To be smack-dab in the middle of a sandwich between Barbra Streisand and Weezy (rapper Lil Wayne) was personally a creative experience I don't think I'll ever have the pleasure of having again," Groban added.
For his part, Lil Wayne said his mother asked him to get a photo of Gladys Knight.
He was among a heavy quotient of hip-hop stars, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Drake, LL Cool J, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas as well as West.
FULL STORY
No comments:
Post a Comment