We Are The World: The Children of the World Project

The Sonny Melendrez Show

As his radio alarm clock went off one morning in March of 1985, Los Angeles radio personality, Sonny Melendrez, was awakened by the pure voice of a child singing the words, “We are the world. We are the children.” In his groggy state, he remembers thinking to himself, what an obvious idea: A children’s version of the worldwide anthem – We Are The World.

Then, as he gained consciousness, he realized that the “child” he had heard was, in fact, Michael Jackson and what he was listening to was the original recording.

That afternoon, on his LA Magic 106 radio show, Sonny shared his vision of gathering the most talented children in Los Angeles and giving them the opportunity to do their part for the charity created to benefit those starving in Ethiopia – USA For Africa.

What followed in the next 60 days was the experience of a lifetime that touched the lives of countless children, parents and volunteers, raising money for this most noble cause.

This is the remarkable story of The Children of the World Project and their Grammy nominated version of We Are The World as told by Sonny and his very special guest, Los Angeles entertainment manager, Roger Neal, who played a key role in the success of the project.