Charity record
A charity record (charity single) is a song released by Musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity.
Ex-Beatle George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-made charity single – in this case to help fund relief efforts following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the Bangladesh Liberation War. The money raised was donated to UNICEF, as were takings from Harrison's all-star charity concert (again, the first of its kind) held at Madison Square Garden, New York, and its spin-off live album and concert film. This is one way of using artistic talent as art for charity.
Some of the other early charity records came from the January 1979 Music for UNICEF Concert, with the likes of ABBA's "Chiquitita" and the Bee Gees' "Too Much Heaven" released as singles, all the royalties from which went to UNICEF. Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in November 1984 began the revolution of the charity record, which would be popularised throughout the 1980s.
In the United States, charity records reached their peak with USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in 1985, but then essentially died out afterwards. In the United Kingdom, however, charity singles (especially Comic Relief), have become annual hits.
Purpose-made "charity singles" however were not the first charity records. As early as 1956, The Lord's Taveners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artists at the time. This was made with the gratitude of The Decca Record Company and the entire profits of the record together with the royalties and fees from artists, publishers, etc., were donated to The National Playing Fields Association. This was the first charity record to make the UK charts and reached Number 2. Due to its success, it was followed by a second compilation in 1957.
Notable charity singles
1970s
| Release Date | Title | Artists | Charity/Cause | Highest Chart Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1971 | "Bangla Desh" | George Harrison | UNICEF fund for Bangladesh refugees | 10 (US), 23 (UK), 2 (Switzerland), 3 (Norway), 7 (Netherlands) |
| February 1975 | "Santa Never Made It into Darwin" | Bill and Boyd | Rebuilding Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastation | 1 (Australia) |
1980s
| Release Date | Title | Artists | Charity/Cause | Highest Chart Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1983 | I Was Only 19 | Redgum | Vietnam Veterans Assoc of Australia | 1 (Australia) |
| November 1984 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | Band Aid | famine in Ethiopia through the Band Aid Trust | 1 (UK), 1 (Australia), 1 (Netherlands) |
| December 1984 | "Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" | Wham! | Ethiopian Famine appeal (not originally a charity record, but George Michael acceded to give royalties to the Band Aid Trust. | 2 (UK), 2 (Netherlands) |
| March 1985 | "Tears Are Not Enough" | Northern Lights | famine in Ethiopia | 1 (Canada) |
| March 1985 | "Show some Concern" | The Concerned | famine in Ethiopia | 1 (Ireland) |
| March 1985 | "We Are the World" | USA for Africa | famine in Ethiopia and Sudan | 1 (US), 1 (UK), 1 (Australia), 1 (Netherlands) |
| May 1985 | "Stars" | Hear 'n Aid | famine in Ethiopia | 26 (UK) |
| June 1985 | "One Big Family" | Heart of Nashville | famine in Ethiopia and Africa | 61 (US Country) |
| June 1985 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | The Crowd | Bradford City stadium fire | 1 (UK), 1 (Ireland), 30 (Netherlands) |
| June 1985 | "Ben" | Marti Webb | Ben Hardwick Memorial Fund | 5 (UK) |
| August 1985 | "Dancing in the Street" | David Bowie and Mick Jagger | Famine in Ethiopia through the Band Aid Trust | 1 (UK), 1 (AUS), 1 (IRE), 7 (US) |
| October 1985 | "Sun City" | Artists United Against Apartheid | protests/boycotts against apartheid | 38 (US), 21 (UK), 4 (AUS) |
| November 1985 | "That's What Friends Are For" | Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John | American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) | 1 (US), 16 (UK), 1 (Australia), 13 (Netherlands) |
| April 1986 | "Living Doll" | Cliff Richard and the cast of The Young Ones | Comic Relief | 1 (UK), 1 (Australia), 1 (Netherlands) |
| April 1986 | "Heroes/A Long Way To Go" | The County Line featuring Suzi Quatro, Bronski Beat and Wendy Roberts | Children in Need | 76 (UK) |
| May 1986 | "Everybody Wants to Run the World" | Tears For Fears | Sport Aid | 5 (UK) |
| May 1986 | "Hands Across America" | Voices of America | Hands Across America | 65 (US) |
| March 1987 | "Amor & Paz" (Amor E A Paz) | AUA (Artistas Unidos da América) | famine and poverty around the world | 3 (US), 2 (Portugal), 1 (Canada) |
| March 1987 | "Let It Be" | Ferry Aid | Herald of Free Enterprise disaster at Zeebrugge | 1 (UK), 4 (Netherlands) |
| November 1987 | "The Wishing Well" | G.O.S.H. | Great Ormond Street Hospital Wishing Well Appeal | 22 (UK) |
| December 1987 | "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" | Mel & Kim (Mel Smith and Kim Wilde) | Comic Relief | 3 (UK) |
| February 1988 | "Man in the Mirror" | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson Burn Center, Childhelp, United Negro College Fund.[1] | 1 (USA), 1 (UK R&B), 13 (Netherlands), 2 (UK) 2009 |
| April 1988 | "Let's All Chant" | Pat and Mick | Capital Radio 1988 Help a London Child Appeal | 11 (UK) |
| May 1988 | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Wet Wet Wet | ChildLine | 1 (UK) |
| May 1988 | "You're Not Alone" | Australian Olympians | Australian Olympic Federation for the 1988 Summer Olympics | 1 (Australia) |
| July 1988 | "Another Part of Me" | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson Burn Center, Childhelp | 1 (US R&B), 8 (Netherlands) |
| August 1988 | "Running All Over the World" | Status Quo | Sport Aid | 17 (UK) |
| February 1989 | "Help!" | Bananarama & La na nee nee noo noo (French and Saunders with Kathy Burke) | Comic Relief | 3 (UK), 24 (Netherlands) |
| February 1989 | "Pour toi Arménie" | Charles Aznavour & many other French artists | Earthquake in Armenia | 1 (FR) |
| March 1989 | "I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet" version | Pat and Mick | Capital Radio 1989 Help a London Child Appeal | 9 (UK) |
| April 1989 | "Ferry Cross the Mersey" | The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, Stock Aitken Waterman | Hillsborough disaster | 1 (UK), 21 (Netherlands) |
| December 1989 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | Band Aid II | famine in Ethiopia | 1 (UK), 20 (Netherlands) |
1990s
| Release Date | Title | Artists | Charity/Cause | Highest Chart Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1990 | "Use It Up and Wear It Out" | Pat and Mick | Capital Radio 1990 Help a London Child | 22 (UK) |
| June 1990 | "You've Got a Friend" | Big Fun, Sonia, featuring Gary Barnacle on saxophone | ChildLine | 14 (UK) |
| February 1991 | "Voices that Care" | Voices that Care | To boost the morale of U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm | 11 (US) |
| March 1991 | "The Stonk" | Hale and Pace (backing band includes David Gilmour) | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| November 1991 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | George Michael, Elton John | 10 charities for AIDS, children and education | 1 (UK), 1 (US), 1 (Netherlands) |
| March 1992 | "One" | U2 | Proceeds going towards AIDS research | 7 (UK), 1 (Ireland), 10 (US), 4 (Australia) |
| April 1992 | "(I Want To Be) Elected" | Smear Campaign (Bruce Dickinson, Rowan Atkinson, Angus Deayton) | Comic Relief | 9 (UK) |
| July 1992 | "Give a Little Bit" | Supertramp | The 1992 ITV Telethon. | 29 (UK) Re-Release failed to chart. |
| September 1992 | "Suicide Is Painless" | Manic Street Preachers | The Spastics Society (now SCOPE) | 7 (UK) |
| November 1992 | "Heal The World" | Michael Jackson | Heal the World Foundation | 1 (Spain), 2 (UK), 2 (Ire), 2 (Aus), 4 (Netherlands) |
| February 1993 | "Stick It Out" | Right Said Fred and friends | Comic Relief | 4 (UK) |
| May 1994 | "Absolutely Fabulous" | Pet Shop Boys with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley (of the television series Absolutely Fabulous) | Comic Relief | 6 (UK), 2 (Australia) |
| March 1995 | "Love Can Build a Bridge" | Cher, Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton | Comic Relief | 1 (UK), 41 (Netherlands) |
| November 1995 | "Earth Song" | Michael Jackson | Heal the World Foundation, Environmental Awareness | 1 (UK), 1 (Spain), 1 (Sweden), 3 (Netherlands) |
| November 1995 | "The Gift of Christmas" | Childliners | ChildLine | 9 (UK) |
| December 1996 | "Knockin' on Heaven's Door/Throw These Guns Away" | Ted Christopher (aka Dunblane), Mark Knopfler | Aid of victims of the Dunblane massacre | 1 (UK) |
| March 1997 | "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" | The Spice Girls | Comic Relief | 1 (UK), 13 (Australia), 3 (Netherlands) |
| September 1997 | "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About The Way You Look Tonight" | Elton John | Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund | 1 (US), 1 (UK), 1 (Australia), 1 (Netherlands) |
| October 1997 | "Perfect Day" | Various Artists, see specific article for full list | Children in Need | 1 (UK), 6 (Netherlands) |
| April 1998 | "Release" | The Tea Party | White Ribbon Campaign | |
| March 1999 | "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" | Boyzone | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| November 1999 | "Talking in Your Sleep/Love Me" | Martine McCutcheon | Children in Need | 6 (UK) |
| December 1999 | "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" | Various Artists | Children's Promise | 14 (UK) |
2000s
| Release Date | Title | Artists | Charity/Cause | Highest Chart Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2000 | "Never Had a Dream Come True" | S Club 7 | Children in Need | 1 (UK), 10 (US) |
| December 2000 | "If That Were Me" | Melanie C | Kandu Arts | 18 (UK), 22 (SWE), 29 (Australia), 41 (Netherlands) |
| March 2001 | "Uptown Girl" | Westlife | Comic Relief | 1 (UK), 6 (Australia), 2 (Netherlands) |
| September 2001 | El Último Adiós (The Last Goodbye) | Various Artists | American Red Cross and United Way of America | |
| September 2001 | "By the Sword" | Emilie Autumn | AmeriCares and American Red Cross | |
| September 2001 | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | Whitney Houston | 9/11 charities | 6 (US; 2001 reissue only) |
| October 2001 | "What's Going On" | All Star Tribute | Artists Against AIDS Worldwide and 9/11 victims | 27 (US), 6 (UK), 38 (Australia), 26 (Netherlands) |
| November 2001 | "Have You Ever" | S Club 7 | Children in Need | 1 (UK), 48 (Australia) |
| December 2001 | "Cry" | Michael Jackson | 9/11 Relief | 7 (Eurochart), 16 (Denmark), 39 (Netherlands) |
| December 2001 | "What More Can I Give" | Michael Jackson | United We Stand: What More Can I Give | |
| December 2001 | "Never Too Far/Hero Medley" | Mariah Carey | 9/11 victims | 5 (Japan), 81 (US), 67 (Netherlands) |
| May 2002 | "65 Roses" | The Wolverines | Cystic fibrosis research | #1 (New Zealand) |
| July 2002 | "Your Song" | Elton John and Alessandro Safina | Sport Relief | 4 (UK), 88 (Netherlands) |
| November 2002 | "Don't Let Me Down" | Will Young | Children in Need | 2 (UK), |
| March 2003 | "Spirit in the Sky" | Gareth Gates and the Kumars | Comic Relief | 1 (UK), 11 (Netherlands) |
| September 2003 | "Pandora's Kiss/Don't Give Up" | Louise | Breast Cancer Care | 5 (UK) |
| November 2003 | "I'm Your Man" | Shane Richie | Children in Need | 2 (UK) |
| March 2004 | "Macushla" | Bernie Nolan | Stllbirth and Neo – Natal Death Society | 38 (UK) |
| July 2004 | "Some Girls" | Rachel Stevens | Sport Relief | 2 (UK) |
| November 2004 | "I'll Stand By You" | Girls Aloud | Children in Need | 1 (UK), 85 (Netherlands) |
| November 2004 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | Band Aid 20 | famine in Ethiopia | 1 (UK), 9 (Australia), 3 (Netherlands) |
| November 2004 | "Y'a pas un homme qui soit né pour ça" | Sidaction (Florent Pagny / Calogero / Pascal Obispo) | AIDS | 20 (France) |
| December 2004 | "Twelve Days of Christmas" | Dreamtime Christmas All-Stars | Starlight Foundation and Youth Off the Streets | 26 (Australia) |
| December 2004 | "Father And Son" | Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf Islam | Band Aid Foundation | 2 (UK), 84 (Netherlands) |
| December 2004 | "Come on Aussie, Come On" | Shannon Noll | Australian Red Cross' Good Start Breakfast Club | 2 (Australia) |
| December 2004 | "We are the world (Cantonese)" | Various Chinese Artists | 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake | 1 (Hong Kong) |
| September 2005 | "S.S.T." | Prince[2] | Relief for Hurricane Katrina[3] | |
| February 2005 | "Grief Never Grows Old" | One World Project | 2004 Asian tsunami relief | 4 (UK) |
| February 2005 | "Evie Parts 1, 2 and 3" | The Wrights | Stevie Wright, The Salvation Army and 2004 Asian tsunami relief | 2 (Australia) |
| March 2005 | "With A Little Help From My Friends" | Sony Music Australia All Stars: John Farnham, Olivia Newton John, Jessica Mauboy, Anthony Callea, Dami Im, Cyrus Villanueva, Isaiah Firebrace, Jess & Matt, Delta Goodrem, Colin Hay, Samantha Jade, Alli Simpson, Kyle Bielfield, Josh Pyke, Johnny Ruffo, Guy Sebastian, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Jai Waetford, Missy Lancaster, Pete Murray, David Campbell, Human Nature, Justice Crew, Tommy Emmanuel, Mark Vincent, Adam Harvey, Daryl Braithwaite, Rick Price & Jack Jones | Friends4Youth Sony Foundation | 1 (AUS) |
| March 2005 | "All About You/You've Got a Friend" | McFly | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| March 2005 | "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" | Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| March 2005 | "All Around the World" | ProgAID | 2004 Asian tsunami relief | |
| October 2005 | "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" | The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative | UNICEF | 4 (CAN) |
| November 2005 | "A Night to Remember" | Liberty X | Children in Need | 6 (UK) |
| July 2006 | "Please, Please/Don't Stop Me Now" | Mcfly | Sport Relief | 1 (UK) |
| September 2006 | "Guitarists 4 the Kids" | Various Artists | World Vision Canada | |
| November 2006 | "Downtown" | Emma Bunton | Children in Need | 3 (UK) |
| December 2006 | "Great Divide" | Hanson | Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa | |
| March 2007 | "Walk This Way" | Girls Aloud vs Sugababes | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| March 2007 | "I'm Gonna Roll (500 Miles)" | Matt Lucas (as Andy Pipkin) and Peter Kay (as Brian Potter) | Comic Relief | 1 (UK) |
| April 2007 | "I'll Stand by You" | Carrie Underwood | Idol Gives Back | 6 (US) |
| June 2007 | "Any Dream Will Do" | Lee Mead | Children in Need | 2 (UK) |
| October 2007 | "Sing" | Annie Lennox in collaboration with Madonna and 22 other artists | HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign | 29 (U.S. Adult Contemporary) 18 (U.S. Hot Club Play) 161 (UK) |
| November 2007 | "Crazy Place" | Esmee Denters | Oxfam | |
| November 2007 | "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" | Spice Girls | Children in Need | 11 (UK), 90 (US), 52 (Netherlands) |
| December 2007 | "What A Wonderful World" | Eva Cassidy and Katie Melua | British Red Cross | 1 (UK) |
| March 2008 | "Better in Time/Footprints in the Sand" | Leona Lewis | Sport Relief | 2 (UK) |
| September 2008 | "Just Stand Up" | Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Natasha Bedingfield, Miley Cyrus, Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Keyshia Cole, LeAnn Rimes, Ashanti, Ciara | Stand Up to Cancer | 11 (US), 3 (Italy), 10 (Canada), 26 (UK), 39 (Australia) |
| October/November 2008 | "Hero" | The X Factor Finalists | Help for Heroes | 1 (UK) |
| November 2008 | "Follow My Lead" | Justin Timberlake, featuring Esmee Denters | Shriners Hospitals for Children | |
| December 2008 | "Once Upon a Christmas Song" | Geraldine McQueen | NSPCC | 5 (UK) |
| March 2009 | "Just Can't Get Enough" | The Saturdays | Comic Relief | 2 (UK) |
| April 2009 | "Domani 21/04.09" | 50+ artists, including Mauro Pagani (original recording from 2003), Afterhours, Albano Carrisi, Claudio Baglioni, Elisa, Franco Battiato, Gianna Nannini, Gianni Morandi, Giorgia, Giusy Ferreri, J-Ax, Jovanotti, Laura Pausini, Ligabue, Marracash, Negramaro, Tiziano Ferro, Zucchero and many more. | 2009 L'Aquila earthquake | 1 (Italy) |
| July 2009 | "Home" | La Toya Jackson | AIDS Project Los Angeles | |
| August 2009 | "Send It On" | Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez | Disney's Friends for Change | 20 (US) |
| October 2009 | "I Got Soul" | Young Soul Rebels | War Child UK | 10 (UK), 19 (IRE) |
| October 2009 | "Kaya Natin Ito! (We can do it!)" | 60+ artists, including Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Janno Gibbs, Jaya, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, KC Concepcion, The Opera, The Company, Lea Salonga, Rico Blanco, Charice Pempengco, Arnel Pineda, Piolo Pascual, Sharon Cuneta and many more. | Typhoon Ketsana (2009) and Typhoon Parma (2009) relief | |
| November 2009 | "You Are Not Alone" | The X Factor Finalists | Great Ormond Street Hospital | 1 (UK), 1 (IRE) |
| November 2009 | "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" | Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band | Children in Need | 1 (UK), 6 (IRE) |
2010s
2020s
gollark: So, effectively ban certain opinions?
gollark: But you're not told whether you're one of the 50%.
gollark: How about we just randomly ban 50% of people from voting?
gollark: We haven't posted it to Twitter yet.
gollark: Evil idea to go with LyricLy's: at birth, you are randomly assigned a sexuality from a preapproved list and are not allowed to act in ways which do not fit with it.
References
- Blacks who give back', Ebony, March 1990.
- "S.S.T. - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- Giles, Jeff. "Prince Lends a Hand to Hurricane Katrina Survivors With 'S.S.T.': 365 Prince Songs in a Year". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- "Entertainment News | BreakingNews.ie". Archived from the original on 2010-01-28. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- X Factor Simon Cowell Earthquake Charity Single To Be REM's Everybody Hurts, Sky Sources Say | Showbiz News | Sky News Archived 2010-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
- "Carole King, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel and 60 More Record Single to Benefit Broadway For Orlando | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
- "BLACK PARADE ROUTE". Beyoncé. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
- Shaw Roberts, Maddy (31 July 2020). "11,000 voices sing 'You Are My Sunshine' in heartwarming finale to Gareth Malone's lockdown choir". Classic FM. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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