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Huey Lewis reveals 1 regret from legendary recording of 'We Are the World'

5:01
Huey Lewis talks 'The Heart of Rock and Roll' musical
ABC News
ByCarson Blackwelder
April 16, 2024, 5:26 PM

Huey Lewis has one regret from the night he and other music icons recorded the charity single "We Are the World."

"It's that I didn't introduce myself to Ray Charles and chat with Ray Charles," the "Hip to Be Square" singer told "Good Morning America" on Tuesday.

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Lewis, 73, called Charles, who died in 2004 at the age of 73, his "lifelong singing hero" and said he was starstruck by him during the recording.

"I was in awe," he gushed. "I just sort of followed him around all night."

Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jonesand many other celebrities sing "We Are The World," in 1985.
HBO via Koval via Shutterstock, FILE

Lewis recalled other memories from that night -- chronicled in the doc "The Greatest Night in Pop" released earlier this year -- elsewhere in his chat with "GMA."

"Bruce Springsteen is very funny," he said. "He's a really good joke teller."

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While Lewis admitted he was nervous that night, he noted one person who wasn't.

"Stevie Wonder was not nervous -- because when you have that much talent, you don't need to be nervous," he joked.

Huey Lewis appears on Good Morning American, on April 16, 2024, in New York.
ABC News

"We Are the World," recorded in January 1985 and released that March, was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson.

In addition to the aforementioned artists who were featured on the track, other superstar soloists included Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan and more.

"Needless to say, it was an incredible evening. It was amazing," Lewis added. "I knew that evening that this was the career event of my life. Forty years later, it still is."

Lewis' music, as part of the group Huey Lewis and the News, is the basis for the new jukebox musical "The Heart of Rock and Roll," which opens on Broadway on April 22.

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