Kenny Loggins and Huey Lewis will never forget the night of Jan. 28, 1985.
It was the night that the two musicians were part of a star student lineup led by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, who recorded the collaborative charity single “We Are the World.”
While appearing on the most recent installment of Huey’s ’80s Radio with Huey Lewis on Apple Music, Loggins, 76, credited Netflix’s The Greatest Night in Pop documentary, released in January, behind giving the track a “resurgence.”
“I learned a lot about that night that I didn’t know while I was there,” added Loggins.
After adding that it was “the professional night of my life,” Lewis, 73, said he didn’t know it was Loggins who suggested he sing the lines that were meant to be sung by Prince (who declined to participate).
“I learned for the first time that you are the guy that recommended me for Prince’s line. It’s in the documentary, but I never knew until then,” he said.
Loggins recalled it being a “funny” situation.
“It’s funny. Yeah. Michael [Jackson] came up to me and said, ‘Well, Prince isn’t going to be here. Who should sing the solo line?’ I said, ‘The best singer in here is Huey Lewis,'” said Loggins.
Apart from taking over Prince’s solo, another core memory Lewis has from the history-making night is going over the song for the first time.
“When we first designated who was going to sing the lead lines, we all went around the piano, and Stevie [Wonder] played the song. We went through it all the way once for the first time,” he said. “And that first rendition, when we actually heard what it was all going to sound like, was amazing.”
Lewis said he was “nervous” and just “happy to be there.”
“I watched each voice register on Stevie Wonder’s face and it was amazing,” said Lewis. “And when we got halfway around, he went, ‘Oh my God. So many stars. So many stars.’ The hair stands up on the back of my neck just thinking about it.”
At the documentary’s red carpet event in January, Sheila E. told PEOPLE that Prince “liked” the track, but his decision not to participate “was really about the camaraderie of everyone coming together for that reason.”
“It’s not like he missed out or anything like that. That was his decision, and that’s fine. It’s not like he hated it or loved it or anything like that. It was just too much,” she said.
