Tears Are Not Enough
Encyclopedia
"Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup
of Canadian
artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles recorded between December 1984 and April 1985, along with Band Aid
's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
" in the United Kingdom
, and USA for Africa
's "We Are the World
" in the United States
.
The project was organized by Bruce Allen
, who brought together a large group of artists to record a song written by David Foster
, Jim Vallance
, Bryan Adams
, Rachel Paiment, Paul Hyde
and Bob Rock
. Foster and Vallance wrote the music and initial lyrics, Adams completed the english lyrics, Paiement wrote the one french verse, Hyde and Rock contributed the song title. The song was recorded on February 10, 1985 at Manta Sound studios in Toronto
.
The song was issued as a single by CBS Records
in March of that year, and quickly reached number one on the Canadian Top 40 chart. It also finished #1 on the year-end Canadian charts for 1985. The song's video also received extensive airplay on MuchMusic
.
On December 22, 1985, CBC Television
aired a 90-minute documentary on the song's creation, which was subsequently released on videocassette. A CBC reporter, Brian Stewart
, had been the first Western journalist to bring the famine in Ethiopia to worldwide attention.
By 1990, the project had raised $3.2 million for famine relief projects in Africa. Ten per cent of the funds raised were kept in Canada to assist Canadian food bank
s.
later spoke to writer Iain Blair about the recording experience: "I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was literally starving when we did the session 'cause my yoga teacher had sent me to a psychic dietician who, while rubbing her chin and swinging her arm around in a circle, had diagnosed a lot of food allergies. The result was, predictably, that I was hardly allowed to eat anything, so by the time I arrived with an apple and a rice patty, my poor stomach was making all these strange noises. Then we get in the studio, and the engineer says he can't record 'cause he's picking up some weird rumbling sound coming from my direction. (She laughed.) And it was all pretty ironic, considering the subject matter!"
At one point during the recording process, Foster also had Neil Young
re-record his line after singing the word "innocence" flat, to which Young famously quipped, "That's my sound, man."
, depicting the Campbell
Conference All-Stars — including Wayne Gretzky
— singing along as the audience waves flags and banners in the air.
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles recorded between December 1984 and April 1985, along with Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984....
" in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and USA for Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...
's "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
" in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The project was organized by Bruce Allen
Bruce Allen (manager)
Bruce Allen is a Canadian music band manager who represents a number of popular Canadian musicians including Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bryan Adams and Michael Bublé...
, who brought together a large group of artists to record a song written by David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Jim Vallance
Jim Vallance
James Douglas "Jim" Vallance, OC is a retired Canadian musician, songwriter, arranger and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is best known as the former songwriting partner of Canadian international recording artist Bryan Adams...
, Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
, Rachel Paiment, Paul Hyde
Paul Hyde
Paul Hyde is a British-born Canadian musician and record producer .Born in Yorkshire, Hyde came to Canada as a teenager.- Hyde in the Payola$, Phase One :...
and Bob Rock
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
. Foster and Vallance wrote the music and initial lyrics, Adams completed the english lyrics, Paiement wrote the one french verse, Hyde and Rock contributed the song title. The song was recorded on February 10, 1985 at Manta Sound studios in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
The song was issued as a single by CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
in March of that year, and quickly reached number one on the Canadian Top 40 chart. It also finished #1 on the year-end Canadian charts for 1985. The song's video also received extensive airplay on MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
.
On December 22, 1985, CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
aired a 90-minute documentary on the song's creation, which was subsequently released on videocassette. A CBC reporter, Brian Stewart
Brian Stewart (journalist)
Brian Stewart, one of Canada's most experienced journalists, is host of the foreign affairs show CBC News: Our World as well as senior correspondent of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship news hour The National....
, had been the first Western journalist to bring the famine in Ethiopia to worldwide attention.
By 1990, the project had raised $3.2 million for famine relief projects in Africa. Ten per cent of the funds raised were kept in Canada to assist Canadian food bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s.
Solo vocalists (in order)
- Gordon LightfootGordon LightfootGordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
- Burton CummingsBurton CummingsBurton L. Cummings, OC, OM is a Canadian musician and songwriter.He was the lead singer and frequent keyboardist for the Canadian rock band The Guess Who...
- Anne MurrayAnne MurrayMorna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
- Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
- Dan HillDan HillDaniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major hits with his songs, "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try," a duet with Vonda Shepard.-Early life and career:...
- Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
- Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
- Corey Hart
- Bruce CockburnBruce CockburnBruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
- Liberty SilverLiberty SilverLiberty Silver is a Canadian singer, based in Toronto, Ontario.She won two 1985 Juno Awards, one for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and the other for Best Reggae/Calypso Recording .The American-born Silver was adopted into an Ontario family, where she spent her...
- Geddy LeeGeddy LeeGary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
(RushRush (band)Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
) - Mike RenoMike RenoMike Reno , born January 8, 1955 in New Westminster, British Columbia is a Canadian musician, drummer, and lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He has also fronted other bands, including Moxy....
(LoverboyLoverboyLoverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
)
Heard in duos or trios
- Mike RenoMike RenoMike Reno , born January 8, 1955 in New Westminster, British Columbia is a Canadian musician, drummer, and lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He has also fronted other bands, including Moxy....
(LoverboyLoverboyLoverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
) with Liberty SilverLiberty SilverLiberty Silver is a Canadian singer, based in Toronto, Ontario.She won two 1985 Juno Awards, one for Best R&B/Soul Recording of the Year and the other for Best Reggae/Calypso Recording .The American-born Silver was adopted into an Ontario family, where she spent her... - Carroll BakerCarroll Baker (singer)Carroll Baker, CM , , is a Juno Award winning Canadian country music singer and songwriter.-Biography:Carroll Baker was born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia...
, Ronnie HawkinsRonnie HawkinsRonald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...
and Murray McLauchlanMurray McLauchlanMurray McLauchlan, CM is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player.-Biography:Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, he emigrated to Canada with his family when he was five years old... - Véronique BéliveauVéronique BéliveauVéronique Béliveau , originally Nicole Monique, is a Canadian actress and pop/rock singer who was nominated for a 1987 Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Her first full-length album was Prends-moi comme je suis in 1977...
, Robert CharleboisRobert CharleboisRobert Charlebois, OC, OQ is a Quebec author, composer, musician, performer and actor. He is an important figure in French language song....
and Claude DuboisClaude DuboisClaude André Dubois is a Canadian singer-songwriter.Dubois was an early star of the francophone musical Starmania... - Bryan AdamsBryan AdamsBryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
with Don Gerrard - Salome BeySalome BeySalome Bey, CM is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and composer who has lived in Toronto, Ontario since 1966. In 2005, she was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada....
, Mark Holmes (Platinum BlondePlatinum Blonde (band)Platinum Blonde is a Canadian New Wave group in the mid 1980s-early 1990s. The band originally consisted of Mark Holmes from Scarborough on vocals and bass, Sergio Galli on guitar and Chris Steffler on drums. Scottish musician Kenny MacLean later joined the group as the bassist. The name of the...
) and Lorraine SegatoLorraine SegatoLorraine Segato is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for and a principal songwriter of new wave and pop rock group Parachute Club, with which she continues to perform.- History :...
(The Parachute Club) - (Alfie) ZappacostaZappacostaZappacosta also known as Alfie Zappacosta is a Canadian singer/songwriter.-Career:...
with (Lisa) Dalbello - Carole PopeCarole PopeCarole Pope is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged New Wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian famous entertainers in the world...
(Rough TradeRough Trade (band)Rough Trade was a Canadian new wave rock band in the 1970s and 1980s, centred on singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bondage attire, and their 1981 hit "High School...
) and Paul HydePaul HydePaul Hyde is a British-born Canadian musician and record producer .Born in Yorkshire, Hyde came to Canada as a teenager.- Hyde in the Payola$, Phase One :...
(The Payola$)
Chorus members
Chorus members included:- Paul AnkaPaul AnkaPaul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
- Liona BoydLiona BoydLiona Maria Carolynne Boyd, LLD, D.Mus, CM, O.Ont, is a Canadian classical guitarist, composer, songwriter and singer. Boyd was born in London, England on July 11, 1949, moved to Canada with her parents when she was eight years old and became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1975...
- John CandyJohn CandyJohn Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto branch of The Second City and its related Second City Television series, and through his appearances in comedy films such as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle...
- Tom CochraneTom CochraneTom Cochrane, OC Canadian musician and humanitarian, best known for his hit songs "Life Is a Highway", "Lunatic Fringe", "Human Race" and "I Wish You Well". Cochrane fronted the Canadian rock band Red Rider and has won seven Juno Awards...
(Red RiderRed RiderRed Rider are a Canadian rock band popular in the 1980s. While the band achieved great success in Canada, in the US, the band never had a song in the Top 40....
) - Tommy HunterTommy HunterThomas James "Tommy" Hunter, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman".-Career:...
- Martha Johnson
- Eugene LevyEugene LevyEugene Levy, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, television director, producer, musician, and writer. He is known for his work in Canadian television series, American movies, and television movies. He is the only actor to have appeared in all eight of the American Pie films, as Noah Levenstein...
- Frank MillsFrank MillsFrank Mills , is a Canadian pianist and recording artist, best known for his solo instrumental hit "Music Box Dancer"....
- Kim MitchellKim MitchellJoseph Kim Mitchell is a Canadian guitarist. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to lead a solo career. He is currently a radio show host for CILQ-FM in Toronto....
- Oscar PetersonOscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
- Paul ShafferPaul ShafferPaul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
- Jane Siberry
- Sylvia TysonSylvia TysonSylvia Tyson, CM , is a musician, performer, singer-songwriter and broadcaster. From 1959 to 1974, she was half of the popular folk duo Ian & Sylvia with Ian Tyson....
- Barry Harris (DJ)Barry Harris (DJ)Barry Harris is a Canadian composer, artist, producer, musician, remixer & DJ. He created the band Kon Kan , who had worldwide top 5 success with "I Beg Your Pardon'. Initially issued on Toronto Indy label Revolving Records, was quickly discovered and signed by Atlantic Records U.S...
- Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'HaraCatherine Anne O'Hara is a Canadian-American actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV, and her roles in the films After Hours, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and also in the mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest...
- Wayne St. John
Instrumentation and production
- David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
- Keyboards, Producer - Jim Vallance - Drums, Engineer, Associate Producer
- Paul Dean (LoverboyLoverboyLoverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
) - Guitar - Steven Denroche - French Horn
- Doug Johnson (LoverboyLoverboyLoverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...
) - Synthesizer - David Sinclair (Straight Lines / Body ElectricBody ElectricBody Electric may refer to these artworks, all named after I Sing the Body Electric , an 1855 poem from Leaves of Grass by the American poet Walt Whitman:- Books :* The Body Electric a 1979 book on Kirlian photography by Thelma Moss...
) - Acoustic guitar - Hayward Parrott - Engineer
- Geoff Turner - Engineer
- Bob RockBob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer best known for producing bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, 311, Metallica, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring and most recently Bush.-Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:Rock began his music career in Langford,...
(The Payola$) - Engineer - Humberto Gatica - Mixing Engineer
Recording process
Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
later spoke to writer Iain Blair about the recording experience: "I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was literally starving when we did the session 'cause my yoga teacher had sent me to a psychic dietician who, while rubbing her chin and swinging her arm around in a circle, had diagnosed a lot of food allergies. The result was, predictably, that I was hardly allowed to eat anything, so by the time I arrived with an apple and a rice patty, my poor stomach was making all these strange noises. Then we get in the studio, and the engineer says he can't record 'cause he's picking up some weird rumbling sound coming from my direction. (She laughed.) And it was all pretty ironic, considering the subject matter!"
At one point during the recording process, Foster also had Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
re-record his line after singing the word "innocence" flat, to which Young famously quipped, "That's my sound, man."
Video
The song's video opens with footage from Brian Stewart's original CBC News report on the famine, and then cuts to the performers singing the song in a studio. Near the end of the video, footage also appears from the 1985 NHL All-Star Game in CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, depicting the Campbell
Clarence Campbell
Clarence Sutherland Campbell OBE, QC was the third president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977.-Early life and career:...
Conference All-Stars — including Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
— singing along as the audience waves flags and banners in the air.