The 2024 Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop details how a teeming roster of star vocalists came together to successfully pull off the recording of “We Are the World.” The 1985 charity single was produced by Quincy Jones, and it wasn’t the first time that the famed producer oversaw an all-star assembly of singers for a recording. Some of the same vocalists who lent their voices to “We Are the World” had performed as part of a choir on Donna Summer’s late 1982 single “State of Independence.”
While the choir Jones assembled for Summer’s recording was nearly as star-studded as the one that recorded “We Are the World,” their performance was far less noted by the listening public. Summer’s relentless run of hits had dissipated two years earlier, and “State of Independence” spent only 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was her first U.S. single in nearly five years to miss the Top 40. It’s gotten its due in more recent years, but it’s still worth revisiting the song that served as a dry run for one of the biggest singles in music history.
A Seemingly Unlikely Cover
Summer did not write “State of Independence,” but in an interview for the video series Top 2000 a gogo, she said she wished she had, as she thought “it was one of the better songs I’ve ever recorded.” Jon Anderson of Yes and Vangelis composed the song for their 1981 album The Friends of Mr. Cairo. “State of Independence” was one of two covers Summer recorded for her 1982 self-titled album (the other being the jazz standard “Lush Life”).
An obscure track from a Jon and Vangelis album might seem like a strange choice for the vocalist who brought us “Last Dance,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Bad Girls.” Then again, Summer’s self-titled album was all about moving in new directions. Summer’s label, Geffen Records, halted the production of an album she was making with her longtime producers—Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte—and had her start from scratch on a new album. For the record that would become Donna Summer, label head David Geffen paired Summer with Jones. Geffen and Jones then recruited a bevy of songwriters to contribute to the album, including Bruce Springsteen, David Foster, Michael Sembello, and Richard Page.
An Assist from an All-Star Cast
Summer told Top 2000 a gogo it was Jones’ idea for her to record “State of Independence.” According to Summer, “Quincy heard this song, and he said, ‘We want to cut this song for you.’ And I’m like, ‘Fine, cut it.” Jones, along with Rod Temperton, Greg Mathieson, and Toto’s David Paich, arranged Summer’s remake of “State of Independence.” He also recruited the “All-Star Choir” that would perform the Say / yeah yay / yeah yo section of the song that was sung by Anderson on the original version. Among the singers in the choir were Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Christopher Cross, Brenda Russell, and Jones himself. Each of these vocalists, with the exception of McDonald, Cross, and Russell, contributed to “We Are the World.”
The bounty of studio talent that contributed to “State of Independence” went beyond the choir. Paich’s Toto bandmate Steve Porcaro and future Toto member Greg Phillinganes contributed to the track, as did The Brothers Johnson’s bassist Louis Johnson, esteemed session drummer Ndugu Chancler, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Ernie Watts, keyboardist Michael Boddicker, and percussionist Paulinho da Costa. Jones would have Paich, Porcaro, Phillinganes, Johnson, Boddicker, and da Costa perform on “We Are the World” as well. The end result was a cover version that had a much fuller, slicker, and more epic sound than the original.
The Impact of Summer’s Cover of “State of Independence”
Summer’s cover of “State of Independence” did something the original failed to do—chart as a hit single in the U.S. Still, for Summer, its peak position of No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 paled in comparison to that of her string of late ‘70s hits. However, “State of Independence” was the highest-charting of the three singles from Donna Summer in the UK (No. 14) and the Netherlands (No. 1). With more than 16 million plays, it is the most-streamed song from Donna Summer on Spotify and her third most-streamed song from her ‘80s albums, trailing only “She Works Hard for the Money” and “This Time I Know It’s for Real.”
In the decade that followed the initial release of Summer’s cover of “State of Independence,” it found its way back onto the UK Official Singles Chart in three different versions. Jon and Vangelis rereleased their version in 1984, and it subsequently entered the chart, reaching No. 67. In 1990, Summer rereleased her version of the song, and it went to No. 45. Moodswings covered “State of Independence” with Chrissie Hynde on vocals in 1992—retitled as “Spiritual High (State of Independence), Part II.” Their version spent two weeks on the UK chart in January 1993, peaking at No. 47.
While Summer’s remake of “State of Independence” didn’t gain much attention upon its release, its stature and influence is far greater than its chart position would suggest. Not only did it help to lay the groundwork for “We Are the World,” but it apparently caught the ear of Jones’ best-known colleague. In a 2018 interview for Vulture, Jones said Michael Jackson stole the song’s melody for his chart-topping smash “Billie Jean.” There aren’t too many songs that missed the Top 40 that have the kind of legacy that “State of Independence” does.
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