| "Tears Are Not Enough" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Northern Lights | |
| from the album We Are the World | |
| B-side | "Tears Are Not Enough" (Instrumental) |
| Released | May[1] 1, 1985 |
| Recorded | February 10, 1985 |
| Studio | Manta Sound Studios, Toronto |
| Genre | Pop rock, gospel |
| Length | 4:28 |
| Label | Columbia 7073 |
| Songwriter(s) | David Foster (music) Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance (lyrics) Rachel Paiement (French lyrics) Paul Hyde and Bob Rock (title) |
| Producer(s) | David Foster Jim Vallance (co-producer) |
"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 1983–85 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, USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in the United States, "Cantaré, cantarás" by a supergroup of Latin American and Spanish singers, Chanteurs sans Frontières's "Éthiopie" in France, and Fondation Québec-Afrique's "Les Yeux de la faim" in Quebec.
Although recorded independently of the USA for Africa project, it was included on the full-length We Are the World album.
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 Paiement, 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, Rock & Hyde contributed the song title. The song was recorded on February 10, 1985 at Manta Sound studios in Toronto.
Foster revealed the melody of the song was originally offered to filmmaker Joel Schumacher as incidental music for his film St. Elmo's Fire (film). Schumacher reported hated it but was later, in Foster's words, "really pissed" when it showed up later as a charity single.[2]
The song was issued as the album's second and final single by Columbia Records[3] on May 1, 1985,[4] and quickly reached number one on the Canadian Top 40 chart. It also finished number one on the year-end Canadian charts for that year. The song's video also received extensive airplay on MuchMusic.
The vocals were recorded at Manta Sound Studios in downtown Toronto on Sunday, February 10, 1985. Gordon Lightfoot drove himself to the recording in a pick-up truck. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell arrived together in a taxi. Mark Holmes of Platinum Blonde arrived in a white stretch limousine.[5]
Bryan Adams performed a live version of "Tears Are Not Enough" on July 13, 1985 during his Live Aid performance in Philadelphia.[6]
On December 22, 1985, CBC Television aired a 90-minute documentary by John Zaritsky on the song and its creation. A CBC reporter, Brian Stewart, had been the first Western journalist to bring the famine in Ethiopia to worldwide attention. The film was a Genie Award nominee for Best Documentary Film at the 7th Genie Awards in 1986.[7]
By 1990, the project had raised $3.2 million for famine relief projects in Africa. Ten percent of the funds raised was set aside to assist Canadian food banks.
- ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia
- ^ "Tears (still) are not enough, 30 years later". CBC.ca. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Northern Lights - Tears Are Not Enough". Discogs. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ Mcintosh, Andrew (February 22, 2016). "Tears Are Not Enough". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ "JimVallence.com - Tears Are Not Enough". JimVallence.com. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Bryan Adams Setlist at John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, PA, USA (July 13, 1985) r". setlist.fm. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ Sid Adilman, "Genie films are coming on strong". Toronto Star, February 14, 1986.