Twelve Songs of Christmas: #1—"Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid

My favorite Christmas song since I first heard it in 1984, this is not only a great song, it's a great sentiment for what Christmas should really be about, and it's a landmark in that it kicked off the modern wave of celebrity-driven charity fundraising events such as Farm Aid and Comic Relief. This particular effort led to the 1985 Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia, one of the greatest events in modern musical history.

Inspired by television news reports of the devastating famine in Ethiopia, Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox lead singer Midge Ure were inspired to write a song to try to raise funds to help with international relief efforts. They recruited most of the top performers in the UK and Ireland at the time.

Here's the lineup: Bananarama, The Boomtown Rats, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Genesis, Heaven 17, Jody Watley, Kool & the Gang, Paul Young, The Police, Spandau Ballet, Status Quo, The Style Council, U2, Ultravox, Wham! David Bowie and Paul McCartney couldn't make it to the recording session but provided a spoken message on the B-side (that's vinyl records, kids!).

The video is as basic as you can get: the studio recording session for vocals, and it looks like most of the talent just rolled out of bed, got in the car, and arrived at the studio. Here's who you get before the first chorus: Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Simon LeBon, Sting, Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Bono, and Phil Collins (on drums). The rest of the singers appear on choir risers for the chorus.

The song debuted at number one on the UK charts and stayed there for five weeks. Geldof originally hoped to raise 70,000 pounds; the initial 12-month tally was eight million pounds. Their efforts culminated the next summer with the Live Aid concerts, the highlight of which was Queen's legendary performance, acknowledged by many to be one of the greatest live performances in rock history.

But more than that, the song captures the true spirit of Christmas—Christ came to give good news to the poor and to give hope to those who have no other hope. These British and Irish musicians didn't stop famine and poverty in Africa, but they did what they could at the time, and they made a difference. Can you imagine what kind of world we could live in if every person did what little they could, every day, to try to make someone else's life a little better and a little easier?

Is that what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown?