DESCRIPTION:
Hear 'n Aid was a one-time collaboration of various individual hard rock and heavy metal artists in 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Africa.

lyrics :

[Ronnie James Dio (Dio):]
Who cries for the children?
I do

[Dave Meniketti (Y&T):]
Some time in the night
When you're feeling the cold

[Ronnie James Dio:]
Take a look at the sky above you

[Rob Halford (Judas Priest):]
Those are faces in the light
If the story were told

[Ronnie James Dio:]
They are calling you, calling you
Yeah
We are magic in the night

[Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot):]
We are shadow, we are light

[Dave Meniketti:]
We are forever you and I

[Chorus (vocal lead: Rob Halford):]
We're stars
We're stars

[Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult):]
We can be strong
We are fire and stone

[Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot, Rough Cutt):]
And we all want to touch a rainbow

[Geoff Tate (Queensryche):]
But singers and songs
Will never change it alone
We are calling you, calling you

[Don Dokken (Dokken):]
We're the beating of a heart
The beginning we're the start

[Paul Shortino:]
Forever we will shine
Yeah

[Chorus (vocal leads: Paul Shortino, Don Dokken, Ronnie James Dio, Geoff Tate):]
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars

[Guitar solos:]

1st solo: Craig Goldie/Eddie Ojeda
2nd solo: Vivian Campbell/Brad Gillis
3rd solo: Neal Schon/George Lynch
4th solo: Yngwie Malmsteen/Vivian Campbell
5th solo: George Lynch/Carlos Cavazo
6th solo: Brad Gillis/Craig Goldie/Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser

[Kevin Dubrow:]
We are magic in the night

[Rob Halford:]
We are shadow, we are light

[Geoff Tate:]
We are forever you and I

[Chorus (vocal leads: Dave Meniketti, Eric Bloom, Rob Halford)]
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars

We're stars, yeah
We're stars
We are shadow, we are light
We're stars
We are magic in the night
We're stars, oh yeah
We're stars
We're stars
We are magic in the night
We're stars
We are shadow, we are light

We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're the magic
We're stars
We're stars
We're the beating of a heart

We're stars
Forever we will shine
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars
We're stars

According to Ronnie James Dio's MySpace profile, the project raised $1 million within a year.While attending a 48-hour charity Radiothon at the radio station KLOS, Dio members Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell noticed that representation from hard rock or heavy metal stars was low. In light of the success of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World", they forwarded an idea to Ronnie James Dio, also attending the Radiothon, and together decided to create a similar project exclusively built around artists from the hard rock/heavy metal scene.[citation needed] Together the three co-wrote the song "Stars."

The song was recorded on May 20 and 21, 1985 at the A&M Records Studio in Hollywood, California. The project included contributions from Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tommy Aldridge and members of Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Queensrÿche, Blue Öyster Cult, Vanilla Fudge, Y&T, Rough Cutt, Giuffria, Journey, W.A.S.P. and Night Ranger as well as the parody band Spinal Tap. Lead vocals were shared between Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Kevin DuBrow, Eric Bloom, Geoff Tate, Dave Meniketti, Don Dokken and Paul Shortino. Vivian Campbell, Carlos Cavazo, Buck Dharma, Brad Gillis, Craig Goldy, George Lynch, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Ojeda, and Neal Schon all added guitar solos. Iron Maiden's Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were in the middle of their 'World Slavery Tour' at the time and flew in to attend the main session. A documentary was shot of the recording process and released simultaneously.

"Stars" was released in both 7" and 12" single versions. A video documentary, Hear 'n Aid - The Sessions, was also released in VHS and Video8 formats. The project also released a compilation album headed by "Stars", and also including live tracks by Kiss, Motörhead, Dio, Accept, Rush and Scorpions, as well as studio recordings by Y&T and Jimi Hendrix. The single peaked at #26 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1986.

Dio had originally intended the song and album to be released shortly after its recording, but contractual issues with the different artists' record labels delayed the release until January 1, 1986, somewhat diminishing the impact of its release.

On 2 November 2011, Dio's widow Wendy announced that the song would be re-released. She told Rolling Stone: “I’m going to rerelease [Stars] because it only ever came out on vinyl and cassette. So it’ll come out on DVD and CD, I have loads of outtakes for the video”. In April 2015, Wendy Dio confirmed that a modern-day version of Hear 'n Aid was in the works to record a "new song" and released alongside the upcoming reissue of "Stars". She had stated that "legal stuff" was the cause of the reissue delay.