Hear 'n Aid

Dio originally intended the single and album to be released shortly after its recording, but contractual issues with the different artists' record labels delayed the release until 26 May 1986, somewhat diminishing the impact of its release.

The compilation album titled Hear 'n Aid (or alternatively appearing as Hear 'n Aid (An All-Star Album For Famine Relief))" was headed by "Stars", and included live tracks by Kiss, Motörhead, Dio, Accept, Rush, Scorpions, "Go for the Throat" by Y&T and a studio recording by Jimi Hendrix was released on vinyl and cassette tape formats.

The "Stars" single was released on vinyl in both 7" and 12" versions. The back of the record sleeve for the single had the following description: "On May 20 and 21, 1985, 40 artists from the hard rock music community gathered at A&M Records Studios to participate in the making of a record called "Stars", as part of a very special project known as Hear 'N Aid. The "Stars" single, coupled with the album, a video documentary on the making of the record, and other ancillary products will raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. 40 artists and hundreds of volunteers donated their time and talent over four months to make Hear 'N Aid a reality. "Stars" is a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger."[2]

The following CD release info needs verification as Wendy Dio indicated as late as 2011 that it was only ever released on vinyl and cassette.[3]

"The Hear 'n Aid album was released in CD format in the U.S. in May of 1994. (Mercury/Phonogram 826-044-2 (US, CD Reissue, 5/94). Allmusic references a CD re-release on 13 June 2000 with catalog of PolyGram #4218.[4] Kissmonster references a CD re-release: Japanese import Vertigo PHCR-4218 (Japan, CD Reissue, 11/94)"[5]

The project also released a 30 minute Sony home video documentary, Hear 'n Aid: The Sessions, which was shot during the recording process and released on VHS and Video8 formats.[6] The back cover for the documentary has the following description:

"'Hear 'N Aid: The Sessions' documents the making of a record, a very special record called 'Stars', that will raise money for famine relief. It is a behind-the-scenes journey through the process of rock 'n roll record-making, from the basic tracks through vocal solos an chorus to performances by 11 stellar guitarists that form a single guitar solo. 40 artists from the hard rock music community and hundreds of volunteers donated their time and talent over four months to make Hear 'N Aid a reality. 'Stars' is a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger."

The single "Stars" peaked at No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1986.[7] The music video for "Stars" received moderate airplay on MTV's Heavy Metal Mania[8] and afterward on MTV's replacement program Headbangers Ball.[9] During the period of high popularity of MySpace, Ronnie James Dio's profile[10] contained an entry crediting the project with having raised $1 million within a year. In a 2017 article written for Classic Rock,[11] Ronnie's wife and manager, Wendy Dio, estimated the project's total amount raised to be over $3 million.

On 31 May 2004, VH1 premiered a five-night documentary special titled "100 Most Metal Moments", narrated by Dee Snider.[12] At the conclusion, Hear 'n Aid was ranked as the "No. 1 Most Metal Moment".[13]

In interview video footage taken during the event, Ronnie said that while attending a 48-hour charity Radiothon[14] 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 the 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. Together the three co-wrote the song "Stars".

The song "Stars" was recorded on 20 and 21 May 1985 with the first session at Sound City Studios and then the second session moving to A&M Studios Studio A, where "We Are The World" was recorded.[15] It was edited and mixed at Rumbo Recorders and mastered at Artisan Sound.

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.

Prior to the album release, and indicative of their business acumen and commitment to the project's success, Ronnie, Jimmy and Vivian established Hear 'n Aid as a full fledged non-profit (presumably to avoid experiencing similar missteps and pitfalls encountered with previous African aid efforts). "Hear ’n Aid had to be a non-profit organisation… We had to set up a board of directors, fourteen people, and all decisions had to be made by the board. My role was getting the licensing." - Wendy Dio[11] The Classic Rock article also indicates the project leadership and participants were well aware that the funds raised from similar events such as Band Aid were squandered due to governmental corruption as well as suffering from general disorganization which led to things such as "food rotting on docks" - Paul Shortino (vocalist for Rough Cutt). The funds raised through the Hear 'n Aid project were instead used to purchase and ship agricultural machinery.

There was a second planned song to benefit a charity that Dio was involved with for years ("Children of the Night"), that benefited runaway children. This was to be a song called "Throw Away Children". However, due to various reasons the project never materialized, and the song ended up appearing on the 2002 Dio album, Killing the Dragon.

On 2 November 2011, Dio's widow Wendy announced that the song "Stars" would be re-released. She told Rolling Stone: “I’m going to re-release [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”.[3]

On 30 March 2015, Wendy Dio spoke with Eddie Trunk on his SiriusXM satellite radio show Eddie Trunk Live. "We are in talks right now with a couple of record labels to reissue HEAR 'N AID, with the funds going to [the Ronnie James Dio] Stand Up And Shout [Cancer Fund, the charity founded in memory of the late singer]".[17] "We have so much stuff that was never released before — behind-the-scenes stuff that was shot during the whole time. We have photos galore of everybody that was involved in it, and I think it'll be fantastic. We just have to work on it. It may not come out this year, because I want everything to be perfect, as Ronnie would want it to be, but I am in talks about it, and that will be coming out, definitely."

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.[18]

• Hear 'n Aid: The Sessions 1986 30 minute music documentary footage gleaned from the recording sessions.
• Hear 'n Aid: The Sessions.
• Rate Your Music (RYM) Rating for Stars single. (3.43/5.00)
• Rate Your Music (RYM) Rating for Hear 'n Aid Album. (3.58/5.00)
• Additional information on Hear 'N Aid releases including photos
• - Video (YouTube.com).