Biography
The Hear n' Aid project was heavy metal's answer to such pop music charities like Band Aid and USA For Africa; projects which gathered various musicians throughout the recording industry to participate in making songs that would help raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world.
Hear n' Aid was formed in 1985 by Ronnie James Dio, a long time contributor to many charity projects over the years. Hear n' Aid didn't get much media coverage and didn't achieve the blockbuster sales like Band Aid or USA for Africa, but did generate a respectable amount of revenue.
When attending a 48 hours charity "Radiothon" at the radio station KLOS, Jimmy Bain (of Rainbow and Dio) and Vivian Campbell (at that time still in Dio, later to play in Whitesnake and Def Leppard) noticed that the representation of heavy metal stars was scarce. In the 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 they decided to make a similar project exclusively built on artists from the heavy metal scene. Together the three cowrote the song Stars.
On May 20 & 21, 1985, 40 artists gathered at the A&M Records Studio in Hollywood, California to record the Stars album. The project included members of such bands as Dio, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Queensrÿche, Blue Öyster Cult, Dokken, Night Ranger, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Journey, Y&T, Vanilla Fudge, and the parody band Spinal Tap.
Vocals
* Eric Bloom (Blue Öyster Cult)
* Ronnie James Dio (Dio)
* Don Dokken (Dokken)
* Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot)
* Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
* Dave Meniketti (Y&T)
* Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt)
* Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)
Backing Vocals
* Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne)
* Dave Alford (Rough Cutt)
* Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge/King Kobra)
* Vinny Appice (Dio)
* Jimmy Bain (Dio)
* Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot)
* Mick Brown (Dokken)
* Vivian Campbell (Dio)
* Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot)
* Amir Derakh (Rough Cutt)
* Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult)
* Brad Gillis (Night Ranger)
* Craig Goldy (Giuffria)
* Chris Hager (Rough Cutt)
* Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.)
* Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.)
* George Lynch (Dokken)
* Yngwie Malmsteen
* Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe)
* Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap)
* Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
* Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe)
* Ted Nugent
* Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister)
* Jeff Pilson (Dokken)
* Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot)
* Claude Schnell (Dio)
* Neal Schon (Journey)
* Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap)
* Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)
* Matt Thorr (Rough Cutt)
* Adrian Vandenberg (Whitesnake)
Lead Guitar Solos
* Vivian Campbell (Dio)
* Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot)
* Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult)
* Brad Gillis (Night Ranger)
* Craig Goldy (Giuffria)
* George Lynch (Dokken)
* Yngwie Malmsteen
* Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister)
* Neal Schon (Journey)
Rhythm Guitar Melody Lines
* Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
* Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
Bass
* Jimmy Bain (Dio)
Drums
* Vinny Appice (Dio)
* Frankie Banali (Quiet Riot)
Keyboards
* Claude Schnell (Dio)
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