The final night of recording was held on January 28, 1985, at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood. Jackson arrived at 8 p.m., earlier than the others, to record his solo section and record a vocal chorus alone. He was joined by the remaining USA for Africa artists, who included Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner, and Jackson’s siblings Jackie, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Tito. Many of the participants came straight from an American Music Awards ceremony that had been held that night.

More than 45 of America’s top musicians participated, and another 50 had to be turned away. A sign taped to the studio door read: “Check your ego at the door.” Wonder greeted the musicians as they entered, and said that if the recording was not completed in one take, he and Ray Charles, two blind men, would drive everybody home.

Each performer took their position at around 10:30 p.m. and began to sing. Several hours passed before Wonder announced that he would like to substitute a line in Swahili for the “sha-lum sha-lin-gay” sound, causing Waylon Jennings to leave. A heated debate ensued, in which several artists also rejected the suggestion. The “sha-lum sha-lin-gay” sound ran into opposition as well and was removed. Jennings returned and participated in the recording. The participants eventually decided to sing something meaningful in English. They chose to sing the new line “one world, our children,” which most of the participants enjoyed.

In the early hours of the morning, two Ethiopian women, guests of Wonder, were brought in. They thanked the singers on behalf of their country, bringing several artists to tears. Wonder attempted to lighten the mood, by joking that the recording session gave him a chance to “see” Charles, saying, “We just sort of bumped into each other!” Under the circumstances, the solo parts presented a variety of challenges, but were all successfully recorded that night. The final version was completed at 8 a.m.