In protest of apartheid, an international boycott by performers continued for years, although some, such as the Beach Boys,[3] Linda Ronstadt,[3] Cher,[3] Millie Jackson,[3] Liza Minnelli,[3] Frank Sinatra (1981),[4] Paul Anka,[4] Status Quo,[5] Rod Stewart (July 1983),[4][5] Elton John (October 1983),[4] and Queen, ignored it.
Van Zandt became interested in writing a song about Sun City to make parallels with the plight of Native Americans.
"[1] When Van Zandt was finished writing "Sun City", he, Schechter and producer Arthur Baker spent the next several months searching for artists to participate in the project.
Eventually, Van Zandt, Baker and Schechter would gather an array of artists, described by rock critic Dave Marsh as "the most diverse line up of popular musicians ever assembled for a single session",[6] including DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Ruben Blades, Bob Dylan, Pat Benatar, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr and his son Zak Starkey, Lou Reed, Run-DMC, Peter Gabriel, Bob Geldof, Clarence Clemons, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Darlene Love, Bobby Womack, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, Jackson Browne, Daryl Hannah, Peter Wolf, Bono, George Clinton, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Michael Monroe, Stiv Bators, Peter Garrett, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, Gil Scott-Heron, Nona Hendryx, Kashif, Lotti Golden, L. Shankar and Joey Ramone.
Schechter had also taken on the job of documenting the sessions on video and producing a behind-the-scenes documentary, working with 16mm film crews and independent production companies.
Approximately 150 policemen surrounded the entire park on horseback and foot to secure the area for the performance, which included Van Zandt, Bono, Springsteen, the Fat Boys, Mötley Crüe, Afrika Bambaataa, Nona Hendryx and many others.
During the course of the film, Schechter asks the artists to explain their involvement in the project in their own words: "Sun City's become a symbol of a society which is very oppressive and denies basic rights to the majority of its citizens," said Jackson Browne.
Van Zandt financed much of it while producer Arthur Baker (notable for his work with Afrika Bambaataa and New Order) donated studio time.
Only about half of American radio stations played "Sun City,"[citation needed] with some objecting to the lyrics' explicit criticism of President Ronald Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement."
Meanwhile, "Sun City" was a major success in countries where there was little or no radio station resistance to the record or its messages, reaching #4 in Australia, #10[10] in Canada, #3 in The Netherlands [11] and #21 in the UK.
"[citation needed] (In contrast, PBS chose to broadcast The Making of "Raiders of the Lost Ark", which was made as a promotional exercise by the for-profit Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm Ltd.) In 1987, WNYC-TV, the New York City-owned public television station, aired an updated version of the documentary, produced by filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein along with Schechter.
In addition to airing the documentary, WNYC-TV made the film available over the PBS system to public television stations across the country for broadcast.
[citation needed] The record never achieved the financial success of "We Are the World," although Oliver Tambo and the ANC's school in Tanzania "was sure happy when we gave them a big check," according to Schechter.