A charity supergroup is a music group comprising famous musicians or other celebrities which is formed to raise funds or awareness for charities or causes. The supergroup is usually together only for a single album, performance, or single.
The concept dates back to at least 1971 when George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organized The Concert for Bangladesh, and a subsequent album and film, to support UNICEF relief efforts in that country. In the 1980s forming a one-off supergroup to record a charity single became a popular way of promoting a current cause, following Band Aid's "Do They Know Its Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World" which were recorded to support famine relief in Ethiopia in 1984 and 1985 respectively.
| Founded | Band/project name | Project co-ordinator(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Concert for Bangladesh |
| Concert to raise awareness of the Bangladesh Liberation War and refugee problems in said country, raised funds to benefit UNICEF relief fund, released a film of the concert and an album, The Concert for Bangla Desh | |
| 1979 | Rockestra | Recorded "Let It Be", "Lucille", "Rockestra Theme", and "So Glad to See You Here" at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, to benefit people of Cambodia suffering from Pol Pot's regime; released as a promotional EP and film | ||
| 1983 | ARMS Charity Concert | Concert at Royal Albert Hall to support multiple sclerosis research | ||
| 1984 | Band Aid |
| Recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" charity single for famine relief in Ethiopia | |
| 1985 | Deep End |
| Recorded "Deep End Live!" | |
| 1985 | Northern Lights | Recorded the charity single "Tears Are Not Enough" for famine relief in Ethiopia | ||
| 1985 | USA for Africa |
| Recorded "We Are the World" charity single for famine relief in Ethiopia | |
| 1985 | Hermanos | Recorded "Cantaré, cantarás" charity single for famine relief in Ethiopia | ||
| 1985 | Tomorrow will be Better | Recorded "Tomorrow will be Better" to raise money for World Vision to help with aid to Africa. | ||
| 1985 | YU Rock Misija (Yugoslav Rock Mission) | Recorded "Za Milion Godina (For Million Years)" contribution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to the famous Bob Geldof's Band Aid famine relief campaign | ||
| 1985 | Hear 'n Aid | Recorded the charity single and album "Stars" for famine relief in Africa | ||
| 1985 | Artists United Against Apartheid | Recorded the song and album "Sun City" to protest apartheid in South Africa | ||
| 1985/1986 | Dionne and Friends |
| Recorded the song "That's What Friends Are For" as a charity single for the United Kingdom in 1985 and the United States in 1986 for American Foundation for AIDS Research. | |
| 1986 | Dance Aid | Recorded the song "Give Give Give" as a charity single for the United Kingdom in 1986. | ||
| 1987 | Ferry Aid | Recorded the song "Let it Be" as a charity single following the Zeebrugge disaster | ||
| 1989 | Rock Aid Armenia |
| Re-recording of "Smoke on the Water" by Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Downes, Keith Emerson, Ian Gillan, David Gilmour, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire, Roger Taylor and others | |
| 1989 | Band Aid II |
| Re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" charity single, also for famine relief in Ethiopia | |
| 1989 | Singers for Sight | Song "Forgotten Eyes" was recorded with older celebrities including Bob Hope, Sammy Davis, Jr, Dionne Warwick, Mel Torme, Jack Jones, Marilyn McCoo, Patti LaBelle, George Burns, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It was released on Motown. | ||
| 1991 | Voices That Care | Recording of "Voices That Care" charity single, also for U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm, as well as supporting the International Red Cross organization | ||
| 1992 | Rock Bottom Remainders |
| Group of well-known writers, several charity concerts | |
| 1994 | Music Relief '94 | Recorded a cover version of Marvin Gaye's single "What's Going On" in memory of the Rwandan genocide. | ||
| 1997 | Perfect Day |
| Recording of "Perfect Day" originally used as an advertisement for BBC Music. Due to popularity it was released as a charity single raising over £2 million for Children in Need | |
| 2001 | Artists Against Aids Worldwide |
| Recorded several cover versions of "What's Going On" to benefit AIDS programs in Africa and other impoverished regions, with a portion of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross' September 11 fund | |
| 2004 | Band Aid 20 |
| Re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 20th anniversary charity single, for famine relief in Ethiopia | |
| 2005 | The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) | An all star cast of rock artists recorded a satire of the song "Do They Know It's Christmas" named Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?, all proceeds being donated to UNICEF. | ||
| 2005 | One World Project | Recorded the charity single "Grief Never Grows Old" to benefit 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief | ||
| 2005 | Tears in Heaven |
| Recording of "Tears in Heaven" to benefit 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief | |
| 2008 | S↑2C Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon | Recorded the charity single "Just Stand Up" to benefit the Stand Up To Cancer telethon. | ||
| 2010 | Artists for Haiti | Recorded "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a remake of the original "We Are the World", to benefit the people of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. | ||
| 2010 | Young Artists for Haiti | Canadian singers and musicians who recorded K'naan's song "Wavin' Flag" to benefit the people of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. | ||
| 2011 | WhoCares |
| Raising funds to support the rebuilding of a music school in Gyumri, Armenia.[1] [2] | |
| 2011 | BackBone |
| Singers and Musicians on The Celebrity Apprentice 4, all proceeds from their songs go to their respective charities that they chose on the show.[3] | |
| 2012 | The Justice Collective | Recorded "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", in aid of charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.[4] | ||
| 2014 | The Impossible Orchestra |
| Organised for Children in Need 2014 to record "God Only Knows"[5] | |
| 2014 | Band Aid 30 |
| Re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 30th anniversary charity single, for Ebola Crisis Appeal. | |
| 2014 | Africa Stop Ebola |
| West African artists recorded the song "Africa Stop Ebola" to raise awareness about Ebola in West Africa and released in France to support Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The song inspired the "Africa Stop Ebola" Song Contest in Conakry, Guinea in July 2015. Africa Stop Ebola was the recipient of the "Fighting Ebola: a Grand Challenge for Development" award by the White House Office of Science and Technology, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Defense and the United States Agency for International Development USAID. | |
| 2014 | Imagine | Recording of "Imagine" to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. | ||
| 2017 | Artists for Puerto Rico | American songwriter of Puerto Rican descent, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and recorded the song Almost Like Praying featuring numerous other artists under the collective name Artists for Puerto Rico to support relief efforts in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria, which struck the island in September 2017.[6] | ||
| 2019 | — | American rapper and comedian Lil Dicky invites 30 artists and they all recorded "Earth" for Earth Day. | ||
| 2020 | Live Lounge Allstars | Recorded a cover version of Foo Fighters' "Times Like These" to raise funds for Children in Need, Comic Relief and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||