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“28th Annual Grammy Awards”

Date confirmed in the official Grammy Awards website (archived) (“Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1986, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.”)

Michael Jackson, speech transcript

[After accepting the “Song of the Year” award]

First, I’d like to thank God, and I’d like to say thank you for choosing Lionel and myself to write “We Are The World". I thank Quincy Jones, who was the greatest producer to me. And I also like to say, when you leave here, remember the children. Thank you.

[Post-award show press conference]

That’s one of the hardest questions to answer, because it’s a – it just comes, songs just kinda create themselves, so I don’t wanna dissect it really, just I let it happen. […] I wanted something that the whole world could sing.

Kenny Rogers, Discovery Watch (mirror)

In 1986, I hosted the Grammy Awards telecast in Los Angeles. That night, my son Christopher met Michael backstage. Christopher had always loved Michael. He would even dress like him at home […] As it happened, Marianne, [Roger’s wife] sent me some flowers with a little plastic Grammy attached. Unbeknownst to me or anyone else, Christopher took the plastic Grammy, walked into Michael Jackson’s press conference, and handed it to him.

The next day, Michael called to tell Christopher how much he appreciated it. He also invited him out to his house to see his animals, so Marianne and Christopher went out to Encino.