Pop star Lionel Richie said Wednesday he would team up with Michael Jackson on a song to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, if he could just get in touch with him.

The two stars famously co-wrote “We Are the World,” in the 1980s, a project that ultimately garnered more than $50 million for African famine relief.

Featuring artists such as Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan, the charity song won the Grammy award for best song of the year.

Jackson has recently said he is working on another charity song to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Richie did not say whether he has spoken to Jackson specifically about the Katrina project, but did say he is interested in the project.

“We would do it, but what we would want to know right now is who is running it,” Richie said.

Jackson has been staying overseas since he was cleared of molestation charges earlier in the summer. Jackson’s extended stay in the Middle East, and Richie’s hectic schedule, has made communication between the two musicians difficult, Richie said.

Outside a conference supporting minority business in Montgomery, Richie confirmed the two pop stars have been playing “phone tag” recently. He also said a number of factors must be overcome before such a project could materialize.

“If you know anything about Lionel Richie, if you know anything about Michael Jackson, if you know anything about all of us as artists, we can’t run it,” Richie said. “Because we are in every part of the world. Somebody has to be the point person, and we need to find out who that point person is.”

Gathering all the talent to one central location to do the song will be a major obstacle to overcome, Richie said.

The “We Are the World” project was centered around the American Music Awards, Richie said, because all the artists “had a reason to be in town.”

“This project may be a monster. It’s not that it can’t be done . . . but we need one galvanizing point where everyone can come together,” Richie said.

Source: MA

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