Charity record
A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artists at the time. The record was released by The Decca Record Company and the entire profits of the record together with the royalties and fees from artists, publishers, etc., were donated to The National Playing Fields Association. This was the first charity record to make the UK charts and reached Number 2. Due to its success, it was followed by a second compilation in 1957.
George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly regarded as the first successful international charity single; it was recorded to help fund relief efforts following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the Bangladesh Liberation War. The money raised was donated to UNICEF, as were takings from Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh held at Madison Square Garden, New York, and its spin-off live album and concert film. This is one way of using artistic talent as art for charity.
Some of the other early charity records came from the January 1979 Music for UNICEF Concert, with the likes of ABBA's "Chiquitita" and the Bee Gees' "Too Much Heaven" released as singles, all the royalties from which went to UNICEF. Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in November 1984 began the revolution of the charity record, which would be popularised throughout the 1980s.
In the United States, charity records reached their peak with USA for Africa's "We Are the World" in 1985, but then essentially died out afterwards. In the United Kingdom, however, charity singles, have become annual hits.
Notable charity singles
1970s
1980s
1990s
| Release date | Title | Artists | Charity/Cause | Highest Chart Position |
| April 1990 | "Use It Up and Wear It Out" | Pat and Mick | Capital Radio 1990 Help a London Child | 22 |
| June 1990 | "Sacrifice/Healing Hands" | Elton John | Aids Charities | 1 |
| June 1990 | "You've Got a Friend" | Big Fun, Sonia, featuring Gary Barnacle on saxophone | ChildLine | 14 |
| July 1990 | "Nobody's Child" | Traveling Wilburys | Romanian Angel Appeal | 44 |
| November 1990 | "Let's Dance" | Bruno and Liz and the Radio 1 DJ Possee | Children in Need | 54 |
| November 1990 | "Rap Against Rape" | Jocks & CO | Rape Crisis Center | 16 |
| February 1991 | "Voices that Care" | Voices that Care | To boost the morale of U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm | 11 |
| March 1991 | "The Stonk" | Hale and Pace | Comic Relief | 1 |
| August 1991 | "Stop the War in Croatia" | Tomislav Ivčić and children | Children in Croatia | 7 |
| November 1991 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | George Michael, Elton John | 10 charities for AIDS, children and education | 1, 1, 1 |
| December 1991 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Queen | Terrance Higgins Trust | 1 |
| March 1992 | "One" | U2 | Proceeds going towards AIDS research | 7, 1, 10, 4 |
| April 1992 | " Elected" | Smear Campaign | Comic Relief | 9 |
| September 1992 | "Suicide Is Painless" | Manic Street Preachers | The Spastics Society | 7 |
| November 1992 | "Heal the World" | Michael Jackson | Heal the World Foundation | 1, 2, 2, 2, 4 |
| February 1993 | "Stick It Out" | Right Said Fred and friends | Comic Relief | 4 |
| May 1993 | Five Live | George Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield | Mercury Phoenix Trust | 1 |
| April 1994 | "Watch Your House for Ireland" | Coca-Cola Republic of Ireland national football team | GOAL charity | 1 |
| May 1994 | "Absolutely Fabulous" | Pet Shop Boys with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley | Comic Relief | 6, 2 |
| August 1994 | "Love Can Build a Bridge" | Children for Rwanda | Save the Children | 57 |
| March 1995 | "Love Can Build a Bridge" | Cher, Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton | Comic Relief | 1, 41 |
| November 1995 | "You Better Believe It " | Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen | Children in Need | 60 |
| November 1995 | "Come Together" | Smokin' Mojo Filters | War Child | 19 |
| November 1995 | "Earth Song" | Michael Jackson | Heal the World Foundation, Environmental Awareness | 1, 1, 1, 3 |
| November 1995 | "The Gift of Christmas" | Childliners | ChildLine | 9 |
| November 1996 | "When Children Rule The World" | Red Hill Children | Children in Need | 40 |
| December 1996 | "Knockin' on Heaven's Door/Throw These Guns Away" | Ted Christopher, Mark Knopfler | Aid of victims of the Dunblane massacre | 1 |
| December 1996 | "Goodbye Girl" | Shane O'Donoghue and Paul Harrington | 2FM Christmas Appeal | 14 |
| March 1997 | "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" | The Spice Girls | Comic Relief | 1, 13, 3 |
| September 1997 | "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About The Way You Look Tonight" | Elton John | Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund | 1, 1, 1, 1 |
| October 1997 | "Perfect Day" | Various Artists, see specific article for full list | Children in Need | 1, 6 |
| November 1998 | "Especially for You" | Denise van Outen and Johnny Vaughan featuring Steps | Children in Need | 3 |
| March 1999 | "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" | Boyzone | Comic Relief | 1 |
| September 1999 | "New Day" | Wyclef Jean and Bono | NetAid | 23 |
| November 1999 | "Talking in Your Sleep/Love Me" | Martine McCutcheon | Children in Need | 6 |
| December 1999 | "The Millennium Prayer" | Cliff Richard | Children's Promise | 1 |
| December 1999 | "It's Only Rock 'n Roll " | Various Artists | Children's Promise | 14 |
- "Who Do You Think You Are" is the Comic Relief side
2000s
2010s
- Unlike the single by Sam Smith in 2015, the charity version of "What Do I Know?" was combined with the original's sales when calculating the chart position with no official listing for Kurupt FM.
2020s