When attending a 48 hour charity "Radiothon" at the radio station KLOS, Jimmy Bain (of Rainbow and Dio) and Vivian Campbell (at that time still in Dio, later to play in Whitesnake and Def Leppard) noticed that the representation of heavy metal stars was scarce. In the light of the success of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World", they forwarded the idea to Ronnie James Dio, also attending the Radiothon, and they decided to make a similar project exclusively built on artists from the heavy metal scene. Together the three cowrote the song Stars.
On May 20 & 21, 1985, 40 artists gathered at the A&M Records Studio in Hollywood, California to record the Stars album. The project included members of such bands as Dio, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Queensrÿche, Blue Öyster Cult, Dokken, Night Ranger, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Journey, Y&T, Vanilla Fudge, and the parody band Spinal Tap.
Ronnie James Dio had intended for the song and album to be released shortly after its recording, but contractual issues with the different artists' record labels delayed the release until January 1, 1986, somewhat diminishing the impact of its release.
Vocals
Eric Bloom ( Blue Öyster Cult ) ; Ronnie James Dio ( Dio ) ; Don Dokken ( Dokken ) ; Kevin DuBrow ( Quiet Riot ) ; Rob Halford ( Judas Priest ) ; Dave Meniketti ( Y&T ) ; Paul Shortino ( Rough Cutt ) ; Geoff Tate ( Queensrÿche ) ;
Backing Vocals
Robbin Crosby ( Ratt ) ; Stephen Pearcy ( Ratt ) ; Tommy Aldridge ( Ozzy Osbourne ) ; Dave Alford ( Rough Cutt ) ; Carmine Appice ( Vanilla Fudge ) ; Vinny Appice ( Dio ) ; Jimmy Bain ( Dio ) ; Frankie Banali ( Quiet Riot ) ; Mick Brown ( Dokken ) ; Vivian Campbell ( Dio ) ; Carlos Cavazo ( Quiet Riot ) ; Amir Derakh ( Rough Cutt ) ; Buck Dharma ( Blue Öyster Cult ) ; Brad Gillis ( Night Ranger ) ; Craig Goldy ( Giuffria ) ; Chris Hager ( Rough Cutt ) ; Chris Holmes ( W.A.S.P. ) ; Blackie Lawless ( W.A.S.P. ) ; George Lynch ( Dokken ) ; Yngwie Malmsteen ; Mick Mars ( Mötley Crüe ) ; Dave Murray ( Iron Maiden ) ; Vince Neil ( Mötley Crüe ) ; Ted Nugent ; Eddie Ojeda ( Twisted Sister ) ; Jeff Pilson ( Dokken ) ; David St. Hubbins ( Spinal Tap ) ; Rudy Sarzo ( Quiet Riot ) ; Claude Schnell ( Dio ) ; Neal Schon ( Journey ) ; Derek Smalls ( Spinal Tap ) ; Mark Stein ( Vanilla Fudge ) ; Matt Thorr ( Rough Cutt ).
Guitar :
Craig Goldy ( Giuffria ) ; Vivian Campbell ( Dio ) ; Carlos Cavazo ( Quiet Riot ) ; Buck Dharma { Blue Öyster Cult ) ; Brad Gillis ( Night Ranger ) ; George Lynch ( Dokken ) ; Yngwie Malmsteen ; Eddie Ojeda ( Twisted Sister ) ; Neal Schon ( Journey ).
Guitar Melody Lines :
Dave Murray ( Iron Maiden ) ; Adrian Smith ( Iron Maiden )
Bass : Jimmy Bain ( Dio )
Drums :
Vinny Appice ( Dio ) ,Frankie Banali ( Quiet Riot )
Keyboards :
Claude Schnell ( Dio )