All Star Cast / Music

• This trope is the Raison d'être of the Supergroup, which assembles a group of famous musicians (or members of famous bands) and draws in fans with the promise of awesomeness by amalgamation.
  • A special mention needs to go to The Traveling Wilburys, who assembled an utterly unbelievable amount of talent (Bob Dylan. Roy Orbison. Tom Petty. George Harrison and Jeff Lynne)— and then released the entire thing under a Stage Name, with no reference to who they really were, because they were doing it to have fun and work with each other.
• This is a staple of the Charity Motivation Song genre, as seen in "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are the World", and the charity benefit concert, as in the case of Live Aid.
  • USA for Africa's "We Are the World" is one of the most successful charity records, and this record from 1985 — proceeds of which were used for famine relief in Africa — has a who's who of musical acts, from all the major genres, involved. Quincy Jones was the conductor, and writers Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson were a prominent part of the chorus. Get a load of who else had solo parts: Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry (of the band Journey), Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles. And who backed them up? Dan Aykroyd, Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac), Waylon Jennings, Bette Midler, John Oates (Daryl Hall's longtime partner), LTD lead singer Jeffrey Osborne, Smokey Robinson; and various members of The News (Huey Lewis' backing band), The Jacksons and The Pointer Sisters.
• Quincy Jones himself was fond of spinning through his rolodex of industry friends starting with his 1981 album "The Dude", but his most famous all-star work apart from "We Are the World" is his 1989 album Back on the Block, which featured three generations of soul, pop, rhythm & blues and jazz talent. The album included vocalists Take 6, Tevin Campbell, Andraé Crouch, Seidah Garrett, Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, Bobby McFerrin, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Jarreau, Sarah Vaughn, El DeBarge, James Ingram, Al B. Sure! and Barry White; rappers Ice-T, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane and Kool Moe Dee; guitarist George Benson; bassists Nathan East and Louis Johnson; keyboard players Josef Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Steve Porcaro, George Duke, Ian Underwood, and Rod Temperton & Greg Phillinganes^note two players who performed with and programmed nearly every keyboard sound for Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder; horn and sax players Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and James Moody; and drum & percussionists Harvey Mason, John Robinson and Sheila E. All told, over 100 world-famous musicians, engineers and producers collaborated on the commercially and critically successful album, and Back on the Block remains the only album to score both Best Jazz Fusion Performance and Best Rap Performance at the Grammys (it also garnered the Album of the Year award in 1990, amongst others that year.)
• This is the entire point of a posse cut in hip-hop. Some well-known examples:
  • "Scenario" by A Tribe Called Quest & Leaders of the New School
  • "Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)" the original was by Craig Mack, but the remix featured The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
  • DJ Khaled is known for these; some examples are "All I Do is Win", "We Takin' Over", and "Out Here Grindin'"
• The intersection of films and songs is of course concert movies, and Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, which documented and celebrated the last performance of The Band, assembled a murderer's row of talent. Aside from the group themselves, there were performances from Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, and Bobby Charles (Neil Diamond too, but we don't like to talk about him)—and of course, a set by Bob Dylan, who brought The Band to prominence as his backing group before they went solo. Oh, and just for completeness sake, the last song adds in Ringo Starr and Ron Wood as backing musicians.
• It's very common in jazz as the genre relies on the skill of their protagonists.
  • Famous example is Miles Davis' Kind of Blue from 1959 that features high-profile players like saxophonists John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and pianist Bill Evans. Bitches Brew from 1970 collected an impressive cast as well: guitarist John McLaughlin, pianists Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul as well drummer Jack DeJohnette. A bonus track from a reissue even had Billy Cobham! His two legendary quintets weren't far behind, so Miles definitly had a taste for a Cast of Snowflakes.
  • Cannonball Adderley's 1958 album Somethin' Else had drummer Art Blakey, the "two Jones" Sam and Hank Jones (not related) and Miles Davis.
• Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, especially on All of the Lights.
• Jamie Foxx's video for "Blame It" both parodies this with its opening and plays it straight when you realize just how many famous people are in the video.
• Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" which was literally just all his famous friends walking around a set talking and waiting for Michael to show up to the video shoot while the song plays in the background. That's the whole point.
• Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna cut You Down".
• The song and video for "Bed Rock" by Young Money features everybody in the Young Money group(and a few others) including Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Birdman and Lloyd.
• Jay-Z's "Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)..." video is packed with famous faces, some predictable (Diddy, Roc-a-Fella artists Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Freeway, Tru Life, and Young Gunz), some unexpected ones (rapper Rick Ross, singers Mariah Carey, and Cassie, rap producers Swizz Beatz, Just Blaze, The-Dream, DJ Clue, and Irv Gotti, and America's Next Top Model alum Yaya DaCosta), and a few downright surprising ones (former adversary Nas, Rock of Love contestant Kristia Krueger, actors Drew Sidora and Tristan Wilds, athletes Zab Judah and Larry Johnson). Of this group, only Diddy and Cassie had a hand in creating the song. Ironically, the track's most famous contributors, Kanye West and background vocalist Beyoncé, are both absent.
• David Bowie's second and third videos from The Next Day (2013) attracted some name acting talent to shore him up: Tilda Swinton plays his wife in "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)", while Gary Oldman plays a Catholic priest and Marion Cotillard a prostitute in "The Next Day". (No links because neither clip is safe for work.)
• Slash's debut album was made on the theory that the guitarist would write whatever he wants in any genre he wants, then contacts the singer best suited for it when he's got a basic song laid down (most of them friends he's made throughout the years). This session ended up including Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Lemmy Kilmister, Kid Rock, an instrumental with Dave Grohl and his old Guns N' Roses band-mate Duff McKagan, and Alice Cooper doing a duet with Nicole Scherzinger among others. Two of the only names he wasn't able to get for various reasons were Dave Mustaine and Jack White.
• Megadeth's 2013 Gigantour already included several bands with celebrity members, except they were playing in smaller or less famous bands. Then one night in Texas they all got on stage together to perform "Cold Sweat" by Thin Lizzy while Slash was in the building. This ended up becoming a jam of David Ellefson and Jason Newsted on bass, Vinnie Paul on drums, Mustaine, Chad Gray and David Draiman on vocals, and Mustaine, Chris Broderick, Shawn Drover off his kit, Slash and Zakk Wylde on guitar. So basically, a number of famous names in metal (and then the fellow from Death Division). For a metalhead, Dave Mustaine announcing these names quickly became Serial Escalation.
• Disney's Friends for Change's inaugural song "Send It On" features Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and The Jonas Brothers - a rather modest lineup even by Disney's standards. The accompanying Green Aesop campaign recruited literally every star they had on their shows at the time.
• Sam Kinisons video for his cover of "Wild Thing" was a who's-who of 80's metal and rock stars. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Billy Idol, the entire line-up of Ratt, Slash and Steven Adler, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, C.C. Deville and Tommy Lee. All there to mostly get blitzed and sing back-up.
• The studio album version of Here Lies Love. The music and lyrics were a collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. The guest talent they brought in to sing the album included Florence Welch, Candie Payne, St. Vincent, Tori Amos, Martha Wainwright, Nelly Mc Kay, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, Allison Moorer, Charmaine Clamor, Roisin Murphy, Camille, Theresa Andersson, Sharon Jones, Alice Russell, Kate Pierson, Sia, Santigold, Nicole Atkins, Natalie Merchant, and Shara Worden.
• The Furious 7 soundtrack, in contrast to previous albums' lesser known cast of artists, features a wide variety of big name stars, consisting of rappers, DJs, and pop singers, mixed with some lesser known acts. It includes Kid Ink, Tyga, Wale, YG, Rich Homie Quan, T.I., Young Thug, Sevyn Streeter, Dillon Francis, DJ Snake, Wiz Khalifa, Iggy Azalea, Prince Royce, Charlie Puth, Juicy J, Kevin Gates, Future, Sage the Gemini, David Guetta, Kaz James, DJ Shadow, Mos Def, J Balvin, French Montana, Nicky Jam, Flo Rida, Lookas, Lil' Jon, Fito Blanko, Skylar Grey, and Famous to Most.
  • This is par the course with soundtrack albums, especially if they were cobbled together from previously recorded songs, such as the soundtrack for The Perks of Being a Wallflower featuring a who's who of 80's Alternative Rock groups such as Sonic Youth, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, New Order, Dexys Midnight Runners, XTC and David Bowie.
• Shudder To Think's soundtrack to First Love, Last Rites had them performing songs in various retraux styles with guest vocalists - They ended up largely working with singers who, while not Household Names, were definitely prominent in 90's Alternative Rock: Jeff Buckley, Liz Phair, Billy Corgan, Nina Persson, John Doe, Angela McLuskey, Lena Karlsson, Matt Johnson, and Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker.
• Joni Mitchell's 1979 tour, as captured on the Shadows and Light live album, featured some big names in jazz fusion: Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Don Alias, Michael Brecker and Jaco Pastorius.
• Roger Waters' 1990 performance of The Wall in Berlin featured guest performances from The Scorpions, Cyndi Lauper, Sinéad O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Thomas Dolby, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison, Marianne Faithfull, Tim Curry, and members of The Band.
• The compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear brought together artists such as Devo, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ani DiFranco and Jackie Chan, Roy Clark, and Herman's Hermits to cover popular songs they'd be considered unlikely to cover.
• Ed Sheeran assembled an impressive roster for No. 6 Collaborations Project that included Khalid, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, Pnb Rock, Stormzy, Yebba, Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, Eminem, 50 Cent, Young Thug, J Hus, Ella Mai, Pablo Londra, Dave, H.E.R., Meek Mill, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Skrillex, Chris Stapleton, and Bruno Mars, not to mention huge producers like Max Martin, Steve Mac, and Benny Blanco.
• The music video for "Bad Blood" by Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar has appearances from Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Hailee Steinfeld, Serayah, Gigi Hadid, Ellie Goulding, Martha Hunt, Cara Delevigne, Zendaya, Hayley Williams, Lily Aldridge, Karlie Kloss, Jessica Alba, Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, and Cindy Crawford.
• "Forever Country" was a mash-up of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads", Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again", and Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" recorded in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association Awards. The song was credited to "Artists of Then, Now and Forever" a group of 30 country superstars. In order of appearance, they are: Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church, Ronnie Milsap, Charley Pride, Dierks Bentley, Trisha Yearwood, Lady A, Darius Rucker, Martina McBride, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Willie Nelson, Brooks & Dunn, Alabama, Brett Eldredge, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, and Dolly Parton. All of the above artists appear in the song's music video, as does Randy Travis.
• Elton John's The Lockdown Sessions features collaborations with an impressive roster of artists ranging from living legends to modern superstars. Dua Lipa, Young Thug, Nicki Minaj, Surfaces, Charlie Puth, Rina Sawayama, Gorillaz, 6LACK, Years & Years, Miley Cyrus, Andrew Watt, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith, SG Lewis, Brandi Carlile, Jimmie Allen, Lil Nas X, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, and (posthumously), Glen Campbell all make appearances.
• Death Metal band Avulsed released a compilation of re-recorded songs titled Deathgeneration in 2016 to celebrate their 25th anniversary. While they aren't a household name among death metal listeners outside their home country of Spain, they have a sizable worldwide fanbase and are respected heavily by their fellow musicians, to the point that they were able to gather a whopping 16 guest vocalists for the album to create what is essentially a love letter to both their career and 90s-style death metal, almost all of whom are at least somewhat well-known. Of them all, only four (Ludovic Loez, Paul Zavaleta, Ville, and Bongo) could genuinely be considered completely underground.^note  These four may have been substitutes for the below mentioned singers who were contacted, but weren't available. The rest of the lineup (brace yourselves) includes Per Boder (God Macabre), Chris Reifert, Rogga Johansson, Antti Boman, Anton Reisenegger (Criminal), Sven de Caluwe, Kam Lee (Massacre), Will Rahmer (Mortician), John McEntee (Incantation), Johan Jansson (ex-Centinex), Mike van Mastrigt (ex-Sinister), and Tomas Lindberg. To put the icing on the cake, Dan Swano mastered the record, while Barney Greenway and Piotr Wiwczarek were also supposed to appear, but they were both occupied during the period^note  According to the band's vocalist Dave Rotten, Napalm Death's North American tour rendered them on the road nonstop, while Vader was recording their latest album at the time. and were unable to record their parts in time. LG Petrov and George Fisher were also contacted by the band, but their messages were not received. For a fairly lesser-known group, that is nothing short of impressive.
• Indio Solari surrounded himself with some of Argentina's finest musicians during his solo career:
  • The late drummer Martín Carrizo played with Gustavo Cerati (of Soda Stereo's fame) and A.N.I.M.A.L., and was the brother of TV presentator Cecilia "Caramelito" Carrizo.
  • Drummer Hernán Aramberri was a former Los Redondos member who played in Último Bondi a Finisterre and Momo Sampler.
  • Guitarist Gaspar Benegas played with combative rock band Las Manos de Filippi during some time, and is cousin of Miguel Cantilo, former member of trovador rock band Pedro y Pablo.
  • Keyboardist Pablo Sbaraglia is brother of Argentinean filmmaker Leonardo Sbaraglia and played on Man Ray and with Andy Chango's solo band.
  • Trompetist Miguel Ángel Tallarita played as guest musician in a lot of works such as Los Pericos's Big Yuyo, Yerba Buena, Mystic Love and 7; Caballeros de la Quema's Manos Vacías; Las Manos de Filippi's Marginal y Popular; GIT's Distorsión; and Gustavo Cerati's Fuerza Natural.
  • Costa Rica's own Déborah Dixon, one of Los Fundamentalistas's backing vocalists, formed part of Las Blacanblus, and has a quite productive CV as a guest musician.
  • Bassist Marcelo Torres played with another legendary argentinean musician, Luis Alberto Spinetta, on his solo band, Los Socios del Desierto.
• A Tribute to Tradition was a country album released in 1998 featuring covers of classic country songs performed by a wide variety of popular country stars of the time, including The Chicks, Randy Travis, Trace Adkins, and Martina McBride. Of particular note is "Same Old Train", the closing track and the only original song on the album, which is performed by a who's who of country stars past and present: Clint Black, Joe Diffie, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, and Dwight Yoakam.
• Dolly Parton's 2023 album Rockstar features guest appearances from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Kid Rock, Lizzo, Chris Stapleton, and Debbie Harry, among many others.
• Frank Ocean's Blonde features a ridiculously stacked list of producers and guest performers in its credits. Some of the more well known names include Beyoncé, Tyler, the Creator, James Blake, Andre 3000, Pharrell Williams, Fish, Jonny Greenwood, Yung Lean, Jazmine Sullivan, Amber Coffman, Kim Burrell, and the London Contemporary Orchestra.

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