| 100% | LIONEL | 6 | Richie who wrote "We Are the World" with 10-/25-Down |
| 57% | RICHIE | 6 | Lionel __; co-wrote We Are the World with MJ |
| 54% | TSELIOT | 7 | Who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 51% | ELIOT | 5 | Poet who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 50% | POE | 3 | Poet who wrote the line "But we loved with a love that was more than love" |
| 47% | RICHIE | 6 | Lionel ___," singer who co-wrote "We Are The World" with Michael Jackson, |
| 46% | LOUISEGLUCK | 11 | 2020 Literature Nobelist who wrote, “We look at the world once, in childhood. / The rest is memory” |
| 42% | STEIN | 5 | Gertrude who wrote "We are always the same age inside" |
| 41% | JOHNNYMERCER | 12 | Lyricist born 11/18/1909 who wrote the words to the 10 songs with asterisked clues |
| 41% | MANDY | 5 | With 30-Across, "This Is Us" actress who turned 40 on April 10, 2024 |
| 41% | NKJEMISIN | 9 | Afrofuturist author who wrote "The World We Make" |
| 41% | WRIGHT | 6 | Orville —, US aviator who, with brother Wilbur, is credited with inventing the aeroplane |
| 40% | KENNYLOGGINS | 12 | "We Are the World" singer who was half of a famous duo (oh, and one more thing...) |
| 40% | QUINCYJONES | 11 | "We Are the World" producer who received the French Legion of Honor medal in 2001: 2 wds. |
| 40% | TSELIOT | 7 | Who wrote "April is the cruellest month" |
| 39% | POE | 3 | Poet who wrote "We loved with a love that was more than love" |
| 39% | MARX | 4 | Philosopher who wrote, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it” |
| 39% | CASTRO | 6 | World leader who co-wrote the book "How Far We Slaves Have Come!" with Mandela |
| 39% | HELLO | 5 | Adele song with the lyric "I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be" |
| 39% | GALWAY | 6 | John Lennon said that the world would be like this bay if we could "make chains with the morning dew" ('72) |
| 39% | BILLCLINTON | 11 | U.S. president who wrote the novels "The President Is Missing" and "The President's Daughter" with 33-Across (2 wds.) |
| 39% | MABARKER | 8 | Midwest woman with four gangster sons who was gunned down by the FBI in 1935: 2 wds. |
| 38% | EARTH | 5 | I'm one of the classical elements who is associated with qualities of matter and the terrestrial world |
| 38% | CARTLAND | 8 | English author Barbara, who wrote "The Wicked Marquis", and is referenced in the Guinness World Records for most novels published in a year |
| 38% | AYNRAND | 7 | Who wrote "Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think" |
| 37% | ELIOT | 5 | Poet who wrote "April is the cruellest month" |
| 37% | BANKSY | 6 | Anonymous graffiti artist who wrote, “A wall is a very big weapon. It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with” |
| 37% | MIA | 3 | With 24-Down, superstar who is in the National Soccer Hall of Fame |
| 37% | JOHNWOODEN | 10 | UCLA basketball coach with a record 10 NCAA titles who was honored with a 2024 US postage stamp: 2 wds. |
| 37% | ELIOT | 5 | Poet who wrote "Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity" |