• Ease on down the road with The Wiz

Hey y’all! We’re over here calling this month Black Cinema Month at Soul Music Society. And y’all know we can’t talk about Black Cinema Month without highlighting The Wiz and one of the most iconic songs EVER! “Ease on Down the Road” is a song that just keeps on giving the fun, the musicality, the VOCALS, the history, the yellow brick road, the energy and the full on SOUL through the screen. It lives on forever as one of our favorite soundtrack songs, not only in Black cinema, but in all types of films. Period.⁠

“Ease on Down the Road” is a song from the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, an R&B re-interpretation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Charlie Smalls–composed tune is the show’s version of both “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” from the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz. In the song, performed three times during the show, Dorothy and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion dance their way down the yellow brick road and give each other words of encouragement.⁠

But in ’77, “Ease on Down the Road” was recorded as a duet between Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and released as the theme song of the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz. As with the rest of the music in the film, the film version of “Ease on Down the Road” was produced by Quincy Jones. The recording was one of Jackson’s first collaborations with Quincy Jones, who became his main producer during the late 1970s and 1980s.⁠

In this article

the wiz soundtrack

The Wiz (Soundtrack)

Movie: The Wiz

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And did y’all know that this recording earned Michael Jackson his first Grammy Award nomination with Diana Ross – his previous two were with his family group, the Jacksons – in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1979. ⁠

I hope this brings back some nostalgia for y’all! Pop this movie on before the year ends if at all possible.⁠

Check out our other posts for Black Cinema Month. Rediscover your favorite 70s movie or find a new one to add to your collection. 

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