The soundtrack to the 1978 film The Wiz is set to be re-released on vinyl. A cast of iconic Black artists, including Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne and more all feature on the record produced by Quincy Jones. The RIAA-certified Gold soundtrack includes singles “You Can’t Win,” “Ease on Down The Road,” and “A Brand New Day.”
The album is comprised of a mix of songs from the original 1975 Broadway musical by Charlie Smalls and Luther Vandross alongside songs written specifically for the film by Jones, Ashford and Valerie Simpson, and Anthony Jackson. The soundtrack marked the first collaboration between Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, setting the foundation for Jones’ production on Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad.
The soundtrack was ultimately more successful than the film itself, but both maintain a special place in pop culture history. “A Brand New Day” was a surprise hit in the Netherlands, and when Diana Ross played two sold-out stadium shows in the country in 2009, she closed the shows with the song from the film.
In 2015, Motown Records/Universal released Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz, a version of the soundtrack sung entirely by Ross. The iconic singer recorded new versions of “Be a Lion” and “Home” for the album, together with a previously unreleased song, “Wonder, Wonder Why.”
Order the motion picture soundtrack to The Wiz on vinyl now.
