Ease on down the road - The Wiz Stars

'Ease on down the road' is one of the lesser known Michael Jackson hits. It was taken from the 1978 movie soundtrack 'The Wiz', based on the Wizard of Oz tale. The track was produced by Quincy Jones, with vocal performances by Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. In the song, Dorothy (portrayed in the film by Ross) and the Scarecrow (played by Jackson) dance their way down the Yellow Brick Road, and give each other words of encouragement.

Released as a single, it reached number 41 in the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking at number 45 in the UK singles chart. It was a number 1 hit in Turkey, though.

My collection: 7" single no. 4221
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Ease on down the road' (Diana Ross & Michael Jackson) / 'Poppy girls' (Quincy Jones)

A brand new day - The Wiz Stars

In 1978, the soundtrack album for the movie 'The Wiz' was released. Chiefly produced by Quincy Jones, the soundtrack features cast performances by the stars of the movie, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross, amongst others.

This quartet also starred on the first single taken from the soundtrack, 'A brand new day', which was released as a single in the summer of 1979. It reached number 1 in the Dutch Top 40. The soundtrack marks Jones' first collaboration with Michael Jackson; he would go on to produce Jackson's hit solo albums 'Off the wall', 'Thriller' and 'Bad'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4155
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'A brand new day' / 'Liberation ballet: a brand new day'