Ease on Down the Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Ease on Down the Road" | ||
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| Single by Diana Ross & Michael Jackson | ||
| from the album The Wiz | ||
| Released | 1978 | |
| Genre | R&B/Soul | |
| Writer(s) | Charlie Smalls | |
| Producer(s) | Quincy Jones | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Michael Jackson chronology | ||
| "Just A Little Bit Of You" (1972) |
"Ease on Down the Road" (1978) |
"You Can't Win (Pt. 1)" (1978) |
"Ease On Down the Road" is a song from the Broadway musical The Wiz, best known in its 1978 release as a duet between soul singers and former Motown alums Diana Ross & Michael Jackson.
The 1978 duet was released as the theme song of the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz (itself an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), and produced by Quincy Jones. The Charlie Smalls–composed tune was an R&B re-interpretation 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, 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.
"Ease on Down the Road" is performed four times in The Wiz: once by Dorothy and the Scarecrow, once by the two of them and the Tin Man (played in the movie by Nipsey Russell), by the three of them and the Cowardly Lion (played by Ted Ross), and finally during the end credits. In the album version, Jackson & Ross sing by themselves. The recording was one of Jackson's first collaborations with Quincy Jones, who became his main producer during the late 1970s and 1980s.
Released as a single in the late summer of 1978, the song missed the U.S. Top 40 by one position, peaking at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached #17 on the Soul Singles chart the same year.
Previously, the song had been released as a single by Consumer Rapport in 1975. This version made it to #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to #19 on Billboard's R&B chart, at the time known as Hot Soul Singles.
| Michael Jackson |
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| Album discography • Singles discography • Records and achievements • Awards • Moonwalk |
