Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz

Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz is an album by Diana Ross, released by Motown Records/Universal on November 27, 2015.[3] The album features Ross' versions of songs from the film version of the musical The Wiz, in which she starred along with Michael Jackson.[4] The songs were originally recorded in 1978, produced by Ross, Suzanne de Passe and Grammy Award winner Lee Holdridge.[2] Motown originally planned to release the album in 1979 (a year after the film's original soundtrack)[4] but it was cancelled following low box office returns and highly negative critical response to the film.[1]

Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz
Studio album by
Diana Ross
ReleasedNovember 27, 2015
Recorded1978
GenreFunk,[1] disco,[1] gospel[2]
LabelMotown, Universal
ProducerDiana Ross, Suzanne de Passe, Lee Holdridge, Andrew Skurow, George Solomon, Harry Weinger
Diana Ross chronology
I Love You
(2006)		 Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz
(2015)

Ross recorded new versions of "Be a Lion" and "Home" for the album, together with a previously unreleased song, "Wonder, Wonder Why".[5] Home had been released as part of a 2001 Motown compilation album,[5] while a different version of "Ease on Down the Road" had been released in 1978 as a duet with Michael Jackson.[1] All other tracks remained unreleased until 2015.[5] The reissue was remastered and produced by Andrew Skurow, George Solomon, and Harry Weinger.[2] The album was released ahead of the premiere of The Wiz Live! (a new adaptation of the 1975 Broadway musical) with newcomer Shanice Williams reprising Ross' role of Dorothy (originally played by Stephanie Mills in the original Broadway play) in the television special that was seen by 11.5 million viewers on NBC.[6][7]

Track listing

All songs written by Charlie Smalls, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "The Feeling We Once Had"
  2. "He's the Wizard"
  3. "Soon as I Get Home"
  4. Trio Medley: "You Can't Win" / "Slide Some Oil" / "(I'm A) Mean Ole Lion"
  5. "Ease on Down the Road"
  6. "Be a Lion"
  7. "So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard"
  8. "Is This What Feeling Gets? (Dorothy's Theme)" (Quincy Jones, Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson)
  9. "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News"
  10. "Wonder Wonder Why"
  11. "A Brand New Day" (Luther Vandross)
  12. "Believe in Yourself"
  13. "Home"

See also

References
  1. Danton, Eric (25 November 2015). "Diana Ross Unearths Solo Version of 'Ease on Down the Road'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  2. Coleman, Michael (15 November 2015). "'Lost' Album "Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz" to be Released on November 27". Electronic Urban Review. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. "Sings Songs from The Wiz". AllMusic. November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. Gans, Andrew (27 November 2015). ""Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz" Released Today". Playbill. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. Taraborrelli, J.Randy (2014). Diana Ross: A Biography. Citadel. p. Miscellaneous recordings. ISBN 9780806537634.
  6. "Thursday final ratings: 'The Wiz Live' holds, 'CMA Country Christmas' adjusts down plus final NFL numbers". Zap 2 It. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  7. "'The Wiz Live' Ratings Strong: NBC Musical Draws 11.5 Million Viewers". Variety. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
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