Burning The Ground Exclusive 1978
NEW 2021 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!
Originally posted November 9, 2012
“Ease on Down the Road” is a song from the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, performed in the original production by Stephanie Mills and Hinton Battle. It was also released in 1978 as a duet between Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
The 1978 duet was released as the theme song of the 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 film: 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 and 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.
In 1980, Jackson was a guest on Kraft Salutes Disneyland’s 25th Anniversary and, along with Disney characters (Mickey Mouse, The Seven Dwarves, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Minnie Mouse, Chip ‘n’ Dale, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, The Three Little Pigs and Goofy), performed the song in a medley with the Disney signature song, “When You Wish Upon a Star”.
It also earned Jackson his first Grammy Award nomination with Ross (previous two with his family group, The Jacksons) in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1979.
Released as a single by MCA Records in late summer 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 Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart the same year.
SIDE A:
Ease On Down The Road (Full Length US Version) 6:04
Performed By – Diana Ross, Michael Jackson
Written-By – Charlie Smalls
SIDE B:
Poppy Girls 3:26
Performed By – The Wiz*
Written-By – Anthony Jackson, Quincy Jones
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | Blue Jean | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #41 |
1978 | Blue Jean | U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles | #17 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – 12 MCA 396
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
CREDITS:
Producer – Quincy Jones, Tom Bahler
NPTES:
Full length US version from the soundtrack album and the film “The Wiz” over 6 minutes long.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Password: burningtheground
You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.
How much to bring this back? My wallet is open. 🙂
Hi Chris,
$100 bucks just kidding. Whatever you feel it is worth. I have re-uploaded the 16-bit Flac it will be there until Monday, June 22.
Most of your links are dead for some reason.
24-bit links are only available for seven days. I do not keep links available forever so that I can make room for new ones on my server.
Link is dead. Thank you though
16bit flac is still available.
Thank you for replying Paul. I look forward to more of your rips. Happy Easter!
Hi there .
Thank you for the great uploads for some strange reason when i go to unzip the files with Winrar i get a warning saying the archive is either in an unkown format or damaged .Very strange indeed does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
Josh
Thanks as always
Thanks for this djPaul!!
Glad to see this single remastered and posted. I am a big collector of MJ and Diana Ross.
Thanks Paul 🙂
Very excited Paul!!! Thank you for a very awesome 12-inch!!
Jeff
You’re welcome, Jeff 🙂
hi pault, thanks for sharing this great album
You’re welcome 🙂
Nice to see this re-ripped in even better Paulity! Thanks Paul, very appreciated.
You’re welcome, Stefano 🙂