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"Ease on Down The Road" is a song used in The Wiz and all of its adaptations. Both the music and lyrics were written by composer Charlie E. Smalls. The song was a R&B re-interpretation of "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" and "We're Off to See the Wizard". The song was sung three times by Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion as they wandered down the Yellow Brick Road. This song stands as the the most remembered number in the production, partially because it frequently plays in commercials for different versions of it. The duet that Diana Ross and Michael Jackson recorded for the movie (in character as Dorothy and the Scarecrow, respectively) was number 41 on the 1978 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles in the 70's.

History

Early versions

The earliest version of the song was recorded by the Hues Corporation in 1974, for their second studio album Rockin' Soul. The song was performed by the original Baltimore cast of The Wiz at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in October 1974 which included Renee Harris as Dorothy, Charles Valentino as the Scarecrow, Ben Harney as the Tin Man, Ken Prymus as the Cowardly Lion, and Butterfly McQueen as the Queen of the Field Mice. From January 5, 1975, the song was performed by the new Broadway cast at the Majestic Theatre which included Stephanie Mills (Dorothy), Hinton Battle (Scarecrow), Tiger Haynes (Tin Man) and Ted Ross (Cowardly Lion), who also performed the song on the original 1975 cast album for The Wiz. The song was a number-one disco hit for five non-consecutive weeks in a recording by the disco studio group Consumer Rapport. Produced by Stephen Y. Scheaffer and The Wiz musical arranger Harold Wheeler, the Consumer Rapport version hit the Billboard Soul Singles chart, peaking at #19 and the Hot 100, peaking at #42.

Diana Ross and Michael Jackson version

In 1977, "Ease on Down the Road" was recorded as a duet between Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and released as the theme song of the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz. As with the rest of the music in the film, the film version of "Ease on Down the Road" was produced by Quincy Jones. 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 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. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann wrote that duet between Jackson and Ross has "spectacular vocal firepower" and that it outperforms the 1975 version by Consumer Rapport. The recording also earned Jackson his first Grammy Award nomination with Ross (his previous two were with his family group, the Jacksons) in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1979.

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".

"Ease on Down the Road" Lyrics

Dorothy and Scarecrow

Come on and
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road

Come on and
Ease on down, Ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down ease on down, down the road

Cause there may be times when you think you lost your mind
And the steps you're taking leave you three four steps behind
You just keep on keepin' on the road that you choose
Don't you give up walking cause you gave up shoes

Ease on down, Ease on down the road
Ease on down, Ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on
Ease on down, Ease on down, down the road


Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Man

Pick your right foot up, when your left one's down
Come on, legs keep moving, don't you lose no ground
Cause the road you're walking might be long sometimes
You just keep on stepping and you'll be just fine.

Ease on down, Ease on down the road
Ease on down, Ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on
Ease on down, Ease on down, down the...

Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion

Come on
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on
Ease on down, ease on down the road

Cause there may be times, when you wish you wasn't born
And you wake one morning just to find your courage gone
But just know that feeling only lasts a little while
You just stick with us and we'll show you how to smile

Come on
Ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothin'
That might be a load
Come on
Ease on down, ease on down...
Ease on down, ease on down...
Ease on down, ease on down...

Notes

  • The soundtracks for the Original Broadway version and The Wiz Live! don't include the first verse.
  • The movie swapped some lyrics from the first two verses. Productions of the original play (including The Wiz Live!) continue to use the original words.
  • The Wiz Live! changed some parts into solos for star Shanice Williams. Most drastically, "You just keep on stepping and you'll be just fine," became, "You just stick with me and you'll be just fine."

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