The Wiz (soundtrack) (35th anniversary)

Today (September 18th) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the release of the motion picture soundtrack for The Wiz. This 1978 blockbuster musical boasted an all-star line-up that helped the record achieve great sales.

Click here for my full review of that album.

The Wiz (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

On October 24th, 1978, a big budget Hollywood musical adaptation of popular Broadway musical The Wiz rolled into movie theatres. This urbanized-retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz starred Diana Ross (as Dorothy), Michael Jackson (as the Scarecrow), Nipsey Russell (as the Tin Man), Ted Ross (as the Cowardly Lion), Mabel King (as Evilene, the Wicked Witch of the West), Lena Horne (as Glinda, the Good Witch of the South) and Richard Pryor (as the Wizard).

A few weeks prior, on September 18th, the double-record soundtrack album was released. This record went to number 40 on the US Billboard Hot 200 and number 33 on the Billboard R&B charts. Today, we will give it a listen.