№ 22 · COLLABORATION
The Wiz — Where He Met Quincy
Universal Pictures film, October 24, 1978
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ RARE
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 22 · COLLABORATION · ★ RARE
The Wiz — Where He Met Quincy
Universal Pictures film, October 24, 1978
№ 22 COLLABORATION
The Wiz — Where He Met Quincy
Michael's only major film acting role — the Scarecrow in The Wiz, the all-Black 1978 movie musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz — is also where he met Quincy Jones. The Wiz was a box-office failure that nearly ended Michael's solo career before it began. It also produced the most consequential creative partnership in pop history.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Ease On Down The Road (The Wiz, 1978)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBO9YuNxoI8
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
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THE FACT
Michael's only major film acting role — the Scarecrow in The Wiz, the all-Black 1978 movie musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz — is also where he met Quincy Jones. The Wiz was a box-office failure that nearly ended Michael's solo career before it began. It also produced the most consequential creative partnership in pop history.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Universal had no intention of casting Michael. He auditioned obsessively, learnt every dance routine in the script, and reportedly broke down crying when offered the part. He moved to New York for six months to film at Astoria Studios, where he lived alone for the first time in his life — an experience he later described as 'the most important six months I ever had'. Director Sidney Lumet had hired Quincy Jones to do the musical arrangements; during a break between takes, Michael cornered Quincy and asked if he would produce his next solo album. Quincy initially declined — he thought Michael was 'too sweet' to make a serious adult record. But after watching him learn 22 dance routines in a single day, he agreed. The result was Off The Wall in 1979. The Wiz lost $10 million at the box office and was the most expensive musical ever made up to that point; Michael's contractually-guaranteed appearance fee saved him from being financially devastated by its failure.
▶
THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Ease On Down The Road (The Wiz, 1978) — With Diana Ross — the duet that introduced him to Quincy Jones.