Digital Photographer From Issue 164, 2015

Diana Ross Sings Songs from The Wiz is an album by Diana Ross, released by Motown Records/Universal on November 27, 2015. The album features Ross' versions of songs from the film version of the musical The Wiz, in which she starred along with Michael Jackson.

In 2014, something unusual happened. On the strength of their breakthrough album Too Many Roads, Denmark's Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado went global. Now it's one thing for an artist from Copenhagen to enjoy success at home and in a few adjacent countries. But the release of Too Many Roads saw the seven-piece combo fronted by singer and guitarist Risager gaining widespread notoriety in the U.S. and being invited to play in locales as far away as Mumbai, India. The album took home the Danish Music Award as the Top Blues Album of 2014 and also earned Germany's illustrious "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik," but perhaps even more impressively, it was selected as one the year's best by Britain's influential The Blues magazine, right alongside international stars like Robert Cray, Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa. Clearly, Risager and his mates had taken their exhilarating mix of blues, soul and rock 'n' roll to the next level. Early in 2015, Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado celebrated that triumph by returning to one of their favorite nightspots - the Harmonie in Bonn, Germany. They would treat local fans to a one-of-a-kind spectacle, hitting the stage as a ten-piece mini-orchestra.

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Of all the known treasures resting in the Motown vaults, one of the most tantalizing had always been Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz. Not a lot was known about the project, aside from the fact that Ross recorded it soon after she’d filmed her role as Dorothy for the 1978 movie musical The Wiz. Of course, the reason for recording the album was obvious; MCA Records released the film’s actual soundtrack, and Motown wanted to be ready with its own project to capitalize off of the anticipated success. After all, Diana Ross was still a Motown artist, and her previous two films (Lady Sings The Blues and Mahogany) had led to a #1 album and a #1 single, respectively; surely this — a full-fledged musical — would do the same. But when The Wiz finally opened in October 1978, it performed far below expectations, despite boasting a big budget and an all-star cast. Thus, the planned Motown Wiz LP was put on the shelf, and Miss Ross moved forward with another album (1979’s The Boss, restoring her to popular favor).