The Wiz (film) certain we didn't use anything from it. They made a brilliant movie, and even though our concept is different – they're Kansas, we're New York; they're white, we're black, and the score and the books are totally different – we wanted to make sure that we never overlapped in any area." Michael Jackson, a former Motown star and close friend of Diana Ross was cast as the Scarecrow. By the start of development on "The Wiz" in 1977, he and his brothers The Jacksons, had left Motown for Epic Records, though Jackson had yet to make a solo album since
50 Best Songs – The Motown Years: Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 "Ben", "Ain't No Sunshine" and "One Day in Your Life", all of them during their tenure on Motown (1969–1975), with the exception of "Farewell My Summer Love" and "Girl You're So Together", which were released after they left the company (these tracks were released in 1984). Some tracks released here gained some attention during their original release, like "Touch" (originally released in 1973). 50 Best Songs – The Motown Years: Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 50 Best Songs – The Motown Years: Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 (also known as 50 Best Songs or The Motown Years) is