1979 Michael Jackson – You Can’t Win (US:#81)
“You Can’t Win” is an R&B, pop and soul song written by Charlie Smalls and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, who played Scarecrow in the 1978 musical film The Wiz, an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The movie featured an entirely African American cast and was based on the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz.
After the original soundtrack version was recorded, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones went back into the studio and re-recorded the track. It was the re-recording that was released in January 1979 as the second single from The Wiz: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, following the release of “Ease On Down the Road” in 1978, and was Michael’s first solo chart single on Epic Records (despite the fact that the soundtrack album for The Wiz was released by Motown and the now-defunct MCA Records). The 7-inch version split the song in half, with “Part 1” as the A-side and “Part 2” as the B-side; the full-length version was released as a 12-inch single and later was included on The Ultimate Collection in 2004.
The single only charted in the United States, where it reached number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 42 on the R&B singles chart. Since its release, the song has been well received by music critics. The song has been performed by contemporary singers such as Jill Scott and Charles Grigsby.
Album
The Wiz is the original motion picture soundtrack album for the 1978 film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Wiz. Although the film was produced for Universal Pictures by Motown Records’ film division, the soundtrack album was issued on MCA Records as a two-LP collection (Universal was owned by MCA Inc. at the time). Chiefly […]
Musicians
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Produced By
Quincy Jones
Songwriters
Charlie Smalls
Charts
US:#81
UK:# –