"A Brand New Day", also known as "Everybody Rejoice", is a song from the 1974
BroadwaymusicalThe Wiz written by American
R&B singer and songwriter
Luther Vandross. (In 1976 Vandross recorded a version of the song for his album Luther, on Cotillion Records.) In the play, the song is sung to celebrate after
Dorothy has killed Evillene, the tyrannical
Wicked Witch of the West.
Dorothy, the
Tin Man, the
Cowardly Lion, and the
Scarecrow sing the song with the newly freed
Winkies, who were ruled and enslaved by Evillene. It was later featured in the 1978
film version, sung by cast members
Diana Ross,
Michael Jackson,
Nipsey Russell, and
Ted Ross (credited as The Wiz Stars). Given the all-Black cast of The Wiz, the song's many references to freedom and new possibilities (especially as sung by African American characters who had just been freed from enslavement) certainly invoked the struggles and history of Blacks in America. In the onscreen version of the song,
Nipsey Russell can even be heard exclaiming "Free at last!"—a reference to
civil rights activist
Martin Luther King Jr. (His impromptu addition to the song is not heard on the soundtrack album version, instead replaced by sung vocals by
Diana Ross.) The song's opening line is sung by
Luther Vandross, the song's composer (Vandross' line was to represent one of the Winkies singing and dancing on a table while throwing up an item in the film).
The film version was released as a single in some continental
European countries and peaked at #1 in
Belgium and
The Netherlands,[1] credited to The Wiz Stars featuring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
Contents
The single release is an edit of the first half of the song, which in its entirety runs 7:49 on the
film's soundtrack. It is backed by the second half of the song, which is labeled as "Liberation Ballet – A Brand New Day". The "Liberation Ballet" is primarily instrumental and is composed of uptempo dance music in a variety of styles, with the film's cast and choir cheering and singing "Can you feel the brand new day" throughout the piece.