I LOVE Broadway! (insert gay stereotype –> here). “Home“, the signature song from the 1975 Tony Award winning musical The Wiz, is a favorite of mine. At the age of 16, Stephanie Mills, shocked the world of Broadway with her powerful performance. After a few stints on Broadway she went on to have a respectable R&B career. The song has become legendary…See for yourself

Above is a rendition of “Home” Stephanie Mills did years after her Broadway debut. The video quality is poor but you can get the picture! (Keep in mind that huge voice is coming out of a woman who is only 4′11″ and she was sitting down throughout the performance)

Warning: You are about to lose all the respect you ever had for Diana Ross. I don’t advise listening to Stephanie Mills and Diana Ross back-to-back because you’ll realize just how horrible Diana’s version of the song is. Her acting is incredible but the vocals are…less than stellar!

Here the scandal. When Barry Gordy, Ross’ boyfriend and head of Motown, bought the rights to The Wiz to make it into a film he signed Stephanie Mills, who was also signed to Motown, to play Dorothy in the movie. Diana Ross wanted to play the role, but after seeing Stephanie on the stage Gordy felt Diana was too old and could not handle the vocal requirements for the part. However Ross was not having it so she “contacted” Rob Cohen, then head of Universal Pictures, who later offered to finance Gordy’s film only if Ross were tapped to play Dorothy, at which point Gordy gave in and the rest is history. To make matters worse, Gordy also dropped Stephanie Mills from the Motown label. Diana Ross is a serious BITCH but you have to respect her ambition.

Few people may be aware of this fact. When Clive Davis was premiering his new young starlet, Whitney Houston, in her television debut, she sang “Home” in her first live performance. She ripped it!

For Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary tribute, Monica did her own rendition of the song. The beginning was rough but she rips it at the end!

Melinda Doolittle recently attempted the power ballad during this season’s American Idol. I think she did a respectable job.