NEW YORK (AP) – Before he was even heavyweight champion or had changed his name from Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali was a force in the music world. He had befriended Sam Cooke and released an album featuring his comic poetry and a cover of the hit “Stand By Me.” But starting in the mid-1960s, Ali himself would inspire songs of all kinds, from all over the world. Here are some notable releases about Ali:
“The Greatest Love of All”
Written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed for a movie few remember, the 1977 Ali biopic “The Greatest,” this soaring, self-affirming ballad would conquer the world, first as a hit for George Benson, then as a standard performed by Whitney Houston.
“‘Cassius Love’ vs. ‘Sonny’ Wilson”
A 1964 comedy track by the Beach Boys that spoofed the Ali-Sonny Liston rivalry. Snippets of the band’s hit songs were interspersed with insults exchanged between lead singers Mike Love and Brian Wilson, cousins who would feud for real in subsequent years. “Listen Mike, with a voice like yours, when you open your mouth it’s a big putdown,” Wilson cracks. Answers Love: “At least when I’m singing, it doesn’t sound like Mickey Mouse with a sore throat.”