''I Am the Greatest'' is a
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
album by boxer
Cassius Clay
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
, released in August 1963 – six months before he won the
world heavyweight championship, publicly announced his conversion to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, and changed his name to
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
. It was released by
CBS Columbia. The album helped establish Ali's reputation as an eloquently poetic "
trash talker". The album has also been identified as an early example of
rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and a precursor to
hip hop music.
Overview
The liner notes were written by the American poet
Marianne Moore
Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.
Early life
Moore was born in Kirkwood, ...
, a longstanding fan of Clay.
Clay collaborated on the writing for the album with the comedy writer Gary Belkin, who was listed as producer on the original release and later as a co-writer in a 1999 re-release.
[Martin, Douglas, "Gary Belkin, 79, Dies; Wrote Comedy for TV Variety Shows", '']New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', August 4, 2005. Belkin would later claim he had largely
ghost-written
A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
the works, although Belkin's assertions have been disputed (e.g., by
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...
and
David Remnick
David J. Remnick (born October 29, 1958) is an American journalist, writer and editor. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for his book '' Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire'', and is also the author of ''Resurrection'' and ''King of th ...
).
[ The album idea had been proposed to Clay by the ]William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent a ...
, and the recording was conducted at Columbia Records' 30th Street New York Studio before an audience of 200 people.
Rather than being listed as "tracks", the first 8 entries on the album were listed with "rounds" numbers, and ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' duly noted that Clay claimed he would beat Sonny Liston
Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 1930 – December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson i ...
in 8 rounds. Although Clay's remarks were treated skeptically at the time as mere promotional bragging, when the Liston fight was held the following February, Clay won in a major upset when Liston gave up after only 6 rounds. Clay had proved tougher than expected from the beginning, and he began to dominate the fight in the third round. Despite being nearly blinded in the fourth round – apparently by an ointment used on a cut on Liston's face – Clay recovered, and by the end of the sixth round he was landing blow-after-blow in combinations, almost at will. At the opening of the seventh round, Liston spat out his mouth guard and refused to rise to continue.
On the day after the fight, it was disclosed that Clay had joined the Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
(which was confirmed by Clay himself the following day), and a week later its leader Elijah Muhammad
Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an African American religious leader, black separatist, and self-proclaimed Messenger of Allah, who led the Nation of Islam (NOI) from 1934 until his de ...
announced that Clay would change his name to Muhammad Ali.
Following his upset victory and other major news, there was a surge in demand for the LP of the previous August. To take advantage of the moment, the title track "I Am The Greatest" was also released as a single, with the B-side "Will The Real Sonny Liston Please Fall Down". The phenomenon became a significant event in the musical culture that year. "I Am The Greatest" was also released as a single with Clay singing his cover of the Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...
song " Stand By Me", which resurfaced on CD in 1991 as part of the compilation ''Golden Throats
Golden Throats is Rhino Records' series of humorous compilations of critically lambasted cover versions of songs, performed mostly either by celebrities known for something other than musical talent or musicians not known for the genre from which ...
2: More Celebrity Rock Oddities''.
After later controversy, Columbia pulled the LP and single from stores. Ali did not make another record until he teamed up with Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
and Howard Cosell
Howard is an English language, English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (disambiguation), Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defe ...
to record ''The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay
''The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay'' is a 1976 educational album by the American heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. The album was recorded to raise awareness of tooth decay among children. The album features several notable perso ...
'' in 1976.
The album was re-released on CD on 6 Jun. 2016.
Reception and legacy
''I Am the Greatest'' was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and t ...
at the 6th Annual Grammy Awards
The 6th Annual Grammy Awards were held on May 12, 1964, at Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. They recognized accomplishments by musicians for the year 1963. Henry Mancini won 4 awards.
Award winners
*Record of the Year
**Henry Mancini for " Days ...
in 1964; it lost to Allan Sherman
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) (Al ...
's song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" is a novelty song recorded by Allan Sherman. The melody is taken from the ballet ''Dance of the Hours'' from the Opera "La Gioconda" by Amilcare Ponchielli, while the lyrics were written by Allan ...
".
''I Am the Greatest'' reached number 61 on the album chart, and sold 500,000 copies in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Certain tracks on the album have been identified as rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
, such as "Will The Real Sonny Liston Please Fall Down" which is identified as the first rap battle
Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...
track. ''I Am the Greatest'' is considered a precursor of hip hop music, with Muhammad Ali's impact on hip hop well documented.
Track listing
The LP consists of monologues and poems devoted mainly to Clay himself.[Thomas Hauser, ''Muhammad Ali His Life and Times'', 2010, p. 56]
;Bonus Tracks
References
{{Authority control
1963 debut albums
Muhammad Ali albums
Columbia Records albums