Before he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, Muhammad Ali tried his hand at something unexpected: music. In 1963, years before becoming the world’s most famous boxer, a 21-year-old Cassius Clay (his birth name) recorded I Am the Greatest, a spoken word album blending poetry, bravado, and surprisingly decent rhythm. It’s like if Shakespeare wrote trash talk and teamed up with a jazz band—minus the iambic pentameter.
The album, recorded for Columbia Records, features Ali’s trademark charisma over funky instrumentals. He recites self-penned poems like Will the Real Sonny Liston Please Fall Down?—a playful jab at his upcoming opponent—and I Am the Greatest, which later became his catchphrase. The track White Bear even includes a sung chorus, proving Ali wasn’t afraid to test his vocal cords. Critics called it “unexpectedly catchy,” while boxing fans wondered if they’d bought the wrong album by mistake.
Ali’s foray into music wasn’t a vanity project. He’d been performing poetry at boxing events for years, using rhymes to psych out opponents and entertain crowds. The album capitalized on his growing fame, released just months before he defeated Sonny Liston to claim the heavyweight title. Tracks like The Gang’s All Here and I’m a Bad Man mix humor, social commentary, and Ali’s signature swagger. Sample line: “I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m fast, I’m pretty / And I can’t possibly be beat!” Humble? No. Entertaining? Absolutely.
The album flopped commercially but gained cult status. Decades later, a remastered version earned a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album in 2015. Ali’s collaborators included jazz legend Sam Cooke, though Cooke reportedly declined to sing on the record, leaving Ali to handle vocals himself. The result? A charmingly amateurish yet endearing mix of confidence and rhythm.
Ali’s musical ambitions didn’t stop there. He later released The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay, a children’s album about dental hygiene, and even rapped on Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay in 1978. While these projects never overshadowed his boxing legacy, they showcased his knack for performance and willingness to embrace the absurd.
So, next time you hear Ali’s famous quotes, remember: he was a poet, a showman, and a part-time crooner. And if you ever doubt his confidence, just listen to I Am the Greatest. It’s proof that Ali didn’t just predict his victories—he turned them into a funk album. As for his singing skills? Let’s just say he stuck to knocking people out. Some legends are better left un-mic’d.
