W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Cassius Clay - Stand By Me / I Am The Greatest (1964)

 Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

Muhammad Ali [born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr]; (January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.

He was famous for trash talking, often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, and is identified as a pioneer in hip-hop. He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, footwork, head movement, and rope-a-dope technique, among others.

'I Am the Greatest' is a comedy album by boxer Cassius Clay, released in August 1963 – six months before he won the world heavyweight championship, publicly announced his conversion to Islam, and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. It was released by Columbia/CBS. The album helped establish Ali's reputation as an eloquently poetic "trash talker". The album has also been identified as an early example of hip hop music. 

With the success and popularity of Clay's album release, Columbia decided to release a follow up single featuring Clay singing a cover of Carol King's "Stand By Me", with his earlier hit "I Am The Greatest" on the flip side. The single was released in 1964, charting on the Billboard "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles".

Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay)
1967

After later controversy, Columbia pulled the LP and single from stores. Ali did not make another record until he teamed up with Frank Sinatra and Howard Cosell to record The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay in 1976.

However, Clay's "I Am the Greatest" single resurfaced again on CD in 1991 as part of the compilation Golden Throats 2: More Celebrity Rock Oddities.

Now I'm sure many of you are wondering why Muhammad Ali didn't like being called Cassius Clay?

In an interview with a well known celebrity magazine, Ali explained "Cassius Clay is a slave name". "I didn't choose it and I don't want it." ' According to The Independent, Ali attended his first Nation of Islam (NOI) meeting in 1961 and then later joined the African American Islamic religious movement in hopes of improving the status of African Americans in the U.S.

This month's W.O.C.K posting pays tribute to one of the greatest boxers that ever stepped into a boxing ring, and as the old saying goes "He could Float like a Butterfly, and Sting like a Bee".  

This post is definately Obscure (thanks to Guitarzman for the rip - MP3/320) but I'd also like to tick the C box for Cassius Clay's Courage in standing up for his rights as an Africian American in the U.S during the 60's.

Track List

Side A - Stand By Me   2:09

Side B - I Am The Greatest    2:12

Mono Single Link (10Mb)