Muhammad Ali: A Tribute to the Greatest by Thomas Hauser

again.”
    For most of his time in the military, Presley was stationed with the Third Armored Division in West Germany. He was honorably discharged on March 5, 1960. Two months later, he was on a television variety show again; this time as the featured guest on The Frank Sinatra Timex Special .
    Several years earlier, Sinatra had belittled Elvis as utterly lacking in talent. Now the two men, each wearing a tuxedo, stood side by side. Sinatra (looking uncomfortable) sang Love Me Tender . Elvis (without sideburns) sang Witchcraft , one of his host’s signature songs.
    Two-thirds of Americans watching television that night watched The Frank Sinatra Timex Special . Elvis was back. But the rebellious rock-and-roll figure had died.
    II
    On January 17, 1942, six years before the Presleys moved to Memphis, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
    Kentucky was a Jim Crow state. Segregated facilities were mandated by law. In parts of the country at that time, blacks were denied the right to vote and it was a crime punishable by ten years in prison for a black and white to intermarry. Major league baseball (“America’s national pastime”) had yet to open its doors to Jackie Robinson.
    In some respects, Cassius Clay was very much like Elvis. He adored his mother. He was a Southern Baptist, who said “yes, sir” and “no, sir.” He wanted to make money and own a red Cadillac convertible. He was remarkably telegenic, photogenic, and charismatic. One can argue that he and Elvis had two of the prettiest smiles ever.
    Elvis’s art was singing. Clay’s was fighting. Each was an entertainer. Elvis’s performances were scripted and safe. Clay’s world was more brutal. He put his physical well-being on the line every time he entered the ring.
    Like Elvis, Cassius was obsessed with his art when he was young and had a rhythm all his own.
    Older generations had condemned Elvis, saying, “He wouldn’t have to jump around and shake his hips like that if he could sing.” Older generations condemned Clay’s ring style, saying, “He wouldn’t have to dance around like that if he could fight.”
    On November 22, 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. On February 9, 1964, the Beatles made their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show (drawing 73,000,000 viewers). Sixteen days after that, Cassius Clay knocked out Sonny Liston to claim the most coveted title in sports, the heavyweight championship of the world.
    “The Sixties” had begun.
    Two days after defeating Liston, Clay announced that he had accepted the teachings of a black separatist religion known as the Nation of Islam. On March 6, 1964, he took the name “Muhammad Ali,” which was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad. On February 17, 1966, he was reclassified 1-A (eligible for the military draft) by the Selective Service System and uttered the now immortal words, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong.”
    Elvis’s followers had expected him to go into the military. He would have lost their love and respect if he hadn’t.
    The Nation of Islam had different expectations with regard to Ali. On April 28, 1967, citing his religious beliefs, he refused induction into the United States Army.
    Elvis had set music free in America and fit into the spirit of “What would it be like to be free of my parents’ rules?”
    Like Elvis, Ali was about personal freedom. But he was meeting issues of racism head-on and asking, “What would it be like to be free of society’s rules?”
    Ali was perceived by the establishment as being even more dangerous than Elvis had been.
    Meanwhile, popular culture was passing Elvis by. By the time he was discharged from the Army, rock and roll was in full bloom and evolving at the speed of sound. By 1964, the Beatles were dominating pop culture the way that Elvis had a mere eight years earlier. Mick Jagger did everything onstage that Elvis had done (and more). Bob Dylan freed music with