This article covers the boxer Muhammad Ali's appearances in media and popular culture.
Literature
Books The Cassius Clay Story, by George Sulivan (1964) Black is Best: The Riddle of MUHAMMAD ALI, by Jack Olsen (1967) Muhammad Ali, who once was Cassius Clay, by John Cottrell (1968) Sting Like a Bee: The Muhammad Ali Story, by José Torres (1971) Loser and Still Champion: Muhammad Ali, by Budd Schulberg (1972) The Fight, by Norman Mailer (1975) The Greatest: My Own Story, by Muhammad Ali, with Richard Durham (1975) Free to Be Muhammad Ali, by Robert Lipsyte (1979) "The Muhammad Ali Cookbook" with Lana Shabazz (1980) Muhammad Ali, the People's Champ, by Elliott J. Gorn (1988) Muhammad Ali: Heavyweight Champion (Black Americans of Achievement), by Jack Rummel (1989) Muhammad Ali: The Fight for Respect, by Thomas Conklin (1992) Clay V. United States: Muhammad Ali Objects to War (Landmark Supreme Court Cases), by Suzanne Freedman (1997) The Tao of Muhammad Ali, by Davis Miller (1997) I'm A Little Special: A Muhammad Ali Reader, by Gerald Early (1998) King of the World, by David Remnick (1999) More Than a Champion: The Style of Muhammad Ali, by Jan Philipp Reemtsma (1999) Learning About Strength of Character from the Life of Muhammad Ali (Character Building Book), by Michele Ingber Drohan (1999) Muhammad Ali (Journey to Freedom), by Clay Latimer (2000) Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties, by Mike Marqusee (2000) The Greatest, by Walter Dean Myers (2001) Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, by Mark Collings (2001) Ghosts of Manila, by Mark Kram (2002) Lucky Man: A Memoir, by Michael J. Fox (2002) Muhammad Ali: Trickster Celebrity in the Culture of Irony, by Charles Lemert (2003) The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey, by Muhammad Ali and Hana Ali (2004) The Untold Legacy Of Muhammad Ali, by Thomas Hauser (2005) Clay V. United States And How Muhammad Ali Fought the Draft: Debating Supreme Court Decisions, by Thomas Streissguth (2006) What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States, by Dave Zirin (2005) The psychodynamics of white racism: An historical exploration of white racial pathology as elicited by prizefighters Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali : (Dissertation), by Michal Louise Beale (2006) I'm a Bad Man: African American Vernacular Culture and the Making of Muhammad Ali, by Shawn Williams (2007) The Greatest: My Own Story, by Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham, edited by Toni Morrison (2015) Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith (2016) Ali: A life, by Jonathan Eig (2017)
Magazine articles
Playboy – Interview: Cassius Clay, by Hugh M. Hefner (October 1964) Life Magazine – Cover: Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), by Editor Henry Luce (March 6, 1964) Esquire – "The Passion of Muhammad Ali", by George Lois (April 1968) Life Magazine – Cover: Muhammad Ali, by Editor Henry Luce (October 23, 1970) Life Magazine – Cover: Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, by Editor Henry Luce (March 5, 1971) Life Magazine – Cover: Ali vs Frazier by Frank Sinatra, by Editor Henry Luce (March 19, 1971) Time Magazine – "The Greatest is Gone Muhammad Ali * Much Ado About Haldeman", (February 27, 1978) ESPN Sports Century – "Muhammad Ali: "The Greatest" by Joyce Carol Oates (1999) Time Magazine – "100 Heroes & Icons: Muhammad Ali", by George Plimpton (June 14, 1999) "UN Messengers of Peace reflect on their work. (Muhammad Ali, Jane Goodall, and Anna Cataldi)" An article from UN Chronicle (2005) "The fight of his life: boxing Great Muhammad Ali battles Parkinson's disease" An article from: Science World, by Mona Chiang (2006)
Poetry and quotations Muhammad Ali, In Fighter's Heaven, by Victor Bockris (2000) I Am The Greatest Quotes Muhammad Ali, by Karl Evanzz (2002) Perfect in Their Art: Poems on Boxing from Homer to Ali, by Bud Schulberg, Robert Hedin, and Michael George Waters (2003) The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey, by Muhammad Ali with Hana Yasmeen Ali (2004)
Illustrated books Ali Rap: Muhammad Ali the First Heavyweight Champion of Rap, by George Lois (2006) The Rough Guide to Muhammad Ali, by Ann Oliver (2004)
Comics Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, (DC Comics, 1978) Asterix and the Big Fight – The protagonist, a Gallo-Roman chieftain, is named Cassius Ceramix in the English version of the comic. Chief Vitalstatistix's strategy of wearing down his opponent and his victory dance are based on Ali's. The fifth Clayface's name is a parody of Ali's, named Cassius "Clay" Payne.
Books for children More Than a Hero: Muhammad Ali's Life Lessons Presented Through His Daughter's Eyes, by Hana Ali (2000) Float Like a Butterfly, by Ntozake Shange (author), Edel Rodriguez (illustrator) (2002) I Shook Up the World: The Incredible Life of Muhammad Ali, by Maryum "May May" Ali (2004) Muhammad Ali: Legends in Sports, by Matt Christopher and Glenn Stout (2005) I'll Hold Your Hand So You Won't Fall: A Child's Guide To Parkinson's Disease, by Rasheda Ali (2005)
Music
Featuring Ali himself In 1976, Ali released the album Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay, which told a story meant to educate children about dental hygiene The album was narrated by Howard Cosell, with guest appearances by Frank Sinatra and Richie Havens. A sequel Ali and His Gang vs. Fat Cat the Dope King was planned, but apparently never released. Ali himself released a 45 rpm version of the song "Stand by Me" (written by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), a track which also featured on his 1963 Columbia album I am the Greatest (released under the name Cassius Clay). In December 1969, Ali appeared on Broadway in the musical Buck White.Internet Broadway Database http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3305 The show ran for just seven performances; but Ali and the cast performed the number "We Came in Chains" on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ali influenced several elements of hip hop music, as a "rhyming trickster" in the 1960s with "funky delivery, the boasts, the comical trash talk, the endless quotables". According to Rolling Stone, his "freestyle skills" and his "rhymes, flow, and braggadocio" would "one day become typical of old school MCs" like Run–D.M.C. and LL Cool J, the latter citing Ali as an influence.
Songs In 1971, New York singer Vernon Harrell released a record about him called "Muhammed Ali" (sic) (Brunswick Records #55448) as Verne Harrell. This misspelling of Ali's name was printed on the labels of the 45s. In 1975, a song about Ali titled "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" was recorded by British reggae group Johnny Wakelin & the Kinshasa Band.[ allmusic (((Johnny Wakelin – Biography)))] In 1981, Dutch guitarist Harry Sacksioni composed and played a song called "Ali's Shuffle". The Freakwater song "Louisville Lip" on their 1998 album Springtime is a tribute to Muhammad Ali framed around the story Ali told in his 1975 autobiography about tossing his gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused service in a nearby diner. In his early 20s, singer-songwriter and piano impresario Ben Folds wrote the song "Boxing", a fictional monologue by Muhammad Ali to Howard Cosell pondering the end of his fighting career. The song was inspired by Folds' father's love of the sport. The song was eventually recorded and appeared on Ben Folds Five's eponymous album (1995). It has also appeared in a live version on the album Naked Baby Photos (1998), a solo version by Folds on iTunes Originals - Ben Folds (2005), and in a symphonic version with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra on the DVD Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth (2005). The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Bette Midler on her album Bathhouse Betty (1998). The R. Kelly song "World's Greatest" is a tribute to Ali, and it is featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 motion picture Ali. In 2002, the song peaked at number 34 on Billboard's Hot 100 US singles chart and at number 4 on the UK singles chart. The song's video features archived footage of Ali as well as an homage to the firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical workers regarded among the greatest heroes of the rescue operations necessitated by the events of 9/11. The British dance band Faithless recorded a song titled "Muhammad Ali" which was released as a single on September 23, 2001. The single reached number 29 on the UK singles chart. The song was included on their 2001 album Outrospective. In 2012, The Game released a song titled "Ali Bomaye". The song features 2 Chainz and Rick Ross. In 2013, internet comedic series Epic Rap Battles of History launched a rap video featuring Ali and Michael Jordan. In 2015, Australian band William Street Strikers used Ali's Attica Prison Poem lyrics on their song "No Surrender", from their album Nothing's Going On. The song was aired on the show Living in the Land of Oz after the death of Ali and became a staple of community radio after its release. In 2016, American soul group, KING, released a song titled "The Greatest", which was inspired by Muhammad Ali's unwavering confidence and grace. The song was included on the group's debut album "We Are King". In 2016, British rock band Coldplay used a sample of Ali's 1977 speech in Newcastle upon Tyne on the single version of their song "Everglow". The speech is also played whenever the band performs the song on their A Head Full of Dreams Tour. The Louisville Orchestra premiered a multimedia dramatic work about Ali by the orchestra's Music Director, Teddy Abrams, in November 2017 at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. The work presented Ali's own poems, speeches, and writings set as rap and spoken-word recitations, plus an original narration and numerous vocal settings of poems from many historical eras. Performers included Rhiannon Giddens, Jubilant Sykes, and Louisville rapper Jecorey "1200" Arthur, along with many other actors, speakers, and dancers from the Louisville community. The band Fever 333 references Ali in one of their songs, titled "Burn It." In 2026, K-pop artist Monsta X's Joohoney released a song "Sting", featuring Ali, which samples a 1974 audio clip of him and his memorable phrase "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
Artists American singer Cautious Clay took his stage name from Ali's birth name. Japanese jazz band ALI is named after Ali.
Visual arts
Film and television Documentaries a.k.a. Cassius Clay is a 1970 documentary that covered Ali's triumphs and setbacks up to that moment in time. One Punch Too Many is a BBC TV documentary released in 1998. When We Were Kings is a 1996 Academy Award-winning documentary film about the "Rumble in the Jungle", Ali's 1974 fight against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). ESPN produced specials in honor of Ali's 65th birthday. The shows include Ali Rap, Ali's Dozen and Ali 65. They premiered on December 9, 2006, at 9 pm EST on ESPN. Facing Ali is a 2009 documentary on the topic of all the fighters that Ali faced during his career. Each one is interviewed at length. The film made the shortlist for the 82nd Academy Awards in the category of Best Documentary Feature, but did not make the final list. Ali's fight with Larry Holmes was the subject of one of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series; "Muhammad and Larry" by Albert Maysles first aired on ESPN on October 27, 2009. Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami is a 2008 WLRN documentary that charts Cassius Clay's transformation from young boxing hopeful to a cultural icon. The film traces Ali's rapid rise through the heavyweight ranks, his friendship with Malcolm X, his historic clash with champion Sonny Liston, and his subsequent refusal to fight in Vietnam. The documentary When Ali Came to Ireland (2012) tells the story of Ali's first visit to Ireland to fight against Alvin Lewis in July 1972. The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013) I Am Ali (2014)