HEAR THIS: Derrick Morgan “Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)”

Big Big Request To The Greatest

Forget what you heard. Muhammad Ali will never die. Ali may be one of the few larger-than-life icons to challenge even Bob Marley for nearly universal respect. We’ve all seen photos of The Greatest with Elvis, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan—he was even Prince’s hero—but what’s his connection to reggae? Derrick Morgan, one of Jamaican music’s greatest, pays tribute to boxing’s “Black Superman” in this Bunny Lee production which made a splash in the UK with Trojan Records in 1975, the year of the Thrilla in Manila. (The song predates the famous DC Comics book, published in 1978.)  Audio After The Jump…

At Treasure Isle and Studio One, Morgan worked alongside the likes of Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff recording blues and ska, later rocksteady and so-called “skinhead reggae.” His early 1960s rivalry with Prince Buster was an early prototype for what became the Gully/Gaza conflict within reggae music, complete with fan friction and a government-sponsored photo opp to squash the beef. They say the hotter the battle the sweeter the victory, and Mr. Morgan should know—so he would have to respect a true fighter. (Bonus tune: Trinity’s Blackbeard-produced DJ cut “Muhammad Ali,” also taken from Trojan’s pugilistic Sucker Punch anthology.) Big request to a youth from Louisville, Kentucky who grew up to be The Greatest.

“You watch me do the shuffle and I’ll knock off your head” Run that…

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Bonus: “Three Piece Suit” DJ Trinity Bigs Up The Greatest

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