Episode 33: Zaire '74, Muhammad Ali, and "The Rumble in the Jungle"
PLAYLIST
“I Am the Greatest” by Cassius Clay (1963)
“The Thrill is Gone (Live)” by B.B. King (1974)
“Hope She’ll Be Happier (Live)” by Bill Withers (1974)
“Soul Makossa” by Manu Dibango (1972)
“On and On (Live)” by Sister Sledge 1974)
“One of a Kind Love Affair (Live)” by The Spinners (1974)
“The Payback (Live)” by James Brown (1974)
“Black Superman—Muhammad Ali” by Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band (1974)
EPISODE SUMMARY
"The Rumble in the Jungle" featured heavyweight boxing legends, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, but they were not the only legends who gathered in Zaire in the fall of 1974. The music festival known as Zaire '74 brought African and African American music icons such as B.B. King, Bill Withers, Manu Dibango, and the Godfather of Soul, James Brown together in what Lloyd Price envisioned as a day "the beat would return to its roots." This episode of For the Record: The 70s examines the importance of both the fight and the music festival in an era when Ali and many of the musicians who performed in Zaire were at turning points in their careers.
SOURCES
Aletti, Vince. “Discoteque Rock ‘73: Paaaaaaarty!” Rolling Stone. September 13, 1973.
“Black Superman by Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band.” Songfacts.com. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/johnny-wakelin-the-kinshasa-band/black-superman
Davis, David. “Knockout: An Oral History of Muhammad Ali, Atlanta, and the Fight Nobody Wanted.” Atlanta Magazine. October 1, 2005. https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/knockout-oral-history-muhammad-ali-atlanta-fight-nobody-wanted/
The Dick Cavett Show. “Muhammad Ali Gives His Stance On The Vietnam War | The Dick Cavett Show.” May 8, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxuqSzE2mB0&t=15s
Eig, Jonathan. Ali: A Life. United States: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
Graff, Gary. “B.B. King.” Billboard. October 1, 2005.
Greene, Andy. “Bill Withers: The Soul Man Who Walked Away.” Rolling Stone. April 14, 2015. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bill-withers-the-soul-man-who-walked-away-111535/
Kisner, Ronald. “Zaire Show Goes on Despite Delay of Fight.” Jet. October 3, 1974.
Moore, Lee. “Bill Withers Uncomfortable with Success.” Asbury Park Press. January 29, 1978.
Morris, Mitchell. The Persistence of Sentiment: Display and Feeling in Popular Music of the 1970s. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 2013.
“Muhammad Ali: The Dream.” Time. March 22, 1963. https://time.com/3537815/muhammad-ali-dead-the-dream/
Plimpton, George. “Muhammad Ali: Sportsman of the Year 1974.” Sports Illustrated. December 23, 1974. https://www.si.com/boxing/2015/09/25/muhammad-ali-sportsman-1974
Pointer, Ruth and Marshall Terrill. Still So Excited: My Life as a Pointer Sister. Triumph Books. 2016.
Simmons, Rick. “The Story Behind ‘One of a Kind Love Affair.’” Rebeatmag.com. http://www.rebeatmag.com/the-story-behind-the-spinners-one-of-a-kind-love-affair/
Still Bill. Directed by Alex Vlack. New Video Group. 2011. DVD.
Withers, Bill. “Bill Withers Pays Tribute to Friend Muhammad Ali: You Couldn’t Harness Ali.” Billboard.com. June 30, 2016. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/7400384/bill-withers-tribute-to-muhammad-ali
World Documentary. “Soul Power The Greatest Music Festival 1974.” September 21, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyBvOFkCMlE&t=1461s