How The Beatles met Muhammad Ali and what their meeting turned into
Содержание
The Beatles - Liverpool's iconic band, whose extensive discography includes 13 official studio albums and more than 200 songs! The foursome began their rise to Olympus by emulating American classics of '50s rock 'n' rollbut gradually. "the beatles" came up with their own unique style... They had a huge influence on rock music and became the idols of most popular and famous musicians today. It's no coincidence Beatles are recognised as one of the most successful groups 20th century. As for Muhammad Alihe is a world-renowned professional heavyweight boxer! Muhammad Ali is already a legend... He is one of the most famous boxers in the history of world boxing. So what could a musical bands from Liverpool and global a boxing champion from America? How The Beatles were introduced to Ali? Let's find out!
History of the meeting
What Beatlesthat Muhammad Ali are iconic figures in their respective fields... And here, you might say in the middle of the... 60-х Their paths crossed in an amazing way! It happened 18 February 1964. in the gym at 5th Street in Miami Beach...The iconic Liverpool foursome of L.of Stannon, McCartney, Starr and Harrison. visited United Statesspecifically the show Ed Sullivan. It was then that they met a young and as yet little known boxer called . Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.... He would later change his name to something more familiar to fans - Muhammad Ali - and will step into the ring to face off against Sonny Liston in the super featherweight championship...
On that day. "the beatles." even managed to get a couple of shots with Ali before the match, though... They originally planned to get shots not with him at all, but with the Sonny Liston. At the time. The Beatles were not mega-popular stars, so they tried their best to attract the attention of the American public to their own person. But things turned out as they did, and a photographer was called in to help out Harry Benson still captured the group with the boxing icon. Today, these images are priceless.....
What was really going on inside the gym walls
It seems funny today, but on that day. Beatles They were locked in a room against their will! Neither Ali nor the musicians knew each other, and the boxer reportedly made a far from favourable impression on them at first... Later on Robert Lipsyte, journalist from Miamiwho flew in that day to New YorkIn order to cover the fight, he will talk about the tension before the match and how Ali arrived very late: it's hard to believe that on that momentous day Lipsite found himself face to face with future legends... Nowadays it's hard to imagine: you hardly know who they are. "The Beatles."who just happened to show up during your visit, or who will become Muhammad Ali... Actually, Lipsyte has the floor:
"I wasn't a 'teenage girl' and really didn't know who the Beatles were or who they would become..."
Just a few days ago. The Beatles appeared on the hit TV show Ed Sullivanand today they were already being led up the stairs to the gym, where he was honing his skills before an important match. Marcellus Clay accompanied by an unwilling Lipsyte…
"The Beatles... I remember them as little British blokes with thick hair, wearing white terrycloth shirts... They were shouting and swearing because they'd been told that Marcellus Clay wasn't here yet. They got very angry, but the big guards just chased them up the stairs! So, we ended up in the dressing room together, which the musicians were not happy about at all...".
Earlier Beatles trying to make an acquaintance in the form of Sonny ListonBut he only gave them one glance and refused to pose for photographs. When they found themselves in the same room with Lipsytethey were all waiting for Cassius. 10 or 15 minutes, а Beatles - according to the journalist - they complained all the time....
"Suddenly the door opened and there he was... Great, beautiful... He seemed to glow! Tall, in boxer shorts... We all gasped... The ice was broken!" - Lipsyte recalled Ali's appearance. "Then he laughed and said: "All right, Beatles, let's make some money!"
And they actually made a pretty good profit on the photos taken by Benson and became legendary... In one shot. Beatles pretended to fall from the impact Alilike dominoes... On the other one, a boxer lifts... Starraand in the third, the band members are lying on the ground as if they had just been knocked out. According to LipsyteIt was a powerful improvisation - as if all the actions had been rehearsed in advance! At one point Ali said "the beatles.""You're not as stupid as you look!"
"There was a lot of laughter, and then the Beatles left in their limo..." - Lipsyte recounts. "Cassius started practising in front of people who had paid 50 cents to watch it... "Who were these little sissies?" - he asked me. It was funny..."
Muhammad Aliof course he's gonna win. Liston and become a boxing icon. Lipsite will become a columnist Times for many, many years. А Beatles? They did alright too... They became the most legendary British band in history.