Classroom Companion

When Elvis Met Ali: If I Can Dream

Tom Schreck

This Study Guide provides relevant background information that students, actors, and audiences may find beneficial as they delve into the play When Elvis Met Ali: If I Can Dream by Tom Schreck, part of the Gitelman & Good Publishers catalog.

About Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, to Gladys and Vernon Presley. His twin brother, Jesse, was stillborn, and after the birth, Gladys was unable to have more children. The Presleys were poor, transient Southerners who worked at odd jobs when available, frequently moving to find work or avoid creditors. The home where Elvis was born had neither electricity nor indoor plumbing.

Elvis's heritage included Scots-Irish, Cherokee, German, and French, among others. His great-grandmother was named Morning White Dove, and another great-grandmother was Jewish. Elvis was raised in the Assembly of God Church, a Pentecostal denomination known for its passionate singing and embrace of the Holy Spirit.

Elvis learned to sing and perform at a young age in church. As a high school student, he was shy and introverted, and his mother walked him to school daily. He didn’t make the school glee club, but when he played his guitar and sang at a school talent show, he fell in love with performing. The Presleys lived in a poor, integrated neighborhood where Elvis was exposed to country, R&B, and both white and black gospel music, a combination that ultimately shaped his unique style.

In 1952, while working as an apprentice electrician and truck driver, Elvis stopped at a recording studio to make a demo record. The office manager made a note for the owner to call him back. Six months later, they did, and Elvis recorded a song by black performer Big Boy Crudup. It became an instant hit in Memphis, and many listeners initially believed that Elvis was African American.

Elvis’s rise to the top of rock 'n' roll was meteoric. Within 18 months, he became an international sensation. In 1958, he was drafted into the army. That same year, his beloved mother died at age 46, and Elvis was moved to Germany, where his life changed forever. He returned to the USA in 1960, became the highest-paid movie star in the world, and made a series of superficial beach movies that made him immensely wealthy, though he yearned for more meaningful artistic expression.

In 1968, his famous “Comeback Special” returned him to rock 'n' roll prominence. He began performing live again, touring extensively both on the road and in Las Vegas. However, he became exhausted, dependent on prescription medication, and was eventually divorced from his wife, Priscilla. By the mid-1970s, Elvis remained famous and successful, but he had become disillusioned with his life and career and was unsure how to change it.

He died in 1977 at his home. The cause of death is frequently debated, though it was officially listed as heart failure. At the time, he had eleven different drugs in his system and suffered from various health issues, including hypertension, digestive problems, glaucoma, autoimmune disease, and clinical depression.

About Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Clay in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942. His father, Cassius Clay Sr., considered himself an artist but made a living as a sign painter for Black businesses in and around Louisville. The Clays were a middle-class family who lived in a pleasant Black neighborhood in the city. They were descendants of enslaved people from the antebellum South, though Ali’s maternal great-grandfather was a white man from Ireland. Ali and his father were named after a famous abolitionist.

As a child, Ali struggled with dyslexia and had difficulty in school. When his favorite possession, a bicycle, was stolen, Ali searched everywhere to recover it. When he approached a policeman and said he was going “to whup” the thief, the officer invited him to a city boxing gym. Ali soon began training with incredible passion and dedication.

Cassius Clay Sr. was often abusive after drinking and blamed racism for his failures in life. He frequently spoke harshly about white people.

Meanwhile, Muhammad’s amateur boxing career took off, and he made the 1960 Olympic team, where he won a gold medal. During the Olympics, he praised his country’s progress on segregation, but upon returning to Louisville and being refused service at an all-white restaurant, he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River.

In 1963, Ali fought Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Championship. Considered a huge underdog, Ali won the fight and the title when Liston claimed to have been injured. Immediately after the fight, Ali announced his conversion to Islam and membership in the Nation of Islam, a religious group that referred to white people as “blue-eyed devils.” It was then that he changed his name to Muhammad Ali, denouncing “Cassius Clay” as a slave name.

In 1967, Ali was drafted but refused induction, citing his religious beliefs against war. His refusal drew international attention, and he became a hero to anti-war activists when he famously said, “No Viet Cong ever called me [a racial slur].” As a result, Ali was banned from boxing, his title was stripped, and he lost nearly four years of his athletic prime.

In 1971, Ali fought Joe Frazier in “The Fight of the Century,” which he lost. Many believed he wasn’t the same fighter after his exile. However, he later defeated George Foreman—then considered unbeatable—regaining the world title and being named Sports Illustrated's “Man of the Year.”

Ali eventually lost the title to Leon Spinks but won it back in a rematch. Though many thought he should have retired after that victory, he continued to fight, suffering several humiliating defeats.

After retiring, Ali traveled the world as a spokesperson and missionary for Islam. He later became a Sunni Muslim and distanced himself from the Nation of Islam. Ali lost much of his fortune due to poor business decisions and irresponsible spending. He married four times.

In 1984, Ali announced that he had Parkinson’s syndrome, likely due to years of boxing. He died in 2016 from complications related to the disease.

About Their Meeting

In the 1970s, Ali attended an Elvis concert in Las Vegas. Elvis recognized him in the crowd, introduced him to the audience, and later invited him backstage to his dressing room. The two men hit it off immediately, sharing mutual admiration. Elvis even had a custom-made robe created for Ali, matching the jumpsuit he wore that evening.

Ali later signed a boxing glove for Elvis with the message: “Elvis, you’re the greatest!” He also said, “Elvis was the nicest, sweetest, most humble man you could ever know.”

In 1980, Ali told TV Guide that Elvis would secretly join him at his training camp in the Poconos Mountains, where they would talk for hours on end.

Elvis Presley Timeline

Muhammad Ali Timeline

Discussion Questions Before Attending

If students will attend a performance of the play, prepare them by facilitating discussions using the questions and activities below.

1. Music Analysis.
   1. Listen to Big Mama Thortnon’s version of “Hound Dog” and then Elvis’s.
   2. Listen to Little Richard’s version of “Tutti Fruitti,” Pat Boone’s version, and then Elvis’s.
   3. What would you say about the styling of the songs?
2. Boxing Analysis.
   1. Watch Rocky Marciano in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KRFqWwGW4I
   2. Watch Ali in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDJMzgKQfE
   3. How would you describe the difference in their boxing artistry?
3. Discussion Question. Elvis and Ali changed the worlds of music and boxing, and in doing so, they also transformed our culture. Why did their success in their chosen fields lead to such a broad influence on society beyond music and boxing?
4. Theme: The Draft and Patriotism.
   1. Watch this clip of Elvis after he was drafted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOR8AU8Yzhs
   2. Watch this clip of Ali after refusing the draft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd9aIamXjQI&rco=1
   3. What does it say about how the two men feel about their country?
5. Theme: Integration and Race.
   1. Here’s Ali talking about integration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqiWFLsgVi4&t=31s
   2. Here’s a short story about rumors about Elvis being racist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LrCW2djCk
   3. Do either of these surprise you in any way?

Discussion Questions After Attending

If students will attend a performance of the play, encourage reflection and critical analysis by facilitating discussions using the questions and activities below.

1. What do the two men share in common? What differences do they have?
2. What role do you think race played in their success, their careers and in their lives?
3. How did the two men’s images confine them as people and how they experienced life?
4. How would have Elvis’s life been different if he was a black man and how would of Ali’s life had been different as a white man?
5. How does race matter in a friendship like Elvis and Ali had? How does it differ from race as a cultural concept?
6. How does the play demonstrate the idea that music is a universal language that transcends personal differences? Give examples from the play where music bridges gaps between people.
7. Explore other music from the era of Elvis Presley to understand the musical landscape of his time. Have students create a playlist featuring popular songs from the 1950s and 1960s across various genres. Each student then explains why they chose each song and its relevance to the era.
8. Analyze the lyrics and musical style of Elvis Presley’s songs to understand his influence on music and popular culture. Have students choose one song and present their analysis of the lyrics, discuss the emotions it evokes, and examine how Presley’s delivery affects the song’s impact. 
9. Map out the major events in Elvis Presley’s career alongside major events in music and world history during the same period. Create a timeline that includes the release of key songs by Elvis Presley, significant personal milestones, and major historical events of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
10. What does the play suggest about the nature of fame and its effects on personal relationships? Are there any positive or negative consequences of fame that are particularly striking in this story? How does their fame impact their relationships? Discuss the complexities that fame brings into their personal relationships.