New Song Inspired by Muhammad Ali about Leadership and Respect)
In support of Black History Month (February 2020), D-Zone
Entertainment is proudly releasing the single, “The Greatest Lives” in digital
stores and streaming sites on Friday, January 31.
The song will be on “The Greatest Lives Songwriter’s EP,” due out March 21. It is sung by Thembeka Mnguni, finalist for South Africa’s
The Voice in 2016. Her name is pronounced “Them-bek-kah
Mmn-Gu-Nee.” From Durban, SA, she is signed to Universal Records. Her greatest cause is as a spokesperson for Autism. She is also a brand
ambassador for MUD Designer Makeup SA and for Body Confidence
International. In South Africa, Universal is releasing a new song “Stimel”
from her upcoming album, which will also include “The Greatest Lives” as a
bonus track. Visit her on social media at instagram.com/thembeka_thediva.
Here are digital links as of Friday morning, January 31, 2020
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2U7f5DI
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2u41eDm
YouTube: https://youtu.be/pl4T0t-NwtM
The idea for the song came to Anne in 1984 when Muhammad Ali was
diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. She wrote on a newspaper article, “What
would he want us to know?” and filed it in her box of song ideas. “It would
have been a totally different song if I wrote it then, because I was more
sentimental.” Instead she worked on the song as her first assignment for when
she was offered a songwriting deal. South Africa’s Sheer Publishing handle one
of Anne’s favorite songs, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
She started watching South African news, and discovered many women
expressing hope for a kinder world. Many went through bullying and abusive
situations, and the females were open enough to talk about their experiences.
The lyrics for “The Greatest Lives” came from Muhammad Ali’s quotes and
philosophies. They became a message about leadership and treating people right.
Joe Deninzon, who grew up in Cleveland, OH, went to college in
Bloomington, Indiana, and played throughout the Midwest, knew Muhammad Ali’s hometown
of Louisville. He understood the Midwestern sound that Anne was looking for,
made a demo, and then the two began to put musicians to work. Using John Mellencamp's "Ain't Even Done with the Night" as a role model, they asked Cactus and Vanilla Fudge's Carmine Appice, who also played with Rod Stewart.
Thembeka loved THE GREATEST LIVES’ message about having strong
character. Joe and Anne chose her because they thought she was one of the
greatest singers they ever heard. Thembeka showed she was (as the song says) a
master by being the runner up on “the Voice South Africa.” She liked the
recording enough to also want to include it on her upcoming album.
After they heard Thembeka’s performance, they found inspiration
from keyboards on albums from the late Oliver Mtukudzi. Joe knew
the perfect keyboardist, Jeremy Beck, who used both acoustic piano and Hammond
B3. Hence, the hashtag #BeckDeninzonAppice.
“Joy and optimism in this song, I think, come from its mission
and inspiration. Muhammad Ali dealt with obstacles with optimism and a
wink and smile,” Joe says. Joe and Anne, and their musicians, know “The
Greatest Lives” will make a difference, and are proud to—as their lyric says--take a “Never say die” attitude in promoting it!
