The Lion Sleeps Tonight



"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss. The song was adapted and covered internationally by many pop and folk revival artists in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba, and the Kingston Trio. In 1961, it became a number one hit in the United States as adapted in English with the best-known version by the doo-wop group the Tokens. It went on to earn millions in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. The pop group Tight Fit had a number one hit in the UK with the song in 1982.

History
"Mbube" (Zulu for "lion") was written in the 1920s by Solomon Linda, a South African singer of Zulu origin, who later worked for the Gallo Record Company in Johannesburg as a cleaner and record packer. He spent his weekends performing with the Evening Birds, a musical ensemble, and it was at Gallo Records, under the direction of producer Griffiths Motsieloa, that Linda and his fellow musicians recorded several songs, including "Mbube", which incorporated a call-response pattern common among many Sub-Saharan African ethnic groups, including the Zulu.

According to journalist Rian Malan: "Mbube" wasn't the most remarkable tune, but there was something compelling about the underlying chant, a dense meshing of low male voices above which Solomon yodelled and howled for two exhilarating minutes, improvising occasionally. The third take was the best, achieving immortality when Solly took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and improvised the melody that the world now associates with these words:


 * In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.

Issued by Gallo as a 78-rpm phonograph record in 1939, and marketed to black audiences, "Mbube" became a hit and Linda a star throughout South Africa. By 1948, the song had sold over 100,000 copies in Africa and among black South African immigrants in Great Britain. Linda also lent its name to a style of African a cappella music that evolved into isicathamiya (also called mbube), popularized by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

In 1949, Alan Lomax, then working as folk music director for Decca Records, brought Solomon Linda's 78 recording to the attention of his friend Pete Seeger of the folk group The Weavers. In November 1951, after having performed the song for at least a year in their concerts, The Weavers recorded an adapted version with brass and string orchestra and chorus and released it as a 78 single titled "Wimoweh", a mishearing of the original song's chorus of "Uyimbube", You are a lion. Their version contained the chanting chorus "Wimoweh" and Linda's improvised melodic line. The Weavers credited the song as "Traditional", with arrangement by "Paul Campbell", later found to be a pseudonym used by the Weavers in order to claim royalties. It reached Billboard's top ten and became a staple of The Weavers' live repertoire, achieving further exposure on their best-selling The Weavers at Carnegie Hall LP album, recorded in 1955 and issued in 1957. The song was also covered extensively by other folk revival groups such as The Kingston Trio, and exotica singer Yma Sumac. However, Miriam Makeba, in 1960, recorded the same song as "Mbube", with the writing credit given to "J. Linda".

In 1961, two RCA Records producers, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, hired Juilliard-trained musician and lyricist George David Weiss to arrange a pop music cover of "Wimoweh" for the B-side of a 45-rpm single called "Tina", sung by doo-wop group The Tokens. Weiss wrote the English lyrics: "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight ..." and "Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling ..."

Weiss also brought in soprano Anita Darian to reprise Yma Sumac's version, before, during and after the soprano saxophone solo. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was issued by RCA in 1961, and it rocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Weiss' Abilene Music Inc., was the publisher of this arrangement, and listed "Albert Stanton" (a pseudonym for Al Brackman, the business partner of Pete Seeger's music publisher, Howie Richmond) as one of the song's writers or arrangers. The song has also been popularized as an internet meme.

Copyright issues
Social historian Ronald D. Cohen writes, "Howie Richmond copyrighted many songs originally in the public domain [sic] but now slightly revised to satisfy Decca and also to reap profits." Canadian writer Mark Steyn, on the other hand, attributes the invention of the pseudonym "Paul Campbell" to Pete Seeger. Howie Richmond's claim of author's copyright could secure both the songwriter's royalties and his company's publishing share of the song's earnings.

Although Linda was listed as a performer on the record itself, the Weavers thought they had recorded a traditional Zulu song. Their managers, publisher, and their attorneys knew otherwise because they had been contacted by—and had reached an agreement with—Eric Gallo of Gallo Records in South Africa. The Americans maintained, however, that South African copyrights were not valid because South Africa was not a signatory to U.S. copyright law. In the 1950s, after Linda's authorship was made clear, Seeger sent Linda $1000. Seeger also said he instructed TRO/Folkways to henceforth pay his share of authors' earnings to Linda. The folksinger apparently trusted his publisher's word of honor and either saw no need, or was unable to make sure these instructions were carried out.

In 2000, South African journalist Rian Malan wrote a feature article for Rolling Stone magazine in which he recounted Linda's story and estimated that the song had earned $15 million for its use in the Disney movie The Lion King alone. The piece prompted filmmaker François Verster to create the Emmy-winning documentary A Lion's Trail, that told Linda's story while incidentally exposing the workings of the multi-million dollar corporate music publishing industry.

In July 2004, as a result of the publicity generated by Malan's article and the subsequent documentary, the song became the subject of a lawsuit between Linda's estate and Disney, claiming that Disney owed $1.6 million in royalties for the use of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the film and musical stage productions of The Lion King. At the same time, the Richmond Organization began to pay $3,000 annually into Linda's estate. In February 2006, Linda's descendants reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music Publishers, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney, to place the earnings of the song in a trust.

In 2012, "Mbube" fell into the public domain due to the copyright law of South Africa. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", however is still in copyright.

Selected list of recorded versions
The song has been recorded by numerous artists, and is a standard that has become a part of popular culture.

"Mbube"

 * 1939 Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds
 * 1951 In the first film adaptation of Cry, the Beloved Country
 * 1960 Miriam Makeba, on Miriam Makeba
 * 1988 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as "Mbube", during opening sequence of movie Coming to America (but not on the soundtrack album)
 * 1991 The Elite Swingsters Featuring Dolly Rathebe, as "Mbube" on Woza!
 * 1994 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as "Mbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", on Gift of the Tortoise
 * 1996 Soweto String Quartet, as "Imbube" on Renaissance
 * 2005 Soweto Gospel Choir, as "Imbube" on Blessed
 * 2006 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as "Mbube", on Long Walk to Freedom
 * 2007 CH2 and Soweto String Quartet, as "Imbube" on Pap & Paella
 * 2010 Angélique Kidjo, as "Mbube" on Õÿö
 * 2019 Lebo M, on The Lion King soundtrack

"Wimoweh"

 * 1952: The Weavers: US No. 6
 * 1952: Jimmy Dorsey
 * 1952: Yma Sumac
 * 1957: The Weavers, live.
 * 1959: Bill Hayes (on Kapp Records)
 * 1959: The Kingston Trio
 * 1961: Karl Denver: UK No. 4
 * 1962: Bert Kaempfert on album A Swingin' Safari, (on Polydor Records). Done mostly as an instrumental save for the "Wimoweh" chorus.
 * 1962: Hugh Masekela on Trumpet Africaine
 * 1964: Glen Campbell on The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell
 * 1964: Chet Atkins
 * 1971: Rumplestiltskin on Black Magician
 * 1993: Nanci Griffith with Odetta, on Other Voices, Other Rooms
 * 1994: Roger Whittaker, on Roger Whittaker Live!
 * 1994: Manu Dibango and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, on Waka Afrika
 * 1998: Pete Seeger on For Kids And Just Plain Folks
 * 1999: Desmond Dekker on Halfway To Paradise

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

 * 1961: The Tokens: US No. 1, UK No. 11
 * 1962: Henri Salvador – in French as "Le lion est mort ce soir" ("The Lion Died Tonight") FR No. 1
 * 1965: The New Christy Minstrels
 * 1965: The Shangaans, on "Jungle Drums"
 * 1967: The Hounds (Swedish Popgroup)
 * 1968: The Tremeloes, on Silence Is Golden
 * 1971: Eric Donaldson
 * 1972: Robert John: US No. 3, gold record.
 * 1972: Dave Newman: UK No. 34
 * 1974: Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, as "Rise Jah Jah Children (The Lion Sleeps)"
 * 1975: Brian Eno, on single, later on Working Backwards: 1983-1973 and Eno Box II: Vocal
 * 1979: The Stylistics
 * 1980: Passengers
 * 1982: Tight Fit: UK No. 1, This version has sold over a million copies in the UK.
 * 1982: The Nylons
 * 1990: Ladysmith Black Mambazo with The Mint Juleps, on Spike Lee %26 Company: Do It a Cappella PBS documentary and album
 * 1991: Hotline & P.J. Powers, on The Best Of
 * 1992: Talisman, on A Capella
 * 1992: They Might Be Giants with Laura Cantrell, interpolated into "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)"
 * 1993: Pow woW: FR No. 1, cover of Salvador's version.
 * 1993: R.E.M.: B-side of "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" and on The Automatic Box (Disc 3).
 * 1993: The Nylons
 * 1994: Dennis Marcellino
 * 1994: Tonic Sol-Fa
 * 1995: Lebo M. for Rhythm of the Pride Lands, an album with songs inspired by the music of The Lion King
 * 1997: 'N Sync: B-side of "For the Girl Who Has Everything"
 * 1998: The Undertones, on 8 Degrees and Rising
 * 1990s: Streetnix
 * 2001: Baha Men featuring Imani Coppola, sampled the chorus in the song "You All Dat" on Who Let the Dogs Out
 * 2001: Rockapella
 * 2002: Mango Groove, on Eat a Mango
 * 2004: Daniel Küblböck
 * 2005: The Mavericks
 * 2009: Melo-M, on Around the World
 * 2010: Cool Down Cafe featuring Gerard Joling, on Goud
 * 2014: Billy Joel and Jimmy Fallon, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
 * 2015: Justin Fletcher as Gail Force on Gigglebiz
 * 2016: Tight Fit new production Rainforest Radio Edit on Together (Almighty)
 * 2019: Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, on The Lion King film and soundtrack

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)"
1997: Barbados (Swedish Dansband)