The Lion Sleeps Tonight

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"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens single cover.jpg
Single by the Tokens
from the album The Lion Sleeps Tonight
A-side "Tina"
Released1961
Recorded1961
Genre
Length2:41
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)
Audio
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) (Audio) on YouTube

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and first recorded in 1939 by Solomon Linda [2] under the title "Mbube", [3] through South African Gallo Record Company. Lyrics of Linda's original version were written in Zulu, while those of the English one were later written by George David Weiss.

Contents

The song has been adapted and covered internationally by many pop and folk artists. It was recorded as "Wimoweh" by The Weavers in November 1951, and published by "Folkways Music Publishers", a branch of the then-Folkways Records, in December of the same year. [4] Artists who have recorded various versions of the song include also R.E.M., NSYNC, Henri Salvador, Karl Denver, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Noro Morales, Miriam Makeba, and The Kingston Trio. [5]

In 1961, a version adapted into English with the title "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the doo-wop group The Tokens became a number-one hit in the United States. It went on to earn millions in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. The pop group Tight Fit made a cover of the song in 1982, reaching number one hit in the UK. This song is written and composed in the key of F major.

History

Social historian Ronald D. Cohen writes: "Howie Richmond copyrighted many songs originally in the public domain but now slightly revised to satisfy Decca and also to reap profits". [13] Howie Richmond's claim of author's copyright could secure both the songwriter's royalties and his company's publishing share of the song earnings. [2]

Although Solomon Linda was listed as a performer on the record itself, the Weavers thought they had recorded a traditional Zulu song. Their managers, the publisher, and their attorneys knew otherwise because they had been contacted by — and had reached an agreement with — Eric Gallo of Gallo Record Company 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. [2] In the 1950s, after Linda's authorship was made clear, Pete Seeger sent $1000 to the South African artist. The folk singer also said he instructed TRO/Folkways to henceforth pay his share of authors' earnings to Linda. Seeger apparently trusted his publisher's word of honor and either saw no need, or was unable, to make sure these instructions to be carried out. [2]

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 1994 movie The Lion King alone. The piece prompted filmmaker François Verster to create the Emmy-winning documentary A Lion's Trail , released in 2002, which tells Linda's story while incidentally exposing the workings of the multi-million dollar corporate music publishing industry. [14] In 2003 a CGI animation French TV series, Pat & Stan, features protagonists, a brown hippopotamus and a yellow dog, singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". It marked the two's debut appearance and was the pilot episode to ITV's shorts and the sketch of the same name.

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 the latter 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 . [15] At the same time, the Richmond Organization began to pay $3,000 annually to the Linda's estate. In February 2006, the South African singer'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. [16] [17]

In 2012, "Mbube" fell into the public domain, owing to the copyright law of South Africa, while "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is still in copyright. The copyright issues were also treated in the 2019 movie ReMastered: The Lion's Share . [18]

Selected list of recorded versions

"Mbube"
Mbube (Singer GE 829).jpg
Single by Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds
B-side "Ngi Hambiki"
Released1939
Recordedc. 1939
Studio Gallo Recording Studios
Genre
Length2:44
Label Gallo Record Company
Songwriter(s)
Audio
Mbube (Audio) on YouTube

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

"Mbube"

"Wimoweh"

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Robert John.jpg
Single by Robert John
from the album Robert John
B-side "Janet"
ReleasedDecember 1971
Genre
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Hank Medress and Dave Appell
Robert John singles chronology
"When the Party Is Over"
(1970)
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
(1971)
"Hushabye"
(1972)
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight Fit.jpg
Single by Tight Fit
from the album Tight Fit
B-side "Rhythm, Movement And Throbbing"
ReleasedJanuary 1982
Recorded1981
Genre Pop
Length3:18
Label Jive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Tim Friese-Greene [24]
Tight Fit singles chronology
"Back to the Sixties Part II"
(1981)
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
(1982)
"Fantasy Island"
(1982)

Charted singles

The Tokens

Robert John

Tight Fit

R.E.M.

See also

Related Research Articles

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