The Sad Truth Behind The Lion Sleeps Tonight

There is an interesting story behind the origins of one of the most successful pop songs ever: The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It's a journey that spans multiple continents, several decades, and millions of dollars.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda in South Africa in 1939. The song was originally entitle "Mbube". Solomon Linda's original version was written in Zulu. In the 1950s and 60s, Mbube was adapted, covered, and restyled by many international pop and folk revival artists - most famously by the Tokens who went on to make millions as it became one of the most successful pop songs of all time. The song has been featured in a number of films and tv shows including Disney's The Lion King and the sitcom Friends. Plus, this story has been turned into a Netflix documentary called ReMastered: The Lion's Share.

#TheLionSleepsTonight

Transcript (highlights):

December 18th 1961, The Tokens earn a No.1 hit with The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The song that topped the Billboard pop chart on December 18, 1961, was an instant classic that went on to become one of the most successful pop songs of all time, yet its true originator saw only a tiny fraction of the song’s enormous profits. If you don’t want your feelings on this song to be tainted by the depressing truth of the origins of this song, please skip to this part of the video now. For those of you that do, here it comes.

The story begins in Johannesburg, South Africa,1938. A group of Zulu singers called Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds stepped into the first recording studio ever set up in sub-Saharan Africa and recorded a song called “Mbube”— which is Zulu for “the lion.” and it sounded like this. play song. Sound a bit familiar…yeah. “Mbube” was a regional hit, and it helped make Solomon Linda into a South African star. And the story might have ended there had a copy of the record not made its way to New York City in the early 1950s, where it was saved from the slush pile at Decca Records by the legendary folklorist Alan Lomax.

Without actually hearing any of the records in a box sent from Africa, Lomax thought his friend, Pete Seeger a famous folksinger at the time. Unable to understand the lyrics of “Mbube,” Seeger transcribed the central chant as “Wimoweh,” and that became the name of the song as recorded by the Weavers and released in early 1952, and it sounded like this play song However, this was just as the group was about to be blacklisted thanks to the McCarthy hearings. Eventually, Jay Siegel, the teenage lead singer of the Tokens, would hear and fall in love with “Wimoweh” through the Kingston Trio’s cover version of the Weavers’ song.

The Tokens’ label commissioned English-language lyrics for the song, which was re-titled “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and went on to become not just a #1 song on this day in 1961, and it sounded like the play song but one of the most-covered, most successful pop songs of all time. In 2000, South African journalist Rian Malan followed the music and the money associated with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” exposing the series of business arrangements that ended up making millions for a handful of prominent U.S. music publishers while yielding only a $1,000 check from Pete Seeger to Solomon Linda during Linda’s lifetime. Because Solomon's composition was treated as public-domain “folk” material by Seeger and by the subsequent writer of the English-language lyrics in the Tokens’ version, Linda never participated in the royalty stream generated by either “Wimoweh” or “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

And prior to reaching an undisclosed settlement in 2006, his heirs received only a tiny fraction of the millions of dollars they might have been due had Linda retained his songwriting credit on what Malan rightly calls “The most famous melody ever to emerge from Africa.” Yeah, pretty disheartening isn't it? anyway, I’ve got to do a welcome back for the people who skipped it. Welcome back, hope you continue to enjoy the song with out the emotional burden the rest of us will carry round every time we hear it.

[DefinitelyOwen]

I apologise for my mispronunciation of the word 'mbube'. I should have taken the time to research the word and gotten the pronunciation right.

[tonyhibbert]

this story just proves how wrong copyright really is !

[stuartmcgill]

The MBUBE original was played in the movie Coming To America too.

[leerenae]

Hey from South Africa here... It's pronounced *Mmm-booo-beh* lol thanks for covering this

[vivecamotsieloa]

My grandfather brought Linda to the Gallo studio arranged the piece and my grandmother played the piano. May they all rest knowing the truth is out!❤

[Funktastic_Ed]

M Bube was the war name of king Shaka Zulu, the song pretend that he is not dead but only sleeping waiting for awakening.

[aa]

So many stories like that in the music industry. 😢

[nqobilemarlene]

Indeed this is a Zulu original. It was created as part of King Shaka's praises as warrior and king. Imbube: i(N) Zulu prefix ; imbube its a synonym of a lion. Deep symbolism. Uyimbube meaning 'you are a lion'. King of the jungle. This song stems from deep metaphor and symbolism.

[pamb.]

In the early 50s, my father had the '78 of Wimoweh and played it often, so I feel like I grew up with The Lion Sleeps Tonight. When I told my friends in the 60s that it wasn't a "new" song, they all thought I was crazy. But I knew I wasn't! Thanks for this video on the history of the song!

[LiwaySaGu]

i'm asian but whenever i hear that lion song it gives me an impression of as being black music. i was surprised to
know caucasians popularized (and so i thought wrote) it, but now it makes sense knowing it really is black
music

[Shardonnae]

Wow, thank you for taking the time to resarch and shining light on that song (Giving credit wher credit is due).

[curtisthomas]

It was decided in court that Solomon's daughters were entitled to millions in royalties

[quintessawolfprincess]

As much as I love this song {though I was terrified of it as a kid}, I feel sorry for Solomon Linda and his family, since they continued to be poor even after the song became popular. His wife couldn't even afford a grave for him when he passed! I'll still continue to listen to it and other versions of it to show my support for him.

[jozellajock]

The first time I heard the song, all the melodies and humming screamed African style because we recognize our music

[bernadeangreene]

Once again, "the original group that made this classic song didn't get near what it was worth and what they was worth". Thanks for sharing the history.

[duskyknight]

The Lion Sleeps Tonight is a funeral song that was sung when a King died to rise again.

[finncarlbomholtsrensen]

A very popular Danish singer, Flemming "Bamse" Joergensen, who became very popular with his version of this song, found out that the composer hadn't been paid, so he actually sent him the profit from his version in Danish.

[porshprix]

So the original artist got cheated.
Not uncommon even now.

[tinalouise]

Anyone remember this from "Coming to America"

[elisestrydom]

I am from South Africa. Thank you for this clarifying video of the history of this song. The South African band Ladysmith Black Mambazo also does a beautiful version of this song.The tribal singing of all the tribes here in South Africa is quite amazing. You should go to an ordinary church meeting on Sundays and will truly be moved by the amazing voices of even ordinary church goers.