Fay Hintso - Lion Sleeps Tonight

Rework of "Lion Sleeps Tonight" - 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 isiZulu, 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. It was recorded as "Wimoweh" by the Weavers in November 1951. Artists who recorded various versions of the song included Henri Salvador, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Noro Morales, and the Kingston Trio. It was also covered by South African’s Miriam Makeba, Manhattan Brothers, Hugh Masekela, Sam Sklair, The Shangaans and Nico Carstens, among others.
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 had a number one hit in the UK with the song in 1982. Tight Fit’s version features South African, Richard Jon Smith on backing vocals.
The track has been covered extensively over the years, including a version by South Africa’s Kariba in 1982 and Mango Groove in 2002.

This version is by the unknown singer, Fay Hintso. Further research has determined she may not have been South African; however, this is in dispute. As per the engineer on the track, Frans Maritz, Fay turned up at their small studio out of the blue looking to record a song. They (Frans and Herman Holtzhausen the producer) were dabbling with this track and offered it to Fay to record. She did so and self-funded the pressing and promotion. According to Frans, from what he can recall, Fay was a foreigner, but can’t recall where from. It is unclear if Fay recorded any material pre or post this single.
It is plausible that Fay’s real surname may be Hintsho and could have come from one of the previous ‘homelands’, e.g., Transkei or Bophuthatswana. There is a view she may have been from one of the French speaking countries (due to the B side, “Le Lion Dors Ce Soir” being sung in French), however this seems unlikely due to the period this was recorded, at the height of the apartheid era as Africans from other countries were not that common in South Africa, and certainly not arriving out of the blue walking into a studio to be recorded by two Afrikaners.
Interesting take, and definite leaning toward sounding like Margaret Singana’s “Ipi Thombi”.
Any additional information re Fay will be appreciated!


Fay Hintso - “Lion Sleeps Tonight”
Flip side: “Le Lion Dors Ce Soir”. Released on the Circle label, RP 710, 1975.

Produced by Herman Holtzhausen
Engineered by Francois Maritz

Publisher: M.P.A.