It went on to earn at least 15 million US dollars in royalties from covers and film licensing. Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. Roy Ward of City Boy recorded the real vocals. ", "Penniless singer's family sue Disney for Lion King royalties", "The Lion Sleeps Tonight 1939 : Linda Solomon, The Evening Birds", "UK's million-selling singles: the full list", "Tight Fit — Together — Almighty Records", Ultratop.be – The Tokens – The Lion Sleeps Tonight", Musicline.de – The Tokens Single-Chartverfolgung", "flavour of new zealand - Lever hit parades", "The Tokens Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)", "Top 100 Hits of 1972/Top 100 Songs of 1972", Solomon Linda, Songwriter Who Penned ‘The Lion,’ Finally Gets His Just Desserts, NPR: All Things Considered: Family of 'Lion Sleeps Tonight' Writer to Get Millions, Telegraph: Penniless singer's family sue Disney for Lion King royalties, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. In 1971, they produced a note-for-note remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by Robert John - with Jay, Hank, and Mitch singing backgrounds and Ellie Greenwich singing bass. The chorus in "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire is "Bada-Ya, dancing in September." Javascript is required to view shouts on this page. The group was formed in 1955 at Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln High School, and was known first as The Linc-Tones. The new version peaked at #3. Hugh and Luigi were impressed by the performance but decided that the song needed new lyrics. Hank Medress, Jay Siegel, and Phil and Mitch Margo, who made up The Tokens, had a Top 15 hit "Tonight I Fell in Love" in 1960, but didn't have a record label in 1961. Influential disc jockey Murray the K pushed "Tina," but once a New England DJ started playing the B-side on the air, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" started its climb to the #1 position, hitting the top of the charts in the Christmas holidays of 1961-62. Folk singer Pete Seeger got a hold of it and started working on an English version. The music video for "You Are A Tourist" by Death Cab For Cutie was done live on the internet, becoming the first live, scripted, single-take music video recorded that way. https://www.last.fm/music/The+Tokens/_/The+Lion+Sleeps+Tonight [1] In the 1950s, after Linda's authorship was made clear, Seeger sent Linda $1000. The renown rock singer talks about "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. The chanting was mostly improvised, but worked extraordinarily well. "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. [6] "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was issued by RCA in 1961, and it rocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The group had two completely different line-ups - the first (a group of session singers) in 1981 and a male/female trio in 1982. None of Tight Fit actually sang on the record, but they looked good and promoted it well. The late King of Pop is the youngest group member ever to top the Hot 100. The song was adapted and covered internationally by many pop and folk revival artists in the 1950s and 1960s, including Henri Salvador, the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba, and the Kingston Trio. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. 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. Their version contained the chanting chorus "Wimoweh" and Linda's improvised melodic line. Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss. Solomon Linda died in poverty from kidney disease in 1962 at age 53. 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. Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. 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. Go directly to shout page. 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. https://www.last.fm/music/Tight+Fit/_/The+Lion+Sleeps+Tonight After "Lion," members of the group had producing success with the Chiffons ("He's So Fine," "One Fine Day," "Sweet Talkin' Guy"), the Happenings ("See You in September," "My Mammy") and Dawn ("Knock Three Times," "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree"). In the 1970s, Linda's widow signed over the rights to Abilene. 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. [1], Issued by Gallo as a 78-rpm phonograph record in 1939,[3] and marketed to black audiences, "Mbube" became a hit and Linda a star throughout South Africa. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? They were actually saying "Uyimbube," which means "You're a Lion." Start the wiki, In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonightIn the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonightNear the village, the peaceful…. BBC World Service Documentary by Paul Gambaccini first broadcast 16 July 2010, 200+ recordings of Mbube/Wimoweh/The Lion Sleeps Tonight on FLORENCOM's YouTube tribute channel, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight&oldid=984424738, European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles, Articles with dead external links from May 2019, Articles needing additional references from May 2019, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with too many examples from July 2017, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2017, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with dead external links from August 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2018, Singlechart usages for Belgium (Flanders), Singlechart usages for Belgium (Wallonia), Singlechart usages for Billboardrandbhiphop, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 1991 The Elite Swingsters Featuring Dolly Rathebe, as "Mbube" on, 1994 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as "Mbube (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", on, 2006 Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as "Mbube", on, This page was last edited on 20 October 2020, at 01:20. In 1957 Sedaka and Zolotin left the band, le…, The Tokens are an American male doo-wop-style vocal group and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York. The success of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" didn't ensure long-term recording security for The Tokens as a singing group. The lion sleeps tonight In the jungle, the quiet jungle The lion sleeps tonight (A-wimoweh, a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh, a-wimoweh) Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. Scrobbling is when Last.fm tracks the music you listen to and automatically adds it to your music profile. When Hank left the group in 1972, the Tokens renamed themselves Cross Country and recorded an … 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. "[7] Canadian writer Mark Steyn, on the other hand, attributes the invention of the pseudonym "Paul Campbell" to Pete Seeger. They are known best for their chart-topping 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". [1], 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 group was formed i…. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs. Do you know any background info about this track? They are known best for their chart-topping 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss. The Tokens thought this had been nothing more than an elaborate audition - "Who is gonna buy a song about a lion sleeping" was their general sentiment. Weiss wrote the English lines "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight ..." and "Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling ...". In the 1950s, Miriam Makeba recorded this with the Zulu lyrics, and. The song was also covered extensively by other folk revival groups such as The Kingston Trio, and exotica singer Yma Sumac. By 1948, the song had sold over 100,000 copies in Africa and among black South African immigrants in Great Britain. As part of the settlement with Abilene Music, which owns the publishing rights, Linda's heirs receive 25% of past and future royalties from the song, which are considerable since it is used in so many movies and still receives airplay. It was covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including The Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba, and The Kingston Trio. In 1981, record producer Ken Gold came up with the idea to record a single made up of a medley of 60s songs. David Hutcheon, "The Story Behind the Song: The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In the 2010s, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" began to be used online in meme videos in which someone is about to get hurt.[12]. A big list of musical marriages and family relations ranging from the simple to the truly dysfunctional. "National Television Academy Presents 27th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards" (press release), 25 September 2006. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell, "Top 10 Famous Songs With Unknown Originals", "3rd Ear Music Forum - Mbube - Mickey Mouse Under House Arrest in SAfrica? A hunting song originally sung in Zulu in what is now Swaziland, the original title was "Mbube," which means lion. With help from George Weiss, Hugo and Luigi rewrote the song, giving it the title "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Solomon Linda recorded the song in Johannesburg, South Africa after being discovered by a talent scout. It went on to earn millions in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. In the 1950s Linda sold the rights to this song to Gallo Records of South Africa for 10 shillings (about $1.70), at a time when apartheid laws robbed blacks of negotiating rights.