In 1961, producers Hugo & Luigi hired Brill Building tunesmith George David Weiss to add lyrics to “Wimoweh” and it became “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” a No. Writing credits were listed as Campbell-Linda. Then in 1959, the Kingston Trio had a minor hit with it. The Weavers’ live version gave it another boost in 1957. Meanwhile back in the states, the song became a popular staple for nightclub acts. As compensation, they also gave him a job sweeping floors and serving tea in their packing house. That same year, Linda had received 10 shillings-roughly 87 cents today-for signing over the copyright of “Mbube” to Gallo Studios, the company that produced his group’s original record. I have always left money up to other people. Pete Seeger has recently said of the publishing situation, “I didn’t realize what was going on, and I regret it. A Top 20 hit, the writing credit went to“Paul Campbell,” a pseudonym for the group. Their 1952 record, with the Gordon Jenkins Orchestra, was basically them singing the title word with vocal flourishes over four simple chords. Delighted by the joyous call of what he heard as “Wimoweh,” Seeger worked up a version with his band the Weavers. But he played it for his friend Pete Seeger. If not for Lomax, “Mbube” may have remained an African folk song. weren’t interested, noted folk music historian Alan Lomax was. In the ‘40s, the song’s popularity spread through Europe. The spartan lyrics of his song center on the phrase “mbube zimbe,” or “lion stop.” When Linda and his group, the Original Evening Birds, cut a 78-rpm recording of the song in 1939, it became the first African record to sell over 100,000 copies. In Zulu, “Mbube” (EEM-boo-beh) means “lion.” During his childhood, Linda had worked as a herder protecting cattle in the African hinterlands. This sound was the basis for many of Linda’s songs, including his most famous, “Mbube.” He sang in a high soprano over four-part harmony chants, a style that would come to define a whole generation of Zulu music. In his mid-20s, he moved to Johannesburg, where he led an a capella band that charmed audiences in the local beer halls. He never learned to read or write, but he had a knack for songwriting. Solomon Linda was born in the Zulu heartland of South Africa in 1909. 1 single in 1961 to its featured role in the hugely popular Disney film and Broadway musical The Lion King, the song has enchanted generations, sold millions of copies and passed into the world’s musical vernacular as a modern folk tune.īut the history of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is anything but happy. Solomon Linda, far left, and the Evening Birdsįor the last 50 years, that happy little word has been a universally recognized shorthand for the song known as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” From Pete Seeger’s version in 1952 (titled “Wimoweh”) to the Tokens’ No.
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