| Did you
know the original title of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
was "Mbube"? That's because it was a very popular tune
in the 1940's in the country that is now Swaziland. It was written
by Solomon Linda, who is from South Africa. Solomon Linda wrote
the song based on a boyhood experience chasing lions that were
stalking the family's cattle, and recorded the tune in 1939 with
his group the Evening Birds.
It came to the top of American charts in 1952 with
The Weavers adaptation. The version you here today is a version
that the tokens did in 1961. In the Tokens version, new lyrics
were written, which is probably the lyrics that you know.
So what happened to Solomon Linda with all the
commercial success of his song in the United States? He died with
$25 to his name. His heirs are still pursuing royalties!
Here the Tokens version of this song at http://www.stinalisa.com/Lion.html
|
