The Sad Truth Behind The Lion Sleeps Tonight
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- 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.
I apologise for my mispronunciation of the word 'mbube'. I should have taken the time to research the word and gotten the pronunciation right.
No worries! It's not that big of a deal really. Only the insecure will care.
You should have, but I accept your apology.
No worries... It doesn't matter unless you tell us no lie about the history..
Nice video, never thought of this dark history...
Although this low pay check thing sounds a bit depressing at first, it actually is pretty common, this is business, right?!
It would sound like this this “M’boo-bay”
Nope, unacceptable! You r permanently shunned from society. Mispronunciation-ers will pay the penalty🤣 jk
The MBUBE original was played in the movie Coming To America too.
😮
And the family probably wasn't paid for that either
Ace Ventura also!
Exactly!!👌
Your right. Obviously for a reason too. Reparations dude! Eddie Murphy is that dad!
M Bube was the war name of king Shaka Zulu , the song pretend that he is not dead but only sleeping waiting for awakening.
Had not heard that story before. Makes sense.
WOW! Thanks for that!
Superb👊🏽‼️
Wow
Oh wow!
this story just proves how wrong copyright really is !
no. it was the racist way it was treated. Copyright was fine.
@@MontiRock Copyright destroys the right of others to create new things ! ,,,,
@@tonyhibbert2342 False. The law itself prevents people from ripping off people. it's the way racist white people screwed him over. That had nothing to do with copyright laws
@@tonyhibbert2342 how? that’s the point of copyright so something someone has already done can’t be copied. If it’s copyrighted then it’s not original...nor new. But we all who are aware knows the history of how ideas were STOLEN from those who could not copyright. That there is wrong.
@@yaminanatsaret Any song writer will tell you that almost every single girls name has been copyrighted ! Therefore if i or you write a song about the love you have for your wife and call it i love < insert her name here > and the song goes viral becoming an instant worldwide hit ... YOU will have to pay copyright fees to the turd that makes a living simply by writting copyyright over any names not already covered ,,,, Many city names etc are also covered ! This is what is wrong ! ... copyright on a book , song etc that someone has worked hard on is right ! but the laws as current , are wrong ! ...As is the time things can be copyright ! ...
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!❤
Well, it's certainly not arranged the way the Tokens did it. One tiny part is similar.
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.
See my comment above
So, in the public domain and no copyright possible.
@@vetb882 Your comment is gone?!
@@SBCBears Can't have public domain without the concept of private intellectual property. Neither of these ideas originated with the Zulu. Therefore, they can't be imposed on Zulu cultural product by foreign entities. The US legal system is valid only in the US. Nevertheless, once Solomon and band recorded their version, it entered via western technology into the general western legal idea of property. The Americans didn't hear it sung out in the bush while on safari; they heard it as a recording by a particular set of artists who sang a song. The fact that it dates back to the 19th century and had circulated widely in the Zulu zeitgeist is irrelevant to the case. The Americans stole a specific artistic work and all proceeds should be handed over to the creators' descendents in perpetuity along with a groveling apology.
@@heatherjones6647 There was a settlement reached (2006?) which gave Solomon Linda's descendent 1.6 million dollars and succeeding royalties. "Mbube" was copyrighted in South Africa by Gallo Records who recorded Solomon Linda's record, but that copyright expired in 2012. However, the copyright for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" continues. As near as I can tell, the from the original recording, there were no other words other than the under-chant of "Uyimbube", Zulu for "you ar the lion," which was misheard in America as "wimoweh."
Here is the wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight#History
In a wikipedia article about who has been credited with the song (George David Weiss) "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," the settlement of 2006 had the 4 following points:
1. Linda's heirs will receive payment for past uses of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and an entitlement to future royalties.
2. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is acknowledged as derived from "Mbube".
3. Solomon Linda is acknowledged as a co-composer of the song and will be designated as such.
4. A trust will be formed to administer the heirs’ copyright and to receive on their behalf the payments due.
Though I cannot confirm it, I am assuming that the words "In the jungle, the mighty jungle..." were written by Weiss using a tune that Solomon Linda improvised near the end of his 1939 recording - at about 2:20.
Here is the original recording:
ruclips.net/video/mrrQT4WkbNE/видео.html
Hey from South Africa here... It's pronounced *Mmm-booo-beh* lol thanks for covering this
I love South African music!
And what does it mean? I am curious.
@@byhkhla7623 lol it means Lion
@@leerenae313 Thanx...google translate did not give me a word. The original song is far more melodious and deep. I love South African music.
@@byhkhla7623 haha yeah google isn't very reliable at times😂 I agree with you 💯
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
Most of it is "Black" music. Billions have been earned off of the intellectual property of Black people.
@@timothysmith4260 There is no "intellectual property" of black people. Music is music and is the intellectual property of the individual who created it. If you want to keep it your "intellectual property" then don't share or publish it and go all the way and promote separatism and condemn Eminem and Jimi Hendrix as exploiters of other races quote intellectual property unquote.
@@madandy3176 that's the stupidest thing said ever. There is a sound that is developed by a people and it would be obvious who it came from. We may not collectively reap the monetary benefits of said property, but it does prove worth of a race. That's like saying Chinese music doesn't show that Chinese people have the mental and productive capacity worthy of it's place in the world. People steal from us and make those sorts of statements. I'm all for separatism. I'll leave just as soon as you cut that check. I'm curious as to what you mean with jimi Hendrix.. Are you saying that he stole from white people, because blacks created Rock, or are you saying that since he was part white, he helped exploit a black creation?
@@timothysmith4260 If you start your comment with "That's the stupidest thing said ever" then respond to the point then your response is based upon and contrived by prejudice rather than intellect. Your original comment was "Most of it is "Black" music. Billions have been earned off of the intellectual property of Black people." Ok, I get where you were coming from but under pressure you now say " We may not collectively reap the monetary benefits of said property, but it does prove worth of a race" and now it changes from "black" to "race" when of course a race can combine a number or colours and a colour, like black can apply to a diversity of races thus confirming that the concept of "intellectual property" which can be applied as much to those of the same colour or race (as proven by numerous copyright disputes) is being, um, culturally appropriated by yourself to fit in with a predetermined (by yourself) socio-political agenda.
You say "That's like saying Chinese music doesn't show that Chinese people have the mental and productive capacity worthy of it's place in the world. People steal from us and make those sorts of statements." Now that is one of the stupidest things to say. If there are people who are affectively saying Chinese music is total crap then they are hardly going to steal it! You say "I'm all for separatism. I'll leave just as soon as you cut that check." So what? You identify as Chinese yet use the name Timothy Smith AND have a thing about "intellectual property" based upon race. Are you for real?
"I'm curious as to what you mean with Jimi Hendrix. Are you saying that he stole from white people, because blacks created Rock, or are you saying that since he was part white, he helped exploit a black creation?" You need to work that out for yourself because your question is based upon the assumption that I acknowledge the concept of "intellectual property" when the basis of our dispute is that you recognise it and I don't which in turn puts that question under the "stupidest thing category.. The clue is that I included Eminem in the same commentary.
@@madandy3176 you just said a whole lot of nothing. When I say the term BLACK, everyone knows who I mean, except you, huh? Black isn't a race, but since that term was made up by people who had the power to enforce labels, we'll use that. Good thing that you are not the judge of what belongs to whom, because your ideology is that of usual Devil tactics. Folks will ask, "What did Black people do or produce that make them worthy to breathe air?" When we break out the list, then they wanna say that that's for everyone and we are racist. Eminem is an good rapper. It doesn't stop him from being in an art form started and made popular by Black people. Descendants of slaves, since you want to act like which Black folks I'm talking about. Jimi Hendrix is Idumaen by race, but have enough Black in him to look and act Black. His approach with the guitar was like a black blues player. I'm certainly not Chinese, so now you're being a Devil. I know that you're not stupid. You are attempting to dissemble like Devils do. If I told you that classical music was EVERYBODY'S music without acknowledging White/European roots, that would make me a liar and an evil man. I'll talk to stupid, but I have no words with evil.
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!
For young people who don't know what you meant by "a '78," it was a 10 inch record that played at 78 RPM.
Oh, and a "record" was something that played music before cassette tapes and CD'S and MP3 players. Ha ha ha! I couldn't resist the last part.😀
I remember a radio show in the 1970s that explored the history of this song.
@@scootermom1791 Also, remember 8-track tapes?
@@janetr7022 Sure do!
So many stories like that in the music industry. 😢
Not true in this case. Solomon Linda sold the rights to the song, It was not stolen.
@Sebastian GuevaraWrong. www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5300359
@@a3a14613 thank you for sharing the link. It is very comforting to know that the daughters were paid in the end.
@Sebastian Guevara
Well, there are a few "just a song"'s out there that could make you never have to work again!
@@JFairweather Yeah..really?!! White Colonialist created a oppressive, murderous, racist system which by law forced Black South Africans labour and talent to be used freely or to be bought for cheap. This activity to reprobate White Westerners is called "Fair Trade".
So the original artist got cheated.
Not uncommon even now.
Not really.
@@waltkraybill5129 It seems to be even more virulent now.
oh there were lots who got done out of royalties or credits for a song , some today are not so naive about the music industry thankfully ,
In a capitalistic system the true innovators or inventors usually have their ideas stolen by no talent predators who make all the money off other people’s ideas. Capitalism is corrupt and the rules of capitalism are written by the sociopathic rich who buy politicians and write laws to favor predatory sociopaths.
Yes that figures of thiefts, taking credit.
The first time I heard the song , all the melodies and humming screamed African style because we recognize our music
I think everyone can recognise it's African
Its such wonderful music, performed by and heard by EVERYONE of all colors, that I'd say THIS song has become everyone's music.
We will always recognise our own. Every single time!
Are you serious???😣How can you say, I'm assuming only black people can recognize African music? There's so many different sounds from Africa that sound like Indian, Mid. Eastern, Asian...etc🤔🤨
@@katizz988 Sis.... African music is recognizable by all, if their is no drum beat 5here are humming and whirling and rhythm in a very dramatic sequence whether it's a slow or fast music!
Just imagine how many songs were done and somebody comes along and does a better job at it.
I'm South African 73 years old and remember this song very clearly long before the Lion King. Lions do not live in the Jungle...they live in the "veld". George Polly
@@filthylucreonyoutube Neither does self righteous snowflake whining.
It was decided in court that Solomon's daughters were entitled to millions in royalties
Good
I'm not so sure it was decided based on this: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5300359
I hope so.
If they can't control it there'll copy it 😈
😁👍🏆🏆🏆. I hope so 😁👍
Wow, thank you for taking the time to resarch and shining light on that song (Giving credit wher credit is due).
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.
This is nothing new. I appreciate “Coming to America” used the original South African version.
Did the film remit royalties directly to the heirs? If not it is still theft.
@@heatherjones6647 obviously if they used the original song, they were aware and the heirs would automatically receive the royalties.
@@tahira1 There is never anything “automatic” with regard to money, especially when it comes to monies funneling to rightful recipients.
@@kkrolf2782 the song is registered in the PRS amongst other entities which are there to ensure the heirs receive their due. So in this case yes you can know that automatically their monies are being sent.
@@tahira1 thank you for the follow up.
I knew as a kid that the song had to have originated in one of the African countries. Thanks for covering this.
"The Tokens" .. How Ironic.
Given the Democrats' plan to open the US borders to the whole world to come here and live for free, WE will soon be 'the tokens'.
@@leelarson107
What do you mean "We"?
@@leelarson107 Tokens for whom and what?
@@leelarson107 WTF are you talking about? You sound deranged. I’ve been a black token in your sick sad world for a long time. No one is opening up the borders so “everyone” can come here, just some people that look different than you. Sorry that things aren’t going to look so milquetoast in the next couple of decades. Your browner descendants will have better genes in the next generation.
Very aptly named 😞
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.
AFRICA DONT HAVE WOLVES .WOLF AND WOLFE IS CHEROKEE.
Why did it terrify you?
My siblings were also scared of it
@@ichwilldaslebenausihmficke4632 I'm gonna guess it was the Doctor Who episode "Rise of the Cybermen."
The Lion Sleeps Tonight is a funeral song that was sung when a King died to rise again.
yes
Exactly. 🥰💝👏 See my comment as above
Is that really true? That sure puts the song in a different emotional light than what I thought.
Interesting. The song "Nights in White Satin" was also a funeral song.
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.
Do a remake called "while Biden sleeps tonight"
@@mikegee8875 lmao
@@mikegee8875 Pathetic comment
@@mikegee8875 LOL Yeah but you have to leave out the lion part.
@@wanaraz
Your 'moniker' is apropos and says it all! You REALLY 'don't know', do you?💯
As a youngster in Johannesburg in the 60's, I can guarantee this story was common knowledge. Particularly amongst music lovers.
well those he didn't had no idea until now
@@jamesvickers9476 ...those he didn't, or those who didn't? The point being, IT WAS NOT A SECRET.
Hello gramps
I grew up in the 80 in germany, and I always thought it was an african song.
I didn't know it until now!
This happened a LOT through the 20s through the 60s. My dad was in a band in 1968 who had a hot local hit, and his manager forged his signature to get the money to the rights for national distribution, but my dad and his band never knew. It would've amounted to about 300k in todays dollars, and for a kid in 1968 it would've made his day. It could've paid for his mom's kidney surgery, help his sisters through college...but it was stolen from him. Unfortunately the manager died decades ago so nothing could have come of it through a modern lawsuit.
On the upside the 5678s covered one of his songs back in 2009ish. They sent him a very sweet letter with a limited edition LP that they all signed. It's one of his most treasured possessions.
What was the song that was a local hit for your dad?
It still happens! Nick Kershaw's song, "Wouldn't it be Good?" was stolen from him by the producers of "Pretty in Pink" in the 80's. They never asked him if they could use it; never asked if they could have another group sing it; never compensated him for it; nothing! I'm sure there are tons of similar stories. I don't understand why they even bother with copyright laws if they never enforce them!!
@theusher are you referring to "Great Balls of Fire," or "Hanky Panky?" Those were covered by the 5678s in 2011. They went from 2004 to 2011 without any covers.
What was the name of your dad's band?
Don't know how this popped up in my recommendations in 2021 but as an old folk singer from the 1960s I found this entire video's content fascinating. Thanks for presenting it...
ruclips.net/video/ahkLIs_Dqv4/видео.html
For those of us who grew up in the 50s and the '60s forward, we can understand a lot of what goes on for the sake of money. Good to see people like you that is sincerely involved in doing the right thing, congratulations
Anyone remember this from "Coming to America"
I was just about to type that!!! I was about to sing along!!!
Yes the used the original song but did the family get royalties from that🤔
@Babadook I’m from America and I agree with you. However, compared to the commercials and information we see about Africa, the movie “Coming to America” is actually an improvement 🤦🏽♀️
@Babadook It was supposed to be funny and back in those days there was no political correct movement. I get it could be offensive now. But back then it was impressive that Eddie Murphy could pull off a movie that was mainstream as well as successful with mostly all black actors that was not a gangsta or hood type movie.
@Babadook That movie was strictly comedy. I'd like to believe that NO ONE thought that it was a representation of any African country! However, I do realize that idiots exist. Love from California!
Mbube was also used in the movie Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. That's how I first heard of it as a kid. Both of my parents are African and I grew up hearing songs in the same tonal scale. I've always known The Lion Sleeps Tonight as an African song.
Even the rhythm you can tell it's black people singing
It's Ladysmith black mambazo's version. Great one !!
That was awesome! I'm 59 and that's the first time I have ever heard that story. . . Do the math. . .I was born in 1961, the same year "The lion sleeps tonight" came out. . . My entire life, never heard the story, until now. Thank you.
ruclips.net/video/ahkLIs_Dqv4/видео.html
I DON'T SEE ANYTHING AWESOME ABOUT IT. STEALING FROM THE RIGHTFUL OWNER AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT IS A TRAGEDY.
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Ñnnb BB
@@carsandrajones7596 as ejdjuddjdjdjdjddjjdjdjjdduudd7d
I need to stop watching videos like this! Just breaks my heart how cruel evil wicked people are
That's not evil... that's WICKED!
Nahhhhh keep watching and researching Queen so we can educating the masses!
I disagree with you. People need to know how black people were taken advantage of... then and now.
All in the name of greed. I loathe that behavior. Any behavior that leads to one to poach or steal.
@@cowboy4jesus3N1 nobody poached anything, the record was in a batch of records brought for inspirational ideas from South Africa by a record company exec, the song was considered public domain in the us, there was no South African copyright law that was violated. These groups that made a
Song from this were in all likelihood unaware of the existence of Solomon Linda, furthermore, why didn’t they have the record copyright protected?
The real version is played in Eddie Murphy, "coming to America", Mbube
We studied this in Music History in college. I went to the country's leading music and recording arts school in the USA, so that is encouraging. The word is getting out.
People should bear in mind that the Token's version was released as the "B" side of the 45. There was so little confidence that it would become a major hit at the time. People also forget this spawned African influences on later Token songs.
Thank You for sharing the TRUTH! It makes me so SAD that this happened & I'll never be able to hear the song the same! Like all things BIG MONEY, entitlement, corruption equals the same! Such a SAD world we live in!
Did Eddie Murphy know of this because his wake up alarm in "Coming To America" sounds like the original just slowed down, either way it still sounded beautiful.
Probably not
Eddie Murphy did the original
I am sure he knew, we wouldn't steal other cultures ideas for our own profit
I'm betting since it sounded more like the original it was strategically placed in the movie.
@@yashursuntheamericanindian that's always been done in the US Like the president brag about this economy but Obama had a 10 years Recovery Act. Obama said something about it "President Day" Trump said he trying to take credit for the economy.
Unfortunately this is not the only stolen property.Thank you for your great coverage on this one.
Miriam Makeba did a beautiful cover that pays homage to the original song.
My mother's fave singer Miriam Makeba
I’m in love love love with the Click Song by her. Beautiful!
I grew up listening to Miriam Makeba's Pata Pata and the Click Song.
Miriam was so beautiful!!! Out of all renditions of “the click song” hers from 1963 is my favorite. And pata pata is a bop 😂 and there is an interview she did and you can tell that she was so smart, it’s sad she was born during such an unfortunate time.
I think I could hang out with all of y'all lol. Do any of you remember the episode of the Cosby Show where she was on there?
I'm South African. We know the truth, we grew on the knowledge. Unfortunately there are those who are just always waiting to steal! Long live King Shaka. 🇿🇦🇿🇦
Stole it? What did Africans pay to hear it?
Does anyone pay royalties to do Shakespeare plays?
I'm just happy the origin got credit.
They probably got it from some else as well.
OBTW, pretty sure those were Africans that sold Africans into slavery.
Slavery didn't originate in north America.
@@ferengiprofiteer9145 Man shut the fvck UP!!!
@@mn5008 no you stfu 🖕🏻
@@ferengiprofiteer9145 - amazing that you make a point disagreeing with someone, or pointing out that Africans sold their fellow Africans into slavery through tribal wars, and the best someone can answer you with is _"Man shut the fvck UP!!!"_
@@ferengiprofiteer9145 ignorance isn't bliss Shakespeee got credit for his work while he was alive but patents wear off after 200 years so anyone can sample after that. Also you need a real history lesson because the majority of African slaves were captured not sold by other Africans. " Reading is fundamental " 🙄
"Artist creates an original and catchy song"
Music Industry: Put that under "public domain folk material"
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.
It amazes me how their singing always sounds like an angel choir. Most of them don't have any musical instruments or back tracks but they sing beautifully! In unison. And nobody ever seems to be of tune.
I would love to.
Do the original lyrics mean "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," as depicted in the Americanized version? Or were those lyrics made up?
@@scootermom1791No. It only means "King , you're the king, you're the king", or "Lion, you're the lion, you're the lion"
Mbube, uyimbube, uyimbube
@@sibusisow.buthelezi5130 That's really interesting! Thank you!
Thank you. I was in High School when The Lion was big. Always wondered about the inspiration and origin. Got the answer 60 years later. Feeling my age, body aches and pains, but never too old to learn.
"In the 1950s, after Linda's authorship was made clear, Seeger sent Linda $1000. Seeger also said he instructed TRO/Folkways to henceforth pay his share of authors' earnings to Linda. 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". -Wikipedia
Shhhhhhhhh. You'll upset the snowflake whiners.
Fun fact: Mbube is the opening song to the 1988 movie "Coming To America" Most would Identify it as the intro to.... you guessed it... The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
right when i heard the song I thought of Coming To America
I don't know how this popped up in my search list, but I'm glad it did. It still bothers me how people steal from true artist and call it their own. And it is usually stolen from cultures (races) that are under represented and not compensated for their works.
The music/record industry is rife with such stories. Many songwriters got ripped off by big business.
This has been going on for centuries. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”
Amen 👏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾🙏🏾
YES YES YES
That's right Zion!
Amen!
AMEN
Am south African and the weird thing is I thought the lion sleeps tonight was written here. Cuz most of our music has this progression it just sound African 😊
ruclips.net/video/VA0ruoKAnHA/видео.html
I did my own research on this song around 1996 or so when we had The Tokens as a guest in our radio studio. As we had them live and on air, I asked how the song came about. The answer was sort of a brush off so I learned about Solomon Linda and the original recording. Which lead me to a C.D. set of some popular music that had been recorded much earlier. Like Hanky Panky by The Rain Drops or California Sun by Joe Jones, or Rock Around the Clock by Sunny Dae & the Knights
Those are all White people in those groups. What is your point?
Thank you for being awesome in telling the true story behind this song. Not many people know the truth. Very very sad that the creators of this song never seen any royalties or credits for their song.
They are getting credit now.
@@joepasco1420 they are due not just credit but significant royalties should be given to their descendants just like the thieves who stole it, they used it to create wealth and opportunity for theirs. An the greatest thieves in the history of humanity are still doing it to this day. You nedd look no futher than TikTock.
@@sheinagrant7936 What an idiot. They were in South africa. This is America. Besides the songs did not sound anything alike. You are just a racist angry black person who's life has been a failure and need to blame it on another race.
@@wanaraz
Really, don't you know that the enemy tries his best to steal what is another's and when he does, he makes SURE it's HARD to identify? However, the true OWNER KNOWS what was stolen and can IDENTIFY it.
Didn't you just watch/listen to the video?
It was STOLEN!!💯
@@p.w.7493 Nothing was stolen and there 1938 version did not sound like any one else's . The key was different, the rhythm was different the notes were different. STOLEN was a claim by somebody like you. People cry all the time for their failures.
Dude. "Mbube" isn't that difficult to pronounce, just _listen_ to what they are singing.
It is for the English 🙄
He was being condescending.
@@FreshRose-z3s and ignorant
Em-Bu-bay.
@@Virginia_Cayne That's a good deal closer than matey-boy got. But it's not necessary to stick an E at the beginning and simply wrong to put a vowel after the M.
As a South African this story breaks my heart. Mbube is such a beautiful song.
I was 13 years old when I heard "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" for the first time.
It was with a group called The Hounds and that song has stayed with me through the years
and still remain in my head with text and only good memories with positive experiences. Funny that it lives on with so many.
The Lion Sleeps Tonight has always been one of my favorite songs. It wasn’t until later in life that I learned that the song was of South African origin. I came to appreciate that style of a capella African music. I hope that whoever controls this type of thing can make amends and maybe get some monetary compensation for the original singers or their families.
I'm sure that will happen LOL
Host stated towards the end, that the family received a very small*🙄😒 compensation for the African song..
Give credit where's credit is due, give honor where's honor is due.The Linda family should receive royalties from that song.Blessing and hugs!
@Gazzara5 Who should get the royalties?
@Gazzara5 They still have the original rights to Mbube and Wimoweh, but not on Lion Sleeps. The copyright under British law was for the life of the composer, plus 50 years. The family did receive a settlement, and royalties - until the settlement expired in 2017.
Mbube is a phonetic word pronounced "emm-boo-weh"
It is supposed to be performed when a prolific person (lion) has died (sleeps tonight) - Nairobi, Kenya
More like M-Boo-Bay for English speaker
It's pronounceable if you can sing the Hanson's "Mbop"
Or say "Jason Mraz's" name, Mnuchin
Etc
Say with with me
MmmBoo-bay!
Nairobi Camera: Nice explanation, thank you.
In the original recording there were no words other that what was sung as the under-chant "Uyimbube," meaning "you are the lion." That is, if the wikipedia article is accurate.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight#History
The original recording does not even have the tune associated with "In the jungle, the mighty jungle..." until near the very end when Linda improvises it. In 1949, someone in the American music industry brought the original recording to the attention of Pete Seeger. Pete Seeger and Weavers recorded it, and later it was arranged for the Tokens. Seeger and the Weavers thought was a traditional Zulu song. When Seeger found out that the song had been written by Solomon Linda, he sent $1000 to Linda and ordered that his share of any royalties be sent to Linda.
Here is a link to the original recording.
ruclips.net/video/mrrQT4WkbNE/видео.html
Sometimes, the urge to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is just a whim away...a whim away...a whim away...a whim away...
“Shaka was called ‘The Black Napoleon.’ But I prefer to think of Napoleon as ‘The White Shaka’.” - Miriam Makeba.
Technically speaking, Shaka Zulu was born in 1787, and Napoleon was born in 1769, thus Napoleon would be the first to exist, therefore not making him a "Caucasian Shaka" . However, whilst this is the case, due to both existing around the same time, and never encountering each other, with doubts as to the two even knowing of the others existence, as well as them performing their incredible feats at around the same time, the only thing that is certain is that they were both legendary generals in their own right, both however loosing their kingdoms to those they trusted.
@@mr.stomatopoda But do you agree that the Israelites were and still are black people?
@@omamajohnpaul4215 😯 What!? I never thought of that. Though definitely not white lol. Any info on this?
@@arosefortes6507 Well, I have scriptural proof like Deuteronomy 28:68. SLAVESHIPS 🤔, sound familiar?
@@omamajohnpaul4215 depends on what ur projecting 👀 and u ain't said nothing more 🤷🏽♂️
A Danish singer by the name of Bamse (Bear), he had recorded a Danish version called Wimmersvej (Wimmers Street), and did not anything about this story till later. When he discovered it, he rerecorded it and all money went to the widow and family.
Stolen, are you serious..danish stole it.
@@decodesigns14 He made a Danish translation without knowing the history behind. He took The Tokens version a made his own from that. When he discovered the truth, he re-recorded it and gave all the money to the family. He is dead now. Look up Wimmersvej by Bamse :)
Just added to the growing list of things stolen. (Precious Metals, diamonds, people, heritage, language, freedom, history, choice, money, music,
Innocence, lives, an entire continent)
MBube would have never been discovered if Pete Seeger, Bert Kaempfert and the Tokens had not improved on it. Sounds harsh, but true.
Truely an Entire continent.... we only pray God have mercy on what humans have done to humanity in their lust for greed.
@@waltkraybill5129 Improved on, merely is the a viewpoint that a song may mature over time. I'll take Cheap Tricks' Don't be Cruel over Elvis' version anytime, cause tha't my view. Your comment should have been a stand alone comment, not a reply to the above, as what was stated by Jestness IS TRUE.
@@waltkraybill5129 so what are you saying?
@@waltkraybill5129 how did they improve it?
Lions never sleep at night except in captivity. They always hunt at night.
1:26 Mbube is clearly pronounced 'mi-boo-beh' from the opening of the song - why bluster comically trying to pronounce it? Given that showing respect to the original is the point of this video, your constant mispronunciation looks insensitive and stupid.
Agreed. I was going to repost this but I'll find a better way to spread the knowledge.
I agree. His effected mispronunciation was stupid. The content of his video was fine so why not just communicate it and skip the infantile stuff.
Yes agreee!
You must be fun at parties... "Let's not have any humor, by jove. Stiff upper lip and all that you know." Bah.... In the words of Sgt. Hulka, "Lighten up!" ruclips.net/video/iN-aXzpQUdw/видео.html
@@jeffschrade4779 I'm a hoot, bitch. Now piss off and don't interrupt my 80s MTV fest again.
I too have always loved this song. It's such a joy to listen to. I'm grateful for the original song writer and singers in South Africa who first recorded it. And I'm grateful for The Tokens for bringing it to the world. And yes, those who created it first deserved more credit and money. It's disappointing that they didn't get the wealth.
Girl! That was the way All Artists we're done back then! When you don't have Any Idea I am of your worth, you'll settle for Anythang!! Like All those Blues songs that made Icons out of Common Rock names! Hell, "The Rolling Stones" literally named themselves after a Muddy tune!🤔
AT THE TIME 1000 BUCKS WAS ALOT.....LIKE 75.000 TODAY SO IT WAS A GOOD PAYOUT
Simple exploitation and appropriation, South African artists lost a lot even Paul Simon did this to MD Shirinda
@@leonardguillory2511 Songwriters and musicians still get ripped off today by greedy publishers.
@@sirsilva7079 Appropriation is a silly term, it's not like only one group in the world can sing a certain song or even wear certain clothes. People who feel "appropriated" should look at it as a compliment others like your style or your music or whatever is "appropriated" including food. I'm tired of hearing people whine about braided hairstyles or some white person wearing a kimono or cooking a cajun dish. And it seems to only be white people who appropriate right? Well, blacks can stop dying their hair blond and wearing it straight, nobody should wear baseball caps or blue jeans. It's just so childish.
Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps they say...we'll just take your boots when you're done!
facts
@Cheryle Hunter Good point!
EXACTLY
And yet I’m barefoot 🦶
In mid December, 2022, I was in a nursing home recovering from an accident and at 6:30AM, one of the CNA's was walking down the hall singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"! I loved it!
Their name is "The Tokens". That cant be any funnier. How prophetic.
Yes I was thinking why are they called the tokens
Yeah, I always get a little chuckle out of that.
Dats fuked up
They were named after tokens? They still use them some places.
@@mangot589 Its not about the use of coins.
Yeah... Im def going to have an attitude EVERY time I hear the American version... I WILL tell this story.
They did a nice job I always loved it... to find out where it was first created makes it cooler!
Youre gay
You might want to have an attitude with most other artists since they steal rifts, bars, music transitions from all other artists too
Look at you and your liberal white outrage on other's behalf, God you ppl and your faux outrage, virtue signaling, white savior complexes are pathetic, annoying, patronizing, and racist
"Disney settles Lion King song lawsuit
Relatives of the original composer of The Lion Sleeps Tonight have dropped a lawsuit against Disney after settling for an undisclosed sum of money with a US music publishing house, their lawyer said."
Good they should be sued!! Tired of hearing other people making millions off someone else's songs!!
@@fairly_odd_couple6239 Are you tired of Disney making money off of somebody else's songs...or them not compensating original artists for using it? (Choose your words. That comment just sounded vindictive. A great deal of popular songs of the last 25 years or so belonged to someone else before they were hits known worldwide.)
@@ceeleewal1257
I think the words are "copyright infringement"!!
The original sounds much better
Sick to my stomach hearing non color singing this song
Having worked in the music industry, it is important to understand that this is just how it works: one guy cannot make a success so someone else tries, they fail and someone else tries and WOW!! A HIT! Now that hit, in 1961, was heavily promoted at extreme cost to make it a hit.
Regarding the "original writer", I suspect that if a Judge determined it to be public domain "folk" then the "original" writer maybe was not the actual original(?). Kind of like me recording "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".
That said though, it is pretty low-class of the band to not properly credit and then share (voluntarily, even) with the band that recorded first and got their attention.
So the music industry can ignore copyright laws; steal someone else's music from them; and make a lot of money from it? That's what happened to Nik Kershaw. He sang "Wouldn't it be Good" before 3 Dog Night's Danny Hutton did for the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. According to an interview with Nik Kershaw I'd watched, producers never asked him for permission to use the song in the movie and didn't ask if they could have 3 Dog Night cover the song. They never even compensated him for it. Why are there copyright laws if they're never enforced? (At least not for the rich and powerful people in Hollywood!)
An American judge who knows nothing about the song and calling it a folklore is the issue to begin with. The original writer created the song, it was never a folklore to begin with. Just a twisted American system, that's all. Also the song was not a fail, it did well in South Africa. It just never made it to the American audience since we are talking about the 1930s and 40s when the internet and social media was not around.
This makes me so sad! The descendeds have nothing to show for their fathers talent.
And this theme is repeated, way too often... too sad...
That's life
Stupid comment.
No, now they have millions once the deceivers were exposed.
I'm happy to hear that last I checked it wasn't so. I will do some research on that!
Unfortunately, this has always been business as usual in the music industry. 🤷🏾♀️
Whites will always take credit for things they never invented just copying and reconstructing!
We must Not accept the unacceptable.
"Unfortunately, this has always been business as usual in the music industry." That's not entirely try. This only happens on my continent.
Solomon Lina's version is the original intro to "Coming to America"...
That’s cool! I didn’t know that
Eddy Murphy made me love the song & this man makes me understand the song🙏🙏🙏
interesting I never noticed that lol
but probably bcz I've been listening to that version, and the version by Ladysmith Black Mambazo my whole life lol
I didn't even think of The Token's version lol
(why is that group name so much more apt after knowing what they did to Linda and his family?)
I just wanted to make this comment too, but saw somebody already shared this! awesome!
That is exactly...what I heard! Wait this sounds very familiar, at the opening of the movie.
I remember this being my favorite song when I was a kid… beautiful work to Solomon and his fellow musicians!
Still one of my favorites! Especially after watching "The Ghost and the Darkness," several years ago. Idk what the original song's lyrics meant, but singing that there's nothing to worry about because the lion sleeps tonight had to be very comforting to a child.
This was unusually fun, because I actually learned more from reading the comments of people who really do know more about the history and significance of the song, than was featured in the video. I mean, the video was fine, but some of the comments were more enriching.
The same here.
For sure!!
The South African song was used in Coming To America.
Did they pay royalties to the Zulus?
No you know they forever stealing shit & pasting it off as if they are the Originals and there not
"Wimoweh", or "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda, under the title "Mbube" ( The Lion, a reference to Sulu king, Shaka) recorded by the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in Zulu, while the English version's lyrics were written by George David Weiss.
Weiss made two mistakes:
1. Lions do not sleep at night, they hunt at night
2. Lions do not live in "the jungle", they live in the African savannah, and semi-desert areas.
Mountain lions do Exist, But Still, That Is True!
@@RosettaTarry-nr4gb They aren't really lions. They are more like pumas. I think I heard of lions in India that went extinct that MAY have lived in the jungle but that doesn't really represent most lions.
@Psilocybe Vibe If misunderstood, sorry, but my point is the Tokens simply recorded a song their record company pushed. They probably had no idea of the origins of the song.
Me a reddit user: Its A Joke XD
Z-z-z-z-z-z-z
The guy who co wrote Happy Together said it was so bad he didn't want credit and The Turtles turned it into a mega hit and he missed out on maybe millions in royalties. Murray Wilson sold off the Beach Boys catalog for a song and screwed them out of millions and the list goes on and on...
damn shame we can't have shit they know they owe that man more money than that $1,000 and it was the song in Coming to America like stated below
The Coming to America version was the original!
Pete Seeger, the left's commie sweetheart of his time, hippocrit hippocrit hippocrat!
@@kennetheisenberg7197 Lol, the only reason Solomon Linda got any money is because of Pete Seeger personal efforts to reimburse him. Also, it's spelled "hypocrite"
I love the original, it was shown to me a world music class and I pull it out once in a while. It's far better than any other version
Yes, the Lion of Judah, but they are waking up, this is a new age.
APTTMH. Aman.
What a crock. Boom-tiddy-boom-tiddy-boom. Noise from savages.
Amen. But the lion of tribe of Judah is Alive! Jesus Christ our lord is coming back soon, our simba will return!! The word will be shocked, we must repent, pray, fast, and focus on the kingdom of heaven. God bless you all!
I love seeing our people wake up, all praises to the most high
SHOUT OUT TO JUDAH, WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!
Thank you for exposing this incredible injustice. I am South African and I grew up listening to this song...
I I always loved hearing it at the beginning of "Coming To America ".... Sounded majestic and regal, the way it was sung... it's a shame how these people were exploited.
Well I memorized The Lion Sleeps Tonight, so looks like I need to learn the South African song now! :)
Easy, it has no lyrics.
Guess it's like what happens between lions and other predators, another come and steal your feast.
Traditionally African song. Covered by Miriam Mekeba, and later covered by the Tokens, then again by the Nylons. One of those timeless songs!!
And Robert John in 1972.
Don't forvet Karl Denver recorded it as well
I remember that song well, hearing on the radio as a child! My aunt even had it original 45 rpm. I knew from the sound and the lyrics, that it had African origins, as so much of American music does! Thanks for the history lesson, it was interesting!
By the way, it's: "eM - bu - bae"
Who .....black Americans music is what we created so on that note you shut the fuc up!
When pronounced correctly we say there is.no Vowel e
The vowel e should be silent .Let's take the
There is no vowel at the beginning. Mbube as in the English word " remember. ie. Reme -Mbere.
Therefore " Mbu" should sound as "Mbere".
"The Lion Sleep" referred to the death of a LEADER.
The same GRAND THEFT occured to the song "FOREVER YOUNG."
It was a South African hymn or anthem sung for children who were departing their homes, transitioning into ADULTHOOD.
so true! this sounds very close to Rod Stewart's version of "Forever Young"--ruclips.net/video/hgh_XvkeQgI/видео.html
I was very surprised that many haven't followed in the footsteps of Marvin Gaye's estates lawsuit against Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines
@@tamekagriffin-ferebee9905 Once the song has been STOLEN successfully.
The TALONS from all the other artistes goes on display, full throttled.
Breaking out and bursting into song with this song is only a whim away. LOL
Mmmboobeh , dude, it's really not that hard.
Hope you learned to pronounce it.
Zulu is a wonderfully onomatopoeiac and expressive language and well worth learning.
He thought it was funny to miss pronounce the name.
The well known version sounds better than the old version
-Christopher Columbus
Thank you for telling the story of how the authors were cheated out. Sad story
The individual who provided the spark (idea) isn't necessarily entitled to the revenue stream for the finished product.
I always felt that that the 'white' version of this beautiful song was somehow very inauthentic. Glad to hear the original song and know about it.
Why do you have to mention 'white'. Are you trying to make this a race issue? Did blacks never steal from blacks? And if so....is that alright?
Unfortunately, this story is all too typical of the music business and the entertainment media in general. Just to cite one glaring example, Little Richard signed away the publishing rights to his songs in order to secure a recording contract. How many millions do you suppose Long Tall Sally has garnered somebody over the years?
Allen Kracalik: -- Little Richard signing is/was old fashioned EXTORTION.
Thanks for the knowledge. I love learning about the story behind any song so for this reason i subscribed so keep up the good work and keep em coming
Very sad about the origin of it and the lack of respect to the original artists. The ones who stole it should be ashamed of themselves. still one of my all time favorites of all songs.
But they improved the song in every way. If they had released "Mbube" in America as it was and just changed the lyrics, it would have been a complete flop, so the creators lost nothing.
And yet you never listen to the original
If they never paid for slavery its not a song they going to pay for.🔥🔥💣
There’s more to this story, as I was taught by my Zimbabwean marimba teachers. (Mbube would be closely pronounced “eem-boo-beh.”)
This song is code for the colonial practice of abducting indigenous men from the villages of rural South Africa and Rhodesia ( now Zimbabwe) at night, in order to force them to work in the mines. The “lion” refers to the white abductors. If the lion sleeps, he is not lurking about, waiting to strike, and it is safe to leave the home.
Needless to say, we still have a long way to go in our trek toward justice.
Thank you for sharing and having the courage to bring it to fruition, GOD BLESS!!!
Thank you for the original, folks looking for it. Luv u. xoxo