![]() Rather like King Arthur, there was a folk belief that Shaka is not dead but only sleeping and one day he will return to liberate his people from their colonial oppressors. The first is that the “lion” referred to in the song is none other than the famous Zulu king Shaka Zulu (the subject of this famous poem) who acquired legendary status after his death. There are two other fascinating things about this tune. The song was also used in the Disney film The Lion King without any royalties being paid, leading to a lawsuit brought by Linda’s surviving relatives (which was settled out of court). Solomon Linda sold the rights to the Gallo record company for just ten shillings in 1949 so never received significant income from the worldwide sales. Since then it has had more cover versions than I’ve had hot dinners, mostly with an English title The Lion Sleeps Tonight or Wimoweh, a not-entirely-accurate phonetic attempt to render the isiZulu phrase uyimbube (“you are a lion”) which occurs in the song. ![]() The song Mbube by South African singer and composer Solomon Linda was first performed in 1939 and was an immediate hit in his native land. To cut a long story short I found this, and it’s been in my head ever since so I thought I’d share it here. ![]() I couldn’t identify some of the sounds so when I came inside I started googling about for various combinations of “birds singing in the evening”. The other evening it was warm enough for me to sit out in the garden, listening to the birdsong until it got dark. February 2006, Linda's descendants reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music Publishers, who had licensed the song to Disney to place the song's earnings in a trust.And now for something completely different… During this same time the Richmond Organization began paying $3000 annually to Linda’s Estate because Howie Richmond copyrighted the song in the US. July 2004, the song became the subject of a lawsuit between Linda's estate and Disney, claiming that Disney owed $1.6 million in royalties. In 2000 Rian Malan (South African journalist) wrote an article for Rolling Stones telling the Solomon Linda story and stated that the song had earned an estimated $15 million just from the Disney movie The Lion King. Americans maintained that South African copyrights were not valid because South Africa was not a signatory to U.S. The group Tight Fit version became a number 1 hit in 1982 in the UK.Īlthough Solomon Linda was the original writer and Solomon Linda and The Evening Birds performed and recorded this song originally called “Mbube”, he was only paid $1000 because he was acknowledged as the author. However, in 1961 the song became a number 1 hit in the United States after the Tokens changed it into a doo-wap version called” The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” This version of the song earned millions in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. The Weavers renamed the song “Wimoweh,” Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba, and the Kingston Trio. During the 1950s and 1960s, many pop and folk artists changed and covered the song like Henri Salvador. The original version was written and performed in Zulu and then written in English by George David Weiss. Everyone has heard the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” but what is not publicized is that the original song was titled “Mbube”, written and recorded by Solomon Linda in 1939 for the South African Gallo Record Company.
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