The Lion Sleeps Tonight

For the TV episode, see The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Dexter).

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a popular song. Originally written and composed by the South African musician Solomon Linda in 1939, it was first published as "Mbube".[a] It made its way to the United States a decade later. In 1961, the Tokens, a doo-wop group, adapted the melody and added English lyrics to produce "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Their version rose spawned many covers and featured in major films; during the 2000s, it became the subject of publicised legal conflict between Linda's family and entertainment corporations over royalty payments.

A Zulu migrant worker, Linda led the a capella group the Evening Birds. In 1939, without rehearsal, they recorded "Mbube", which fused traditional Zulu musical elements with Western influences. The recording was then released in South Africa to widespread popularity. It made Linda a local celebrity and shaped the development of the isicathamiya genre. He later sold his rights to "Mbube" to the owner of his parent record company for ten shillings,[b] unaware of what the transaction implied. The recording of "Mbube" was then sent to a record label in the U.S., and upon being unearthed, it passed onto Pete Seeger of the folk group the Weavers. They covered the song in 1951 as "Wimoweh".

A decade later, the Tokens encountered "Wimoweh" and decided to record their own version. After adapting the melody and adding English lyrics, they released "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", although Linda did not receive any credit. It topped the U.S. charts. By the mid-2000s, around 150 artists across the world had covered the song, and it had been included in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King, earning an estimated $15 million in royalties. Linda, then long deceased, was yet unrecognised for his contributions to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". His descendants had earned very little and were left destitute. Emboldened, they filed a lawsuit against Disney for copyright violation in 2004. Within two years, they reached an out-of-court settlement with Abilene Music Company, in which the firm agreed to pay the family a lump sum for past royalties and offer them a share of future revenue.

The legacy of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is mixed. While its global commerical success transformed it into a "truly immortal pop epiphany," its background, particularly Linda's perceived lack of recognition and fortune in his lifetime, is now deemed an example of racial exploitation. The song and Linda's story has been probed in numerous documentaries and is the part-inspiration of the 2020 film Black Is King.

History

Solomon Linda and "Mbube"

See also: Mbube (genre), Isicathamiya, and Music of South Africa

First the Zulu man made the magic …

Solomon Linda, born in rural Natal,[5] was a migrant worker.[6] He held various jobs during the 1930s, including in kitchens and a furniture shop.[7] A beer hall singer,[8] he was also a member of a short-lived choir named the Evening Birds, which dissolved in the mid-1930s. Soon after, Linda formed a new group under the same name, with himself as soprano, Gilbert Madondo as alto, Boy Sibiya as tenor, and Samuel Mlangeni, Gideon Mkhize, and Owen Sikhakhane as basses.[9] They performed a cappella in the weekends and quickly grew a following.[10] Having moved to Johannesburg,[10] Linda became a packer at Eric Gallo's local record-pressing plant,[11][c] the first in sub-Saharan Africa and, at the time, the only one in black Africa.[13] It was not long before the firm's talent scout noticed the Evening Birds and invited them to the recording studio.[14] Back then, record firms eyed Zulu close-harmony vocal music, which appealed to migrant mineworkers.[15]

The Evening Birds recorded multiple songs at Gallo's studio, and during their second session, in 1939, they achieved their breakthrough.[16] The song, "Mbube"[a], was finished without prior rehearsal after three takes.[17] Performed in four-part harmony,[18] with Mlangeni, Mkhize, and Sikhakhane on bass, Madondo and Sibiya on middle tones, and Linda on a "soaring" soprano,[19] it is sung in a call and response format: the phrases of each section overlap with each other. It follows a cyclical structure.[18] The melody comprises three chords,[17] and the chord progression borrows from the marabi harmonic cycle predominant in twentieth-century South African music (I-IV-I6/4-V7-I).[18] Also featured in the recording are Peter Rezant on guitar, Emily Motsieloa on piano, and possibly Willie Gumede on banjo.[20]

Sharon LaFraniere describes the melody as "tender … almost childish in its simplicity."[21] In Rian Malan's view, "'Mbube' wasn't the most remarkable tune, but there was something terribly compelling about the underlying chant, a dense meshing of low male voices above which Linda yodeled and howled for two minutes, mostly making it up as he went along."[17] Of particular interest to commentators are the melody's final few seconds,[22] where Linda breaks out into a brief howl, "a haunting skein of fifteen notes."[4] This would later become the basis for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".[22]

The lyrics, written in Zulu,[23] are said to document an episode of Linda's childhood when he chased a lion while herding cattle.[24][d]

The chorus, "wembube,"[e] is repeated throughout the song.[30] "Mbube" borrows strongly from Western influences introduced by missionaries and white singing troupes, one of them being the four-part harmony,[19] and Veit Erlmann goes as far as to imply that the main body "displays only a few features which can be said to be rooted in traditional performance practice."[31] In fact, as a child, Linda listened to spirituals performed by the American Virginia Jubilee Singers.[32] These Western elements, argues Lior Phillips, "gave 'Mbube' a chance globally."[19] Erlmann additionally notes that the song's triadic structure and harmonic progression resemble urban, Westernised genres[33] and that, on the contrary, the metrically-free introduction mirrors traditional dance music.[34] The vocal lines are intended to evoke tin whistles characteristic of South African street music.[19]

"Mbube"
Single by Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds
B-sideNgi Hambiki[20]
Released1939
Recorded1939
StudioGallo Recording Studios
Genre
Length2:44
LabelGallo Record Company
Songwriter(s)
Audio
Mbube (Audio) on YouTube

Gallo was impressed with "Mbube" and had it converted into 78 rpm records; it then aired on the rediffusion, a landline that transmitted music and news across black neighbourhoods.[16] The song achieved unprecedented success. With over 100,000 copies sold in Africa over the next nine years,[35] it was the first South African "hit."[36] It also nurtured Gallo's rise to the top of Africa's recording industry.[37] According to Erlmann, "Mbube" became "canonic for an entire generation of performers,"[38] evidenced by the fact that all subsequent South African music styles adopted the song's booming I-IV-V bass patterns.[38]

"Mbube" defined isicathamiya music.[39] A form of a cappella choral song,[40] it originated from an "eclectic choral/performance style based on elements of Zulu traditional music, rehearsed and performed after hours in migrant workers' hostels," as Gwen Ansell describes.[41] These elements combine with Western, Christian influences.[42] While the genre emerged in early-nineteenth-century Natal,[43] its "classic era," as Erlmann indicates, arose from "Mbube".[36] From 1939 until the early 1950s, the Evening Birds were the face of isicathamiya.[44] Such was the song's influence that the word "mbube" simply became shorthand for male a cappella choral singing in South Africa.[45][g] The mbube style, notes David B. Coplan, "appealed across the class spectrum, melodised a growing African nationalism, created nostalgia for a lost society, and fused urban and rural values."[46]

While the song proved a monumental success, Linda did not profit from this.[47] Just after recording "Mbube",[48] he sold his rights to the song to Eric Gallo for ten shillings,[49][b] but, with Linda being both illiterate[21] and oblivious to the existence of royalties,[50] this deal was later deemed unfair.[51] Gallo also paid Linda the equivalent of $2 for the first run of a few hundred records.[19]

"Mbube" made Linda "a legend in the Zulu subculture," and his band went on to dominate all-night song competitions.[52] The Evening Birds continued performing until 1948,[46] remaining prominent till their dying days.[53] However, Linda would never attain wealth or fortune. He lived "with barely a stick of furniture, sleeping on a dirt floor carpeted with cow dung," and one of his children died of malnutrition.[21] In 1959, Linda collapsed onstage, which doctors ruled a result of kidney failure.[54] He died three years later aged 53.[55] At the time of his death, his bank account contained roughly $40 in today's money;[56][h] his family could not afford him a tombstone.[59]

Pete Seeger, the Weavers, and "Wimoweh"

See also: The Weavers

… Then the white man made the money.

— Rian Malan[4]

Some years later, Gallo sent a bundle of records to Decca Records in the United States.[60] They were to be discarded before a Decca employee, Alan Lomax, salvaged them; among these records was "Mbube". He handed the box over to folk singer Pete Seeger of the Weavers.[61] A penniless banjo player, Seeger had entered the music scene after quitting university and accustoming himself with popular songs of the Great Depression.[62] He was fascinated with "Mbube"[61] and promptly transcribed it "word for word,"[63] although he misheard the chorus as "wimoweh."[64] In December 1951,[65] the Weavers released a cover of "Mbube" named "Wimoweh", which, as Malan writes, "was faithful to the Zulu original in almost all respects save for the finger-popping rhythm."[66] Seeger later remarked that "Wimoweh" was "just about my favorite song to sing for the next forty years."[61]

Shortly after its release, Gallo sold "Mbube" to The Richmond Organization in exchange for the rights to administer "Wimoweh" in some bush territories.[48] Songwriting credits were given to the fictitious "Paul Campbell," a tactic enabling the Weavers to claim royalties on songs from the public domain, even if "Mbube" was not in the public domain.[67] Such a practice was common at the time.[68] Royalties for "Wimoweh" were split two ways: half went to the Weavers' publishers—Howard Richmond (of The Richmond Organization) and Albert Brackman—and their manager, Pete Kameron, and the other half to the Weavers.[69] Linda was not entitled to any.[67]

"Wimoweh" reached No. 6 on the U.S. charts,[70] but this success was briefly derailed when Harvey Matusow, a prolific informer of the McCarthy era, accused three of the Weavers of being affiliated with the Communist Party.[71] Later, the song's profile was raised when the Weavers performed it at Carnegie Hall in 1957.[72] Throughout the decade, it was covered by the likes of Jimmy Dorsey[73] and the Kingston Trio.[72]

George Weiss, the Tokens, and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

See also: The Tokens

Malan writes that by the end of the 1950s, "almost everyone in America knew the basic refrain" of "Wimoweh".[73] After hearing a live Weavers performance of the song,[74][i] the Tokens, a teen doo-wop group from Brooklyn, decided to record their own version.[76] They had already attained a hit, "Tonight I Fell in Love", and signed up with RCA for a three-record contract effectively commencing in 1961.[77] While their first two records struggled, the third would bear fruit.[78]

For their third attempt,[78] the Tokens approached the musician George David Weiss and solicited an overhaul of "Wimoweh", to "give it some intelligible lyrics and a contemporary feel."[75] He purged the song of its shrieks and hollers, while leaving the chant unchanged,[75] and made Linda's final improvised notes the new tune.[22] 33 words were added as English lyrics,[79] beginning with, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."[80] The Tokens then recorded Weiss' version, with Jay Siegel performing falsettos, the rest of the band chanting "wimoweh," and the guest opera singer Anita Darian "[diving] in the high heavens" with her "haunting" countermelodies.[79] Accompanying them were an orchestra, a percussionist on timpani, and session musicians on guitar, drums and bass.[79] Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore produced the piece.[78] Ultimately, the Tokens were not particularly enthralled with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and it was released in October 1961[81] as a B-side.[79]

While the A-side, "Tina", flopped,[79] "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" surged to No. 1 in the U.S. charts[53] and in numerous other countries.[8] Many covers of the song found similar success in the years to come,[4] including Karl Denver's, which reached No. 4 in the UK in 1962,[82] Robert John's, which rose to No. 3 in the US a decade later,[83] and Tight Fit's, which topped the UK charts in 1982.[84] Miriam Makeba performed it at President John F. Kennedy's birthday.[85] According to Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was the first African song to top the U.S. charts.[78] The Tokens subsequently became music producers, and while their fame as performers waned—only managing to land their next top 40 U.S. single four years later—they fluorished in their new role. Among their productions was the Chiffons' "He's So Fine", a No. 1 hit.[78]

1951–1990: Early conflict

See also: Copyright infringement and Copyright law of the United States

Conflict over songwriting credits and royalty payments has engulfed "Wimoweh" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ever since their release. The earliest dispute dates to c. 1951. Upon learning that Linda was not to be granted any songwriting royalties, Seeger objected, insisting that Linda, as the "true" author of "Wimoweh", should receive his due. He directed his publisher to send Linda the royalties, at one point dispatching a $1,000 check himself,[86] but Linda's daughters later denied that consistent payments for "Wimoweh" had been sent made since the 1950s.[87] Nonetheless, Seeger eventually stated that "I never got author’s royalties on 'Wimoweh'. … I assumed [the song's publishers] were keeping the publisher’s fifty percent and sending the rest."[88] In 1971, The Richmond Organization acknowledged that the song was based on "Mbube", and since then, Linda's family has received royalty payments totalling 12.5 percent of "Wimoweh"'s overall earnings.[70]

The next dispute concerned the Tokens' revision. Peretti, Creatore, and Weiss credited "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" solely to themselves, thinking that the Weavers' tune was based on traditional African music and thus could not be copyrighted, but this was not the case.[88] As the song was achieving widespread success, Howard Richmond insisted that the trio cede publishing rights back to the Weavers. They complied, and the Tokens retained full songwriting credits.[54]

However, the conflict was still unresolved. In 1989, the copyright on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was soon to expire, and Weiss demanded Richmond and Brackman pay him and his fellow songwriters a generous bonus, lest he renew the song's copyright without crediting them at all. Richmond and Brackman accused Weiss' team of plagiarising the Weavers' 'original' recording, but they retorted that they had received permission to adapt the song in 1961.[89]

In 1990, this battle over ownership went to court, but was eventually settled in favour of Weiss and his publishers, when Weiss, upon learning of the song’s African author, promised that In 1989, a dispute betweten percent of the writer’s royalties would be paid to Linda’s estate.[90]

en the Weavers' publisher, the Richmond Organisation, and Weiss over the copyright ownership of The Lion Sleeps Tonight came before a New York court. Judge John Keenan decided that Weiss's adaptation of the song constituted a separate composition.[91]

2004–2019: The Lion King

In 2000, South African journalist Rian Malan wrote a feature article for Rolling Stone in which he recounted Linda's story and estimated that the song had earned $15 million for its use in the Disney 1994 movie The Lion King alone. The piece prompted filmmaker François Verster to create the Emmy-winning documentary A Lion's Trail, released in 2002, which tells Linda's story while incidentally exposing the workings of the multi-million dollar corporate music publishing industry.

Howie Richmond's claim of author's copyright could secure both the songwriter's royalties and his company's publishing share of the song earnings.[92]

Linda had no legal rights as a black South African, in the pre-apartheid years of segregation. However, by the time Linda’s family filed a lawsuit, apartheid had been abolished, and South Africa had become a democratic nation.[93]                                                                                

In July 2004, as a result of the publicity generated by Malan's article and the subsequent documentary, the song became the subject of a lawsuit between Linda's estate and Disney, claiming that the latter owed $1.6 million in royalties for the use of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the film and musical stage productions of The Lion King. At the same time, the Richmond Organization began to pay $3,000 annually to Linda's estate. In February 2006, the South African singer's descendants reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music Publishers, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney, to place the earnings of the song in a trust.[94]

In 2012, "Mbube" fell into the public domain, owing to the copyright law of South Africa, while "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is still in copyright.

Legacy

See also: A Lion's Trail and Black Is King

A Zulu on the far side of the planet writes a 13-note melody that flies off and takes root in the brain of a radical American folksinger who turns it into 'Wimoweh,' which in turn gives birth to 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight,' which goes through about 12 hit cycles over the next 60 years. … I love that part of the story, the improbable cultural transfers and misunderstandings, the strange musical mutations, the rich mix of characters … But that’s a story about music. The parallel story about money has been less inspiring.

— Rian Malan[95]

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is one of the most commercially successful pop songs in history[96] and according to Malan, the most famous melody born in Africa.[97] By 2006, the original tune, "Mbube", had been recorded by some 150 artists around the world:[98] Glen Campbell, Brian Eno, R.E.M., Bert Kaempfert,[4] Yma Sumac,[15] among others. It has been used in over thirteen movies.[21] Malan additionally describes "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as a "truly immortal pop epiphany."[4]

However, its legacy is more complicated. Because of the copyright issues surrounding it, David Browne and Simon Robinson deem it one of pop's most contentious tunes.[99] The song's association with long-running racial and, in Håvard Ovesen and Adam Haupt's view, capitalist,[100] exploitation has been established by several writers.[101] Malan likens Linda's story of perceived injustice with that of other black musicians such as Lead Belly, who "lost half of his publishing to his white 'patrons.'"[102]

Some scholars have paralleled the family's legal victory and eventual recognition of Linda's efforts with South Africa's transition away from apartheid and into democracy.[103] According to Carol A. Muller, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" "[opened] the doors to South African music and musicians abroad in the twentieth century," as displayed by Paul Simon's 1986 album Graceland, which incorporates elements from isicathamiya.[18] On the contrary, Ovesen and Haupt's view is more nuanced. They contend that, while justice ultimately seems to have been served for Linda, "the power structures that enable the continuation of huge socio-economic disparities are still in place."[104]

The story of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the plight of Linda’s daughters have been chronicled. Besides Malan's essay and Vester's documentary,[96] they were covered in the 2019 Netflix film ReMastered: The Lion’s Share.[105] Moreover, Beyoncé's 2020 musical film Black Is King partially came into being after she learned of how Linda was not recognised for his contributions to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". In the film, the original "Mbube" rather than the Tokens' version is featured.[106]

Charted singles

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Single by the Tokens
from the album The Lion Sleeps Tonight
A-side"Tina"
ReleasedOctober 1961
Recorded1961
Genre
Length2:41
LabelRCA Victor[108]
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Hugo Peretti
  • Luigi Creatore
Audio
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) (Audio) on YouTube
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Single by Robert John
from the album Robert John
B-side"Janet"[109]
Releasedc. 1971[110]
Genre
Length2:32
LabelAtlantic[112]
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Robert John singles chronology
"When the Party Is Over"
(1970) 		"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
(1971) 		"Hushabye"
(1972)
Audio
The Lion Sleeps Tonight on YouTube
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Single by Tight Fit
from the album Tight Fit
B-side"I'm Dancing in the Street"[113]
Releasedc. January 1982[114]
GenrePop
Length3:08
LabelJive[115]
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Tim Friese-Greene[115]
Tight Fit singles chronology
"Back to the Sixties Part II"
(1981) 		"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
(1982) 		"Fantasy Island"
(1982)
Music video
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" on YouTube

The Tokens

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[125] Gold 15,000[j]
United States (RIAA)[126] Gold 1,000,000[k]

Robert John

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[136] Gold 1,000,000[k]

Tight Fit

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[153] Gold 500,000[k]

R.E.M.

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Mbube" is Zulu for "lion,"[1] or "the lion."[2]
  2. ^ a b Ten shillings in 1939 is worth $70 in 2025 (a shilling then being a twentieth of a pound, and a pound being worth $140.97 in 2025, the latter value was halved and rounded down).[3]
  3. ^ Rian Malan suggests that Linda was given the job at Gallo's firm after recording "Mbube", not before.[12]
  4. ^ Malan presents a slightly different interpretation: that the lyrics refer to an lion-hunting incident in the Evening Birds' collective memory, not just in Linda's.[17] Veit Erlmann follows a similar lyrical interpretation but argues that "Mbube" was based on an older wedding song, in the same vein as many early isicathamiya songs.[25]
  5. ^ a b Some sources indicate "uyimbube" instead of "wembube,"[28] and one indicates "uyimbube-wo."[29]
  6. ^ Sources which write "uyimbube" instead of "wembube" translate it as "you're a lion."[27]
  7. ^ According to David B. Coplan, the ingoma busuku style adopted the name "mbube" after the song's release.[46]
  8. ^ Different figures are suggested. Sharon Lafraniere writes that Linda died with $22 in his account,[21] worth $35.08 in 2025,[57] but Simon Robinson denotes $25,[58] worth $42.54.[57]
  9. ^ According to Malan, the Tokens came across the song on a Weavers album. They then contacted the South African consulate, which jokingly described "Mbube" a "Zulu hunting song" about "eating lions."[75]
  10. ^ Sales and streaming figures are based on certification alone.
  11. ^ a b c Shipments figures are based on certification alone.

Citations

  1. ^ Erlmann 2004, p. 271; Muller 2008, p. 5; Phillips 2023
  2. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Malan 2012, p. 61
  3. ^ Nye
  4. ^ a b c d e f Malan 2012, p. 57
  5. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 60
  6. ^ BBC 2006; Connor 2018; Muller 2008, p. 6
  7. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 61; Malan 2012, p. 59
  8. ^ a b Blair 2004; Lafraniere 2006
  9. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 61
  10. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 59
  11. ^ Coplan 2008, p. 159; Erlmann 1996, p. 61; Erlmann 2004, p. 271
  12. ^ Malan 2012, p. 71
  13. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 57, 60
  14. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 61; Malan 2012, p. 60; Phillips 2023
  15. ^ a b Ansell 2005, p. 50
  16. ^ a b Malan 2012, pp. 61–62
  17. ^ a b c d Malan 2012, p. 61
  18. ^ a b c d Muller 2008, p. 7
  19. ^ a b c d e Phillips 2023
  20. ^ a b flatinternational
  21. ^ a b c d e f Lafraniere 2006
  22. ^ a b c Lafraniere 2006; Malan 2012, pp. 61, 67
  23. ^ Connor 2018; Phillips 2023
  24. ^ Contreras 2006; Muller 2008, p. 5
  25. ^ Erlmann 1996, pp. 61–62
  26. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 62
  27. ^ Malan 2012, p. 61; Phillips 2023; Wilberforce 2020
  28. ^ Malan 2012, p. 63; Phillips 2023; Wilberforce 2020
  29. ^ Khumalo 2004
  30. ^ Phillips 2023; Wilberforce 2020
  31. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 65
  32. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 58–59
  33. ^ Erlmann 1996, pp. 65–66; Erlmann 2004, p. 271
  34. ^ Erlmann 1996, pp. 62, 65; Erlmann 2004, p. 271
  35. ^ Coplan 2008, p. 159; Malan 2012, p. 62; Muller 2008, p. 5
  36. ^ a b Erlmann 2004, p. 271
  37. ^ Coplan 2008, p. 159
  38. ^ a b Erlmann 1996, p. 66
  39. ^ Erlmann 2004, p. 271; Muller 2008, p. 102
  40. ^ Coplan 2008, p. 440; Erlmann 2004, p. 266
  41. ^ Ansell 2005, p. 327
  42. ^ Erlmann 1996, p. 55
  43. ^ Coplan 2008, p. 440
  44. ^ Erlmann 2004, pp. 271, 273
  45. ^ Erlmann 2004, p. 271; Lafraniere 2006; Phillips 2023
  46. ^ a b c Coplan 2008, p. 160
  47. ^ Malan 2012, p. 71; Wilberforce 2020
  48. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 71
  49. ^ Connor 2018; Khumalo 2004
  50. ^ Muller 2008, p. 6
  51. ^ Contreras 2006
  52. ^ Malan 2012, p. 76
  53. ^ a b Erlmann 1996, p. 68
  54. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 75
  55. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Malan 2012, p. 77; Robinson 2004
  56. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Robinson 2004
  57. ^ a b Webster 2025
  58. ^ Robinson 2004
  59. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Malan 2012, p. 58
  60. ^ Connor 2018; Muller 2008, p. 5
  61. ^ a b c Malan 2012, p. 63
  62. ^ Malan 2012, p. 62
  63. ^ BBC 2006
  64. ^ Malan 2012, p. 63; Wilberforce 2020
  65. ^ Library of Congress Copyright Office 1952
  66. ^ Malan 2012, p. 64
  67. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 73
  68. ^ Malan 2012, p. 72
  69. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 72–73
  70. ^ a b Citizen 2004; Toronto Star 2004b
  71. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 65–66
  72. ^ a b Muller 2008, p. 5
  73. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 66
  74. ^ Connor 2018
  75. ^ a b c Malan 2012, p. 67
  76. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 66–67
  77. ^ Childs & March 2011; Malan 2012, pp. 66–67
  78. ^ a b c d e Childs & March 2011
  79. ^ a b c d e Malan 2012, p. 68
  80. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Wilberforce 2020
  81. ^ Billboard Music Week 1961, p. 32
  82. ^ Official Charts (c)
  83. ^ Billboard (b); Rice et al. 1982, p. 222
  84. ^ BBC 2006; Malan 2012, p. 69
  85. ^ Connor 2018; Malan 2012, p. 69
  86. ^ Malan 2012, pp. 73–74
  87. ^ Malan 2012, p. 78
  88. ^ a b Malan 2012, p. 74
  89. ^ Malan 2012, p. 80
  90. ^ Ovesen & Haupt 2011, p. 75
  91. ^ Khumalo 2004
  92. ^ Malan 2012
  93. ^ Muller 2008, p. 68
  94. ^ Robinson 2004
  95. ^ Lewis 2019
  96. ^ a b Ovesen & Haupt 2011, p. 73
  97. ^ Malan 2012, p. 58
  98. ^ BBC 2006; Lafraniere 2006; Vincent 2004
  99. ^ Browne 2019; Robinson 2004
  100. ^ Ovesen & Haupt 2011, p. 77
  101. ^ Lafraniere 2006; Malan 2012, pp. 83–84; Phillips 2023
  102. ^ Malan 2012, p. 84
  103. ^ Muller 2008, p. 6; Ovesen & Haupt 2011, p. 73
  104. ^ Ovesen & Haupt 2011, pp. 73–74
  105. ^ Lewis 2019; Wilberforce 2020
  106. ^ Ngema 2020; Phillips 2023
  107. ^ Stanley 2022, p. 477
  108. ^ a b Tropicalglen.com (c)
  109. ^ a b c d Offizielle Deutsche Charts (a)
  110. ^ a b Billboard (a)
  111. ^ Breihan 2020
  112. ^ a b RPM 1972b
  113. ^ Swiss Charts; Ultratop (b)
  114. ^ a b Official Charts (a)
  115. ^ a b c Rice et al. 1982, p. 222
  116. ^ Kent 2005
  117. ^ Ultratop (c)
  118. ^ Ultratop (d)
  119. ^ CHUM 1961
  120. ^ Kohler
  121. ^ Official Charts (b)
  122. ^ Billboard (c)
  123. ^ Tropicalglen.com (a)
  124. ^ Offizielle Deutsche Charts (c)
  125. ^ RadioScope
  126. ^ RIAA (b)
  127. ^ Kent 1993
  128. ^ RPM 1972a
  129. ^ South African Rock Encyclopedia
  130. ^ Billboard (b)
  131. ^ Tropicalglen.com (b)
  132. ^ Kent 1993
  133. ^ RPM 1973
  134. ^ Music Outfitters
  135. ^ Tropicalglen.com (d)
  136. ^ RIAA (a)
  137. ^ Kent 1993, p. 310
  138. ^ Austrian Charts
  139. ^ Ultratop (b)
  140. ^ Irish Charts
  141. ^ Top 40 (a)
  142. ^ Dutch Charts (b)
  143. ^ New Zealand Charts
  144. ^ Swedish Charts
  145. ^ Swiss Charts
  146. ^ Offizielle Deutsche Charts (b)
  147. ^ Hivatalos magyar slágerlisták
  148. ^ Kent 1983
  149. ^ Ultratop (a)
  150. ^ Top 40 (b)
  151. ^ Dutch Charts (a)
  152. ^ Offizielle Deutsche Charts (d)
  153. ^ BPI
  154. ^ DV 1993, p. 29
  155. ^ DV 1994, pp. 16–17

Bibliography

Books and academic papers

  • Ansell, Gwen (2005). Soweto Blues: Jazz, Popular Music, and Politics in South Africa. New York City, New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1753-1.
  • Childs, Marti Smiley; March, Jeff (2011). "Chapter III: The Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Tokens". Echoes of the Sixties. United States: EditPros LLC. ISBN 978-1-937317-02-7.
  • Coplan, David B. (2008). In Township Tonight!: South Africa's Black City Music and Theatre. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-11567-2.
  • Erlmann, Veit (1996). "The History of Isicathamiya, 1891–1991". Nightsong: Performance, Power, and Practice in South Africa. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-21721-3.
  • Erlmann, Veit (2004). "Fantasies of Home: The antinomies of modernity and the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo". In Frith, Simon (ed.). Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studios. Vol. 4. New York City, New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-33270-2.
  • Malan, Rian (2012). "In the Jungle". The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Other Stories of Africa. New York City, New York: Grove Atlantic. ISBN 978-0-8021-1990-2.
  • Muller, Carol A. (2008). Focus: Music of South Africa (2 ed.). New York City, New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96071-7.
  • Ovesen, Håvard; Haupt, Adam (October 2011). "Vindicating Capital: Heroes and Villains in A Lion's Trail". Ilha do Desterro (61): 73–107. doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n61p073.
  • Stanley, Bob (2022). "Revival: Trad Jazz and Folk". Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music: A History. Cambridge, England: Pegasus Books. ISBN 978-1639362509.

News articles


Other media

Charts

Recordings

  • "Mbube", performed by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds
  • A failed take of "Mbube", by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds
  • "Wimoweh", performed live by the Weavers
  • "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", performed by the Tokens
  • Cover of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", performed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Mint Juleps
  • YouTube tribute channel FLORENCOM, containing over 200 iterations of "Mbube", "Wimoweh", and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

Commentary

  • Commentary on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the legal dispute and settlement surrounding it, by Richard Silverstein
  • 2010 BBC podcast on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", hosted by Paul Gambaccini
  • Video comparing "Mbube" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by VYIMBVBE
  • Documentary on Solomon Linda by VYIMBVBE
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