The Tokens
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| - | + | '''The Tokens''' are an [[United States|American]] male [[doo-wop]] [[human voice|vocal]] [[band (music)|group]] from [[Brooklyn, New York]]. They are best-known for their [[record chart|chart-topping]] 1961 [[single (music)|single]], "[[The Lion Sleeps Tonight]]." | |
| - | "'''The Lion Sleeps Tonight'''", also known as "'''Wimoweh'''" and "'''Mbube'''" is an [[African song]] written by [[Solomon Linda]] and most notably recorded by [[The Tokens]]. | + | |
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| - | ==History== | + | |
| - | "Mbube" ({{lang-zu|lion}}) was written in 1939 by [[Solomon Linda]] and performed by his group, the [[Evening Birds]]. "Mbube" became a hit throughout [[South Africa]]: it sold about 100,000 copies during the 1940s; and it lent its name to [[Mbube (genre)|a style]] of African [[a cappella]] music which evolved into [[isicathamiya]]. | + | |
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| - | [[Alan Lomax]] brought the song to the attention of [[Pete Seeger]] of the [[folk music|folk]] group [[The Weavers]]. In November 1951, after having performed the song for at least a year in their concerts, the Weavers recorded an adapted version entitled "Wimoweh", a mishearing of the original song's chorus of "uyimbube" ({{lang-zu|you're a lion}}). The song was credited exclusively to Paul Campbell, a fictitious entity used by Howard Richmond to copyright material in the [[public domain]]. Their version became a top-twenty hit in the U.S., and a live version became a staple covered by groups such as [[The Kingston Trio]]. | + | |
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| - | Seeger explained in one recording that the song referred to a legend similar to the European folklore tale of the [[king in the mountain]]: the last king of the Zulus, [[Shaka]] the Lion, reputedly went into hiding when the Europeans colonised Africa. Other scholars, such as Veit Erlmann, argue the song has a more literal meaning based on Linda killing a lion cub when he was younger. | + | |
| - | New lyrics to the song were written by [[George David Weiss]], [[Luigi Creatore]], and [[Hugo Peretti]]. [[The Tokens]]' 1961 version adapted these lyrics and rose to number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100]]. In the United Kingdom, [[Karl Denver]]'s cover likewise reached the charts. The song remains popular and the subject of several [[cover version]]s. | + | |
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| - | ==Copyright== | + | |
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| - | Pete Seeger later regretted in his book ''A Lion's Trail'' that he didn't ask his publisher, The Richmond Organization to persuade Linda to sign a contract. Since Linda's version was in the public domain, the Weavers' version was copyrighted under a pseudonym, a customary practice at the time. As Richmond claimed copyright, they secured both the songwriter's royalties and the publisher's share of the profits. Seeger instructed his publisher to donate his share to Linda. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
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| - | In 2000, [[South Africa]]n journalist [[Rian Malan]] wrote a feature article for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine in which he recounted Linda's story and estimated that the song had earned $15 million for its use in the movie ''[[The Lion King]]'' alone. The column prompted [[François Verster]] to create the [[Emmy Award|Emmy]]-winning documentary ''A Lion's Trail'' | + | |
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| - | In July 2004, the song became the subject of a lawsuit between Linda's estate and [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. The suit claimed that Disney owed $1.6 million in royalties for the use of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the film and stage production of ''[[The Lion King]]''. At the same time, Richmond began to pay $3,000 annually into the estate. In February 2006, Linda's descendants reached a legal settlement with Abilene Music, who held the worldwide rights and had licensed the song to Disney, to place the profits of the song in a trust. | + | |
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| - | ==Selected list of recorded versions== | + | |
| - | ====Wimoweh==== | + | |
| - | *1952: [[The Weavers]]: US #6 | + | |
| - | *1952: [[Jimmy Dorsey]] | + | |
| - | *1952: [[Yma Sumac]] | + | |
| - | *1957: [[The Weavers]], live. | + | |
| - | *1959: [[The Kingston Trio]] | + | |
| - | *1961: [[Karl Denver]] Trio: UK #4 | + | |
| - | *1962: [[Bert Kaempfert]] on ''That Happy Feeling'' | + | |
| - | *1993: [[Nanci Griffith]] with [[Odetta]], on ''[[Other Voices, Other Rooms (album)|Other Voices, Other Rooms]]'' | + | |
| - | *1994: [[Roger Whittaker]], on ''Roger Whittaker Live!'' | + | |
| - | *1999: [[Desmond Dekker]], on ''Halfway To Paradise'' | + | |
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| - | ====Mbube==== | + | |
| - | *1960 [[Miriam Makeba]], on ''[[Miriam Makeba (album)|Miriam Makeba]]'' | + | |
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| - | ====The Lion Sleeps Tonight==== | + | |
| - | {{Infobox Single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> | + | |
| - | | Name = The Lion Sleeps Tonight | + | |
| - | | Cover = The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Tight Fit.jpg | + | |
| - | | Caption = ''The Lion Sleeps Tonight'' | + | |
| - | | Artist = [[Tight Fit]] | + | |
| - | | from Album = [[Tight Fit (album)|Tight Fit]] | + | |
| - | | Released = January 1982 | + | |
| - | | Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]] | + | |
| - | | Recorded = | + | |
| - | | Length = 3:18 | + | |
| - | | Label = [[Jive Records]] | + | |
| - | | Writer = [[Hugo Peretti]]<br/>[[Luigi Creatore]]<br/>[[George David Weiss]]<br/>[[Albert Stanton]]<br/>[[Solomon Linda]] | + | |
| - | | Producer = [[Tim Friese-Greene]] | + | |
| - | | Certification = [[Gold Disc|Gold]] | + | |
| - | | Last single = "Back to the Sixties Part II"<br>(1981) | + | |
| - | | This single = "The Lion Sleep Tonight"<br>(1982) | + | |
| - | | Next single = "Fantasy Island" <br>(1982) | + | |
| - | | Misc = | + | |
| - | }} | + | |
| - | *1961: [[The Tokens]]: US #1, UK #11 | + | |
| - | *1962: [[Henri Salvador]] ([[French language]]: "Le lion est mort ce soir") FR #1 | + | |
| - | *1965: [[The New Christy Minstrels]] | + | |
| - | *1971: [[Eric Donaldson]] | + | |
| - | *1972: [[Robert John]]: US #3 | + | |
| - | *1972: [[Dave Newman]]: UK #34 | + | |
| - | *1974: [[Ras Michael]] and the Sons of Negus, as "Rise Jah Jah Children (The Lion Sleeps)" | + | |
| - | *1975: [[Brian Eno]] | + | |
| - | *1982: [[Tight Fit]]: UK #1, NL #1 | + | |
| - | *1982: [[The Nylons]] | + | |
| - | *1989: [[Sandra Bernhard]] | + | |
| - | *1992: [[They Might Be Giants]] with [[Laura Cantrell]], interpolated into "[[The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)]]" | + | |
| - | *1993: [[Pow woW]]: FR #1, cover of Salvador's version. | + | |
| - | *1993: [[R.E.M.]]: B-side of "[[The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite]]" | + | |
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| - | [[Category:WMC]] | + | |
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The Tokens are an American male doo-wop vocal group from Brooklyn, New York. They are best-known for their chart-topping 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "The Tokens" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
