Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information about the South African song "Mbube" (also known as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Wimoweh").
This post also showcases seven YouTube examples of "Mbube" (also known as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Wimoweh").
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Solomon Linda for writing and recording this song and thanks to all those who are featured in these examples and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "MBUBE"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight
..."History
"Mbube" (Zulu for "lion") was written in
the 1920s by Solomon Linda,[2] a South African singer of Zulu origin, who later
worked for the Gallo Record Company in Johannesburg as a cleaner and record
packer. He spent his weekends performing with the Evening Birds, a musical
ensemble, and it was at Gallo Records, under the direction of producer
Griffiths Motsieloa, that Linda and his fellow musicians recorded several
songs, including "Mbube", which incorporated a call-response pattern
common among many Sub-Saharan African ethnic groups, including the Zulu.
According to journalist Rian Malan:
"Mbube" wasn't the most remarkable tune, but there was something compelling about the underlying chant, a dense meshing of low male voices above which Solomon yodelled and howled for two exhilarating minutes, improvising occasionally. The third take was the best, achieving immortality when Solly took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and improvised the melody that the world now associates with these words:
Issued by Gallo as a 78-rpm phonograph record in 1939,[3]
and marketed to black audiences, "Mbube" became a hit and Linda a
star throughout South Africa. By 1948, the song had sold over 100,000 copies in
Africa and among black South African immigrants in Great Britain. Linda also
lent its name to a style of African a cappella music that evolved into
isicathamiya (also called mbube), popularized by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.[4]
In 1949, Alan Lomax, then working as folk music director for
Decca Records, brought Solomon Linda's 78 recording to the attention of his
friend Pete Seeger of the 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 with brass and string orchestra and chorus and
released it as a 78 single titled "Wimoweh", a mishearing of the
original song's chorus of "Uyimbube", Zulu: You are a lion. Their
version contained the chanting chorus "Wimoweh" and Linda's
improvised melodic line. The Weavers credited the song as
"Traditional", with arrangement by "Paul Campbell", later
found to be a pseudonym used by the Weavers in order to claim royalties.[5] It
reached Billboard's top ten and became a staple of The Weavers' live
repertoire, achieving further exposure on their best-selling The Weavers at
Carnegie Hall LP album, recorded in 1955 and issued in 1957. The song was also
covered extensively by other folk revival groups such as The Kingston Trio, and
exotica singer Yma Sumac. However, Miriam Makeba, in 1960, recorded the same
song as "Mbube", with the writing credit given to "J.
Linda".[5]"...
-snip-
Continue reading that Wikipedia article for more information about this song and click https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/the-lion-sleeps-tonight.html for the article entitled "The Lion Sleeps Tonight — written by a Zulu migrant worker,
made famous by Disney" As the song hit the big-time, its composer’s daughters had
to fight for their father’s writing credit
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SOME RECORDED EXAMPLES OF "MBUBE" ("THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT" & "WIMOWEH")
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube.
Example #1: Solomon Linda&The Evening ( The First Version ) – Mbube
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mrrQT4WkbNE"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
Solomon Linda And The Evening Birds Original Version, The
Lion Sleeps Tonight (El león duerme esta
noche) 1939
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Example #2: Ladysmith Black Mambazo - The Lion Sleeps Tonight
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cA2Qw3j2bxw"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
FLORENCOM, Dec 17, 2007
All the versions in/Todas las versiones en:
http://www.florencom.es
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Gift of the Tortoise [record album]
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Example #3: Soweto Gospel Choir - The Lion Sleeps Tonight
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QbQVdLRqJ1w"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
FLORENCOM, Dec 17, 2007
****
Example #4: The Weavers-Wimoweh
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/77VUYPVMtWY"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
****
Example #5: Timon & Pumbaa: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Song)
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fAgawhaAaeo"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Tandpfan, Jan 29, 2012
…Timon and Pumbaa sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight",
unaware that a real lion (Simba) is wide awake
The Lion King [movie]
Rating: G
Released: 1994
****
Example #6: The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) (Audio)
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OQlByoPdG6c"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
****
Example #7: Miriam Makeba - Mbube (Taken from Live At Berns Salonger,
Stockholm, Sweden, 1966)
<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zl4-GwsVvz8"
frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write;
encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Miriam Makeba Official Channel, Feb 3, 2015
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