It wouldn’t be outrageous to claim that the now-ubiquitous four-chord circle song (comprising four chords evenly spaced and repeated through the song) grew from this tune. The simple four-chord progression (I, IV, I, V) originally heard in Linda’s scratchy recording has formed the basis for countless songs, and has reverberated throughout popular western music. In the meantime, in the township of Soweto and elsewhere, The Evening Birds’ sound was developed over the decades into a sophisticated style, sometimes referred to as Mbube, reintroduced to the west by groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Soweto Gospel Choir. The story was then adapted into a documentary, A Lion’s Trail. In 2006, 44 years after Linda had died in poverty, he was acknowledged as the composer of the original song and his estate was awarded the rights to past and future royalties. The surrounding publicity prompted a lawsuit against Abilene Music, who had licensed the song to Disney. The thread was picked up in a Rolling Stone article by journalist Rian Malan, in which he estimated the royalties from the film alone at $15 million. And is still in the top 25 highest grossing animated films of all time. With an initial worldwide gross of $766 million, it finished its theatrical run as the highest-grossing release of 1994. The Lion King was originally released on June 15, 1994, with a positive reaction from critics, who praised the film for its music, story, and animation.

The next twist was in 1994 when the song was featured in American animated musical film The Lion King, produced and released by Disney. He sent Linda some money then copyrighted The Weavers’ arrangement and sent The Weavers some money.” When Seeger realised the error, he arranged a donation of $1000 and his share of ongoing royalties to Linda, but it seemed even this never found its way back. As Seeger has put it: “The big mistake I made was not making sure my publisher signed a regular songwriters’ contract with Linda. It seems in the complicated process of licensing and publishing, either Linda’s ownership of the composition was ignored, or nobody quite followed the legal trail back to the original composer. The trouble was that as the song evolved, no provision was made for recognising Linda’s original work. The song now-named “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” reached number one at the end of 1961 and inspired a seemingly endless string of covers. Unfortunately, as Gallo had purchased the recording from Linda (for a reported ten shillings), Linda never earned anything from the sales. It became a big hit and made Linda a star among black audiences. One night after his shift he was permitted to use the studio to record a song he called “Mbube”, meaning Lion in Zulu. In 1939 Linda worked as a cleaner at the Gallo Record Company. Inspired by traditional call-and-response chants, they built four-part harmonies with Linda’s improvised vocals soaring over the top. He moved to Johannesburg in his 20s and formed an a cappella band he called the Evening Birds, who built a popular following with their distinctive style. He never learned to read or write, but he was much admired as a singer. Music has its share of “unsung” heroes, although occasionally they achieve recognition in unexpected ways and at unexpected times.īorn in 1909, Solomon Linda grew up in Zulu country in South Africa.

With the new CGI animated Lion King coming to cinemas this summer, what better time to look at the creation and history of a timeless song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight? Join us as we dive into the rich history of this well known classic. Music, like most art, is not as original as it may seem. Story of a Song – The Lion Sleeps Tonight

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