And this is why I stay here, for gems like this. You keep us on our toes for sure! I love the Miriam Makeba version as well. Listening to the originals is a good call, it shows you the journey a song has taken over the years. Thank you.

This song was sold by Solomon Linda for $25. Pete Seeger is the one that first popularized it before the Tokens turned it into a billion dollar juggernaut for the likes of Disney who has never sent Linda's family a dime. Pete Seeger did his best to compensate the family on his own. There's a great Rolling Stone article about this tune

@chiledoug

2 жыл бұрын

Iremember now it was PETE Seeger

@thomasdaily4363

2 жыл бұрын

Shocking.

@loadedorygun

2 жыл бұрын

that’s not true, Disney settled for something over a million with his daughters. Still awful just correcting the record.

@DavidRexGlenn

2 жыл бұрын

@@loadedorygun Thank you for the update

@jonlenihan4798

2 жыл бұрын

The Solomon Linda part of the song is the chorus "wemoweh." The rest of it "In the jungle..." was written by the American composer, music and lyrics. After Disney made "The Lion King" thereby reintroducing the song to a global public, Disney got some flak about stealing from poor simple minded black people. So Disney voluntarily gave Linda's descendants a chunk of money.

Amazing! I can hear what was used by The Tokens. These older recordings are truly awesome!

Layers of sophisticated rhythms and really expressive singing! Listening to African music can make you a better person 🙂.

It is amazing how their South African sound is still alive today. I would guess that most people, myself included, were awestruck by Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing on Paul Simon’s Graceland album. After hearing this 1939 record, the tradition Ladysmith sings in became something with more of a history than I was ever aware of.

@ramonarellano4988

Ай бұрын

There's a South African group of people singing a beautiful chorus just before Peter Gabriel starts singing Biko, on Peter Gabriel's fourth album.

I absolutely LOVE traditional African music, and although the later 'Top 100' version is cute, this is much more authentic rendering. Beautiful, and haunting.

At one time I had the world's largest collection of the variations and covers of "Mbube", "Wimoweh" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I wrote a pretty extensive history of the song. It was a labor of love. At one time after CDs had become the common medium in the late 1980s or so, The Tokens version was impossible to find. The rights had been in contention off and on for a while. Rhino had released it briefly as a portion of their "Billboard: Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits" for the 1961 edition but the edition was reissued after a short time with "The Lion..." Dropped and another song in its place. This and hearing Ladysmith Black Mambazo doing an unreleased rendition of "Mbube" for the title credits of the film "Coming to America" started me on a search and research that lasted over a decade where I built my collection and collected the history of the song. The story of the original "Mbube" song and how it came to be with Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds is only partially known. The popular version of the history is not completely accurate which was unfortunately perpetuated by the famous Rolling Stone article that a few people here have mentioned. Ultimately, I wound up remastering the more famous of three recording takes that Solomon Linda did (The one from this video). There was no existing "tape master" and the only version in existence was an old transfer someone had made from a vinyl pressing (To be honest, I think it was a "cut" record straight into vinyl, not mastered on metal disc or pressed). I painstakingly removed the noise artifacts one by one and minorly tweaked with some compression. My version still exists out there. If you hear a very clean version of the recording with only a tiny, nearly inaudible set of noise artifacts, its probably mine. I did not request mastering credit so I can't "officially" prove this. I did not want to compress it or modify it to any point that any of the vocals were lost. I just wanted to make a cleaner digital copy for future generations. I believe that I still have digital copies of the other two takes that were recorded by Solomon Linda on the same day. They aren't much different but this version is the clear winner with this version's improvised lead by Solomon Linda. He did something slightly different on each take. The song was never really "written" it was The Evening Birds laying down a vocal harmony and Solomon Linda soloing over the top, always completely improvised. I will try not to bore anyone further BUT I will let you know, the sound that The Evening Birds are enunciating is NOT "Wimoweh". What they are singing is "M-bu-b-e" the sounding of the enunciation and dialect it is derived from as well as the poor recording led Pete Seger and others to believe they were saying "Wimoweh" which he recorded as such. The Lion Sleeps Tonight lyrics didnt show up until about a decade later with The Tokens version. All I can say is that it takes practice to sing the original sound because the consonants and vowels do not flow like we are used to in Latin based or Germanic languages.

@MizCriz46

3 ай бұрын

That was so interesting! Thank you!

WOW! What a rare diamond to find!! It definitely sounded tribal to me. Great share, 👍

The power in this version comes from the fact that they were singing in their native language and the Tokens took the sound of that original language and turned it into simply a sound to enhance their song without understanding what was being said. I have always loved this version, but I loved the Tokens version when it came out in the early 60's.

Thanks a bunch for doing this one. History of the musical versions and their origins add a lot.

Love that you reacted to this! I hadn't ever heard it before.

Jamel, this was amazing. I didn't know this even existed and appreciate you sharing it. Will definitely share it with others. Thanks Jamel!

Brother, I learned many years ago, to give all music a shot, you never know what you can learn.

i looked it up, mbube is Zulu for lion. the original almost has a wailing to it, like the sadness of loosing someone from a lion attack. at least that's what i felt.

I love this version, I have it on my iPod. This song has been on a journey. Try listening to the version by Pete See her and the Weavers, Miriam Makeba , and Ladysmith Black Mambazo,. All of those artists make amazing music and you will see the different ways it can be interpreted.

History and respect! Roots music is an amazing rabbit hole to dive into. From the Scots Irish ballads of Appalachia to Delta Blues, it's all good. Check out Rhiannon Giddens version of Wayfaring Stranger to start. She will lead you to so much more.

@TheDivayenta

2 жыл бұрын

I’m down for that! Are you a Gillian Welch fan, too!

@nancykorensek4083

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!

@TracyfromNC

2 жыл бұрын

Rhianna is fantastic!

Thank you SO much for reacting to this video. I was a kid when the popular version came out. But THIS version makes sense to me. You can almost envision the camp fire and the men teaching the boys what the world holds for them. I'm glad I got to see this before I go. You are the man.

Thank you so much for sharing this! I had heard something vague about this song being stolen from an African musician or musicians, but never knew the details and had never heard this record. This is the earliest recording of African music I've ever heard (not that I'm an expert or anything!). And you saying you could feel it? My guess is that's because it's real. The Tokens' version is good, but it doesn't really take itself seriously - almost as if it's a cartoon - I'm not really finding the right words for this, sorry... For the Tokens, the lion is a faraway exotic creature, maybe seen once in a zoo. For Mr. Linda, the lion lives maybe a couple of miles from his house, or at least not that far away, outside the city. Lions are to be feared and respected, just as those of us in this country feared and respected the bears and mountain lions and wolves a few generations ago (and the folks who live near the wilderness or out in the country still do).

@Logical_Chronical

Жыл бұрын

Actually it’s deeper than that. The lion sleeping is in reference to the Zulu people not being defeated by the British colonizers. The lion may be sleeping now but will always wake up and rise again.

I appreciate how you always put the information in front of us, "dust your hands off", which then allows us to dig deeper and open our minds to unlearned information. Thank you.

Amazing. I think everyone who ever heard the popular radio version, has wondered about it. Thanks so much for sharing this!! I can remember hearing it as a child and wondering about the meaning and where it came from. The version that is familiar was inspired by this amazing original.

I knew the history of the song but had not heard the original. So interesting! You listening to it reminds me of how, a couple of decades ago, I did some research into Robert Johnson because of my lifelong love of Blues music. I bought the boxed set of his recordings & listened closely to everything. I think my first exposure to "bluesiness" was as a toddler when Elvis's early music was everywhere. Jump ahead to my teen years & I loved the British Blues bands. I also loved B.B. King, Howling Wolf..all the great Blues artists that started & developed it all, based on the foundation laid by Robert Johnson. The musical history & cross-cultural results..it's all fascinating. Of course, those old recordings were done with primitive recording equipment compared to what came later & it sounds so simple, but powerful. You can see & hear where the inspiration came from. Same with this song. Thanks for reacting to it. Wonderful.💙☮💙

I was blessed to have several friends who had grown up in Africa when I was in college, but I feel this is a journey that each person needs to experience on their own, without prejudice because in the right circumstances, songs like these can bring us all closer together with understanding.Did bad things happen? Sure, but that was not the original intent of the song or the people who sang them.

I googled the original translation of the song by Linda: Every Morning You Bring Us Good Luck Yes! Good Luck Lion You're A Lion You're A Lion You're A Lion You're A Lion You're A Lion, Mama! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! You're A Lion, Mama Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh You're A Lion You're A Lion Long, Long Ago People Used To Say You're A Lion You're A Lion, Mama

I knew there was an older version, but never heard it. Thanks for the experience.

Thanks for sharing, that's a cool bit of history I never knew.

There's a documentary they did some years ago that I watched that tracked the song from its origins to the popularization of the "doo-wop" version we know today. It also details how a number of folks worked tirelessly to compensate Mr. Linda's estate after the success of the song for the pittance he sold the rights for. Truly eye-opening.

Robert John made it to #3 on the US charts in 1972 with The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

@djhrecordhound4391

2 жыл бұрын

Robert John overdubbed all voices on his version

I was today's old when I learned about this version of the song. Outstanding!!

I think it was very interesting to see where the foundation of The Lion Sleeps Tonight comes from. Very, very cool!

The podcast A History of Rock Music in 500 songs has an episode on The Lion Sleeps Tonight and delves deep into the history. Highly recommended.

@StevenMichals0812

2 жыл бұрын

great podcast

Thanks for sharing. I have never heard this one before. I have seen the accapella group several times before they are awesome also. This is awesome to see the progression songs make. Sad the family didn't get any compensation for it.

Cool back story. Dig those Roots of musical history. ✊✌️👊🤚

The Weavers, an American Traditional Folk Group heard Soloman Linda's "Mbube" and did their own faithful version in 1952. They translated the refrain as Wimoweh, however. No English lyrics added. Famous Folk singer Pete Seeger was a member of the Weavers and did the high, falsetto parts.

Hi Jamel! I think you're familiar with The Token's version from 1961. The video you reacted to yesterday was from the same group only when they were older. I think the lead singer was in 60s or 70s. They were in their 20s at the time of the original recording I believe.

Old person here, heard this gem about 10 years back. Love learning about song origins. 😎😎😎😎

You did some country, and there's an old Johnny Cash song no one knows anymore, but its too good to miss. I'd LOVE to see/hear your reaction to it! *Please* react to Johnny Cash's "A Thing Called Love." Thx, love the channel/reactions!

Mbube is a style of a capella music from South Africa...I think. The word also translates directly to "lion".

My favorite version of this song since I first heard it a long time ago. Thank you so much for reacting to it.

Brilliant to see you react to this, I first heard the version, called "Wim-O-Weh" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. That also reverberates in your chest. I love to follow up on the roots of our tunes. I once had a youngster come up to me saying he was gutted, as he thought The Clash wrote "I Fought The Law", I had played The Crickets version, & they were not the 1st.

@mandysmith1756

2 жыл бұрын

I've seen Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert twice - absolutely magnificent both times.

This is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it.

Heartfelt thanks for uploading this. I have so much respect for the reactor that goes to the trouble of (at least) identifying the original writer of the song. You went further than that.

I'm tearing up just listening to this in its original form. I love it and thank you for letting us react as you watch it too Jamal!

Before Disney.. a version hit hot and heavy in the 1970's. Which sounds like what we hear today. Nice history find here!!

I love this one too. I can feel it too.

An updated version of this was done and used for Coming to America's open.

This always takes me back to when I was 17 and went to Kenya and Tanzania for 3 weeks. We were camping most nights and the local Samburu or Maasai tribespeople would come and sing and dance by our camp fire for hours. Being that the human species started in Africa, it did actually make me feel like I came home.

@mikefetterman6782

Жыл бұрын

This also sounds like a lot of cajun music. Watch the movie THE BIG EASY and this melody is exactly the same in cajon French, with washboard, squeeze box and bib overalls.

I seem to recall something about this from years ago where The Tokens were sued over the song but won in court or some such

Wow! I had no idea and I tend to try to be aware of the original versions of songs. Very cool, I can’t wait to blow out this nugget at the next opportunity. Thanks Jamel!

This sounds like home , South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤

Jamel, I appreciate you so much - you've been a life saver over the past few years, if only for me to know that there are people who WANT to listen to music critically & not just have the songs serve as the ambient background of their lives. Pop music, even the most simple-minded (or what appears to be simple-minded at first glance) pop tune, is part of our era's most significant artforms, and we would do well to contemplate it in the same way we look at a painting in a museum. As for this track, this may be the first time you have engaged in some serious sociological examination of the evolution of a song, whether you know you've done this or not. Your curiosity hopefully has brought you pride in making some profound realizations, and this tune, in all of its versions, is a perfect opportunity to have done so! So well done & keep up the good work & don't let the irritating efforts of the technical side of sharing your thoughts with us ever stunt your desire to learn more. Your enthusiasm is such an important model for others.

This was great to hear, thanks for reacting to this, Jamel. I thought that The Tokens version was the first and Carl Denver.

Thanks for posting this... it needs to be heard.

Here’s a version that marries the original South African version to the Western version. Sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and an English a capella group, the Mint Juleps. It’s from a PBS special called Spike Lee and Co. Do it A Capella. kzread.info/dash/bejne/in6pp9eLc67XYdY.html

@TracyfromNC

2 жыл бұрын

Looking forward to listening to this.

Very interesting! Song was remade into a hit by adding Western rhythms. I like this version, because of it's historical value, but I like the Western version the best. You can hear the main rhythms and lyics in this version. ThNk tou so much for posting this version Jamal! Do not leave history to die in the dust of the past! Peace out and stay SAFE!

There's a lot of talent throughout Africa. If you're looking for more great African music, listen to Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Joseph Shabalala founded the group in 1960. They sang on Paul Simon's album "Graceland." Simon was fascinated by Mbaqanga, South African-based street music with roots in Zulu music. I saw them perform in the late 80s. Their voices are stunning.

@loadedorygun

2 жыл бұрын

also Miriam makeba!

@raymondfrey2691

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed, reminded me of Graceland also

@revsharkie

2 жыл бұрын

@@raymondfrey2691 That's not a coincidence. This is the precursor to what Ladysmith did.

I came here just because of you finding the original. This is quite interesting and to hear how it evolved over the years! I never knew about this version. I only knew of The Tokens version. This is too cool!

I prefer this version. They do one with lyrics as well. I'll try to find it.

Thanks. I never knew this. The hit versions was one of my favorite tunes in my early teens

Ladysmith Black Mambazo did a version of this song that combines the traditional African song (Mbube) with the version we're all familiar with (The Lion Sleeps Tonight). Joseph Shabalala (the leader of Ladysmith) was an amazing singer.

I had no idea What a great find!

Wow, Jamel didn't know about this one ! I just knew the Tokens because I sang along with all the songs on the radio when I was a kid ! 🙏 💙 this version is great !!!💘

I have heard about this before and seen it, but I had to watch it with you again to give you props!

Thanks for showing this. Had no idea about any of this. The more ya know

Wow is right! It changed and evolved, but I can still discern the similarities. I've loved this song since childhood. Thanks Jamel!

Thanks for showing this and even though I have heard it before I can't help but to thank you for brining it to the attention of a wider audience. Music exists all over the world and people react to it. Music not words is the international language.

That was so cool! Thanks for letting us know about this version.

You need to listen to Blind Willie Johnson sing John the Revalator recorded in 1930. You may have heard it on Sons of Anarchy.

It's great for you to see and hear the original song so you can see how it has been changed over the years! Thanks!

Wow! It's good of you to react to this video, I appreciate you for uploading it and those who informed you about this version! I never knew they existed before. You are right, this song changed a lot it is very different. ☮💕👍👏

I knew about this, and listened to it about a year ago. Until then I only knew it was from Africa and did not know about the original recording. Bob Moke as a whole list of original recordings on his the45prof and the78prof channels. It's his work that got my attention on this song.

I’m glad you did this. I’ve heard this before - and read the entire story behind it. Cool. 📻🙂

That was really neat to hear. Never was aware of an earlier version. Song went through some serious changes by the time the Tokens sang it. Jamal, would you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE react to The Declaration by the 5th dimension? Especially coming on to Independence day. The song is the Declaration of Independence set to music. I would love to hear it on your program soon. Thank you. And thanks again for reacting to this terrific version of Mbube.

Mbube means LION in Zulu. Many tribes have call-and-response "songs," the tones of which are usually good for carrying over the terrain in which they live. The original here is a song about being alert because there is a lion nearby. The sense of the song didn't change, just the singing style.

I came on in for this because I wanted to hear the original. Yeah, it definitely got changed. Poet license and all that. I can think of another example (although there are probably a few) in the song "Wagon Wheel". Huge country hit for Darius Rucker. The basic music was written by Bob Dylan for a western movie in the early 1970's, I forget the name. Anyway, the rights to the song were bought and lyrics written by " Old Crow Medicine Show" .

That little improvised change at 4:19 drove the song to its later versions.

Thanks man I hadn't heard thos version before but it's cool too see how Pete seeger and the Weavers versions bridged between this and the tokens. A lot of old folk songs traveled journeys like that

Thank you so much. I did not know about this recording. I am so glad you brought it to my attention thank you.

I heard this version 20+ years ago

The 1988 movie "Coming to America" was where I first heard this; albeit a remix and thought it was a nice "Tribal type piece"....Until Today. I'm learning stuff all the time. Thanks for sharing and Love your reactions.

I told you this when you first did a reaction, I've known it a long time.

Thank you Jamel for finding this original version. I was in high school when the Tokens had their big hit.

I think it's interesting to know the origins of songs that we all listen to. Thank you for posting this Jamel. 😁👍🎶

The Tokens changed the tempo a bit, most likely to commercialize it for the western audiences of the early sixties.

You need to listen to the original version of "Going up the Country" that Canned Heat "stole" called "Bulldoze Blues" by a blues singer named Henry Thomas. That song came out in 1928!!

I did not know of this. Thanks for educating us.

Holy crap! Most excellent

This was wonderful thank you.

I never knew this version existed. Love it. It’s so authentic. Thanks for doing a review.

I've been waiting for this reaction

@sheilameyers152

2 жыл бұрын

It sounds like Eddie Murphy put a version of this in “Coming to America “

Hi Jamel! Thank you SO much for reacting to this! I think it’s awful the way the original singers were treated! They hardly received any money and virtually NO recognition! I REALLY enjoy your channel! You are an AMAZING and caring person! Thank you again! Peace and Blessings to you and your family from Australia.

Lions do most of their hunting at night as their eyes have adapted to the dark and this gives them a huge advantage over their prey. They hunt more during storms as the noise and wind make it harder for prey to see and hear them.

@brentlee1043

2 жыл бұрын

That is why they sing because the Lion sleeps to night but not to loud you don't won't to wake up the Lion hahaha 😉

Love this, much better than the later one!!

I had seen this couple of years ago. I felt that they didn't receive proper recognition for their contribution to the hit that it became.

Appreciate you dusting off the original cuts here. The channel is a music appreciation course in itself

I only learned of this version a couple of years ago.

Outstanding....I ask you to listen to Miriam Makeba's version of Mbube, and also the Mint Jukeps w Ladysmith Bkack Mambazo. There is no bad versiin of this song. Also, you can hear this version in the background of a scene in "Cry, the Beloves Country," an award winning book and movie from 1951, and I believe Sidney Poitier's first movie.

this song is amazing. It has a deeper meaning. Thanks Jamel. ✌️

Loving this wow

Could you imagine if they had a chance to record it using modern recording techniques?

Thank you for this upload. I looked for this (but had no idea where to go to find it) when I heard it was a stolen idea by the "famous" group.