Mbube
Listen to the song here.
This is "Mbube", recorded in 1939 by South African musician
Solomon Linda.
The Version Used as the theme to "
Coming to America (click)" is by
Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It's the One I remember and I've been trying to figure out where it came from for the LONGEST ..lol
While You listen You'll Notice what sounds like... "Wimoweh"... this is where
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" came from... and This is how THE
BLACK 100% PURE-AFRICAN MAN INFLUENCED THE
WHITE MAN! ..... (I'm just being silly here y'all)
Yeah But You'd thing that people were just so "Original" being that it was the first time were Records were being made by "Original" artists and things. "
The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a great song itself.
(read profile below)
Solomon LindaBorn: 1909
Birthplace: Ladysmith, Zululand
Died: 8-Oct-
1962
Location of death: Johannesberg, South Africa
Cause of death: Kidney failure
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Musician
Nationality: South Africa
Executive summary: Wrote
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Zulu musician, had a hit song in South Africa with "Mbube" (Zulu for "Lion") in 1939, as Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, reportedly selling over 100,000 78 records. One of those somehow found its way to American ethnomusicologist
Alan Lomax, who passed it on to
Pete Seeger. Assuming it was an African folk song, Seeger transcribed the chant "Uyimbube" as "Wimoweh" and recorded it with his band
The Weavers. Another band, The Tokens, renamed the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and made it a hit of their own in 1961. Dozens of other American bands have found success with the song, though Solomon Linda never received any credit for his composition during his lifetime, dying in poverty in 1962.
Wife: Regina (m. 1949)
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