Doo Wop
The golden oldie “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens, a doo wop style vocal group, has an interesting history. Also known as “Wimoweh” or “Wimba Way,” this song was originally recorded by South African Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds in 1939 and called “Mbube.” The lyrics were in Zulu. There were many covers, including those by Jimmy Dorsey, The Weavers, Miriam Makeba, and The Kingston Trio. In 1961, the version by the doo-wop group The Tokens went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B Chart. Many people today know the song via Walt Disney’s The Lion King. The Tokens were from Brooklyn, NY, and originally had singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka as one of their members. He left the group in 1957. Group personnel changed over the years, but for this record, the members included Jay Siegel, Hank Medress, Mitch Margo, and Phil Margo with Joe Venneri on guitar. The Tokens were also record producers of several artists, including The Chiffons, Randy & The Rainbows, The Happenings, and Tony Orlando and Dawn.
3 Comments
[…] If you are interested in reading and listening to another song by The Tokens, please click here for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” […]
The Lion Sleeps Tonight made it to Vietnam on Christmas day of 1968. From “Christmas Truce – Vietnam 1968” :
At my squad’s position, I’m monitoring my radio and thinking please God, I hope it’s just that someone fell asleep, when over the radio I heard one of the guys from another position start to sing. To the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, he sang “In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, the LP Sleeps Tonight”. Since the sarge in the CP immediately expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms, I didn’t get to hear any more of the song. Luckily, there were no violations of the truce that day, at least in our area of operations.
Wow. Thank you for that memory. And your service.