Cruznolfart Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Paraphrasing from the excellent book "1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die" - Tom Moon, I thought you might enjoy an instance in which the US record industry did a bit of self-policing. The song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", written and recorded by a South Afreican entertainer named Solomon Linda in 1939 is the prototypical simple song that quickly becomes an "ear worm". Think about it...everybody knows it. You might find yourself suddenly humming or singing it in spite of not having heard it for years. The original, entitled "mbube" (The Lion) in Zulu, first caught on in Linda's homeland where it triggered a new approach to a cappella singing that came to be called "mbube" The sweet refrain eventually spread around the world, being covered by even the likes of Pete Seeger before being picked up by a Brooklyn doo-wop group called the Tokens. They recorded lyrics credited to the pop producer George Weiss and released their well-known rendition, which became a hit in 1961. Over 130 versions of the song have been recorded since, including several associated with the Disney hit "The Lion King". Incredibly, Linda's family did not benefit from this inescapable work - he died in 1962 with $22.00 to his name. After a 2000 article in Rolling Stone documented how Linda had been systematically cheated by businessmen, several U.S. record executives got involved to rectify the situation. An out-of-court settlement was reached in February 2006 that forces the U.S. publisher of the song to pay the family royalties dating from 1987, a term that includes the film and Broadway runs of The Lion King. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you get a chance to get a copy of this book, do yourself a favor and grab it. I've learned more about music history from reading it than from any course of study I ever undertook. "1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die" by Tom Moon from Workman Publishing, New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 So what are they saying in that beginning part? Sounds like " a weema whip a wheema whip..." :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 So what are they saying in that beginning part? Sounds like " a weema whip a wheema whip..." :- According to the author, "wem -oh -weh" is the phrase, although he doesn't provide an interpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Thanks for the thread cruznolfart! Now I can't get the song out of my head.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 The first version I ever heard was in '72 by Robert "Sad Eyes" John. Then a couple years later I stumbled across an old RCA 45 by the Tokens! Robert John also recorded a song called "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes" in 1958. I found that 45 in a stack at some point and somehow made the connection, long before the internet. http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/bobby_pedrick_jr.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Now you've done it! I'm gonna have to go out to my car & listen to a couple of cuts off the new Chickenfoot cd just to get that song out of my head. "A-weem-away-aweem-away....." Confound you, Cruzinolfart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Thanks for the thread cruznolfart! Now I can't get the song out of my head.... It does seem to have that effect; doesn't it? :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 The first version I ever heard was in '72 by Robert "Sad Eyes" John. Then a couple years later I stumbled across an old RCA 45 by the Tokens! Robert John also recorded a song called "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes" in 1958. I found that 45 in a stack at some point and somehow made the connection' date=' long before the internet. http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/bobby_pedrick_jr.htm [/quote'] Robert John...I missed him. Thanks for the link. The song title reminded me of these two apparel-related songs from my younger days...goofy stuff. White Sport Coat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5KlhbnZosU Pink Shoe Laces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Someone else used that same accapella effect very well several years ago. I think the song was something like "Life in a Northern Town" but can't remember the band's name. I thought the effect was cool, though, and it reminded me of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Now you've done it! I'm gonna have to go out to my car & listen to a couple of cuts off the new Chickenfoot cd just to get that song out of my head. "A-weem-away-aweem-away....." Confound you' date=' Cruzinolfart![/quote'] LOL! Then my work here is done! :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Cool bit of trivia. Thanks, Cruzn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 'Life in a Northern Town' = Dream Academy 1985 I think my favorite apparel related tune is Carl Perkins' "Pointed Toe Shoes". I think it came out in '59 or '60. I found it (in yet another stack of 45s) and I even think it's the white label promo copy. I don't know who the engineer/producer was but they did it up right; it's just one of those records that demands to be played LOUD and every time Carl's pick hits a string it just penetrates your skull. I have an album of the Weavers Live at Carnegie Hall (Dec 1955) and I can't rightly recall if they did "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" or "Wimoweh" but it's pretty intense. Anyone who claims to even have a passing admiration for Pete Seeger MUST hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulsaslim Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Carl must've written that after he wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes' if it came out in '59. He must've had a thing for shoes. BTW, I learned to love Carl when I moved in with a German girl back in '73. She had practically every Carl Perkins album (she was 17 years old at the time) and just about wore them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Crunz, ksd and all: 1. Marty Robbins first, "hit"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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