![]() Is that the truth of me? It’s kind of the truth.”Īfter numerous meetings with various contacts, it was determined that the best course of action was to sue Disney. So, in this case I did something that I hoped would make people love me. Above all I want absolution for the sins of my forefathers and I want to be loved again. I have been in Africa genetically for 380 years. These people have not been correctly treated. He said, “There was a simple wrong that I had some chance of correcting. Rian admitted that he followed this path as a means of atonement. When Rian saw how little the family was being offered in royalties he was determined to help legally funnel the money back to Linda's rightful heirs. It took the family eighteen years just to save enough money to erect a gravestone for their father’s grave. Linda’s daughters were hurt to learn that their father’s music profited people in America while the family struggled back home. They knew that something had been done with Mbube outside of the country because a lawyer would come periodically to give them money. They had heard their father’s record as children and were proud of his accomplishments. During research for a Rolling Stone article he was writing, it struck Malan that the royalties for this song, now a Disney hit earning the company over 15 million dollars, were likely not being paid to surviving members of the Linda family.īecause Solomon Linda died in 1962, Rian sought out Linda’s four daughters in Zola, a section of Soweto township in South Africa. He knew this song, as it was “the most famous melody ever to emerge from Africa and also probably the most lucrative.” (Malan, The Lion’s Share) Malan chose to write about the “transcultura saga” of the piece from its origins to its place in Disney’s The Lion King movie and stage musical. Milan, feeling shame for his family’s part in oppressive policies, felt even more shame for not knowing more about the music of his own “country.” Malan was asked to pitch a few article ideas for Rolling Stone Magazine. To escape his family legacy in South Africa Malan moved to the US, where he became familiar with the Americanized “Wimoweh”. He was first introduced to Mbube by Johnny Klegg, a South African recording artist. Malan, former prime minister of South Africa responsible for guiding the creation of the country’s apartheid policies. It is likely that we would have only known “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” as a song made popular during the folk revival in the United States had it not been for Rian Malan. Now a mainstay of American culture, this version of the song was so popular that is was chosen to be a part of the movie The Lion King when Disney released it in 1994. We sang it on the playground and in my choir. Growing up I heard this song on the radio almost daily. ![]() “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” gained even more popularity and was recorded by many different artists. Weiss added new lyrics playing off of the original meaning of Mbube, a song of one’s prowess. Mbube spread as a South African song and was later known as “Wimoweh.” Eventually, “Wimoweh” caught the ear of George Davis Weiss, an American arranger, and songwriter. The Folk Revival movement in North America gave musicians the license to share music without proper context or quite possibly the information to give its creators credit. He had unknowingly turned over the rights to his music when the band signed with the Gallo Record company in South Africa. Unfortunately, Solomon Linda and his band were not given any rights to their music. Joseph Shabalala of Lady Blacksmith Mambazo calls Solomon Linda a hero. Mbube was so popular that it was the name given to a genre of music. The song Mbube made Solomon Linda a star in South Africa selling over 100,000 copies by 1949. The band was wildly popular and ended up recording a number of songs with Eric Gallo. At 21 he moved to Johannesburg and eventually formed a band called Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds. Linda blended African American sounds into the song he wrote. He was born in Msinga, in the coastal province of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa in 1909. Solomon Linda was a musician and composer. So, why is it that we associate this melody with pop music and a movie about lions? This piece is the intellectual and creative property of Solomon and his bandmates. It is reported that Solomon improvised this melody during the recording session. The iconic melody was not a part of the original song. This song, “Mbube,” was not adapted from the popular “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” This is the original song, written by South African Zulu musician Solomon Linda and recorded with his group, The Evening Birds.
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