"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was issued by RCA in 1961, and it rocketed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Weiss also brought in soprano Anita Darian to reprise Yma Sumac's Exotica version, before, during and after the saxophone solo. Weiss wrote the English lyrics: " In the jungle, the mighty jungle, The lion sleeps tonight." and " Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling." In 1961, two RCA records producers, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, hired Juilliard-trained musician and lyricist George David Weiss to arrange a pop music cover of "Wimoweh", for the B-side of a 45-rpm single called "Tina," sung by the teenage doo-wop group The Tokens. Linda also lent its name to a style of African a cappella music that evolved into isicathamiya (also called mbube), popularized by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. By 1948, the song had sold over 100,000 copies in Africa and among black South African immigrants in Great Britain. Issued by Gallo as a 78 recording in 1939, and marketed to black audiences, "Mbube" became a hit and Linda a star throughout South Africa. In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. The third take was the best, achieving immortality when Solly took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and improvised the melody that the world now associates with these words: "Mbube" wasn't the most remarkable tune, but there was something compelling about the underlying chant, a dense meshing of low male voices above which Solomon yodelled and howled for two exhilarating minutes, improvising occasionally. He spent his weekends performing with the Evening Birds, a musical ensemble, and it was at Gallo Records, under the direction of black producer Griffiths Motsieloa, that Linda and his fellow musicians recorded several songs including "Mbube," which incorporated a call-response pattern common among many Sub-Saharan African ethnic groups, including the Zulu. "Mbube" ( Template:Lang-zu) was written in the 1920s, by Solomon Linda, a South African singer of Zulu origin, who later worked for the Gallo Record Company in Johannesburg as a cleaner and record packer. It went on to earn at least US$15 million in royalties from cover versions and film licensing. In 1961, it became a number one hit in the United States as adapted in English with the best-known version by the doo-wop group the Tokens. Composed in Zulu, it was adapted and covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey, Yma Sumac, Miriam Makeba and the Kingston Trio. " The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as " Wimoweh", " Wimba Way" or " Awimbawe", is a song written and recorded originally by Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939, under the title " Mbube". File:The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens single cover.jpg
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