Today In Black History: The Origin of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Americans plagiarized the song and made millions while the Black African writer died penniless.
Issue #987 Today In Black History, Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Most of us remember the single, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” but few of us know the true story of that classic “one-hit wonder” and how the original Black African songwriter was cheated out of millions of dollars in royalties and proper recognition.
One of the world’s most recognizable songs has a fascinating and complex history that begins in 1939 in South Africa. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” known in its original form as “Mbube” (Zulu for “lion”), was written and recorded by Solomon Linda, a Zulu musician who worked as a packer at the Gallo Record Company in Johannesburg.
Solomon Linda led a vocal group called the Evening Birds, which performed in the isicathamiya style—a cappella harmonies sung in Zulu. According to legend, during the third take of the recording session, Linda improvised the melody that would become iconic, singing “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.” The original lyrics were simpler: “Mbube, uyimbube” (”Lion, you’re a lion”), possibly inspired by Linda’s childhood experiences protecting his father’s cattle from lions.
The song became a massive hit in South Africa, selling over 100,000 copies and making Linda a star among Black audiences. However, Gallo Records had purchased the recording from Linda for a reported ten shillings—a pittance compared to the fortune the song would eventually generate.
In the 1950s, American folk singer Pete Seeger discovered the song and recorded a version with his group, the Weavers, titled “Wimoweh”—a mishearing of the original Zulu chorus “uyimbube.” A decade later, American lyricist George David Weiss adapted the song for the doo-wop group the Tokens, adding the now-famous English lyrics. The Tokens’ 1961 version became a number-one hit and introduced the song to audiences worldwide.
Over the decades, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” has been recorded countless times and featured in major productions, including Disney’s The Lion King. Yet Solomon Linda, who created the song that would earn an estimated $15 million in royalties, died in poverty in 1962, having received almost nothing from his creation. His story remains a poignant reminder of the exploitation that has often accompanied the global spread of music from marginalized communities.
Here is the Americanized song made famous by a group of white singers.
Today In Black History
In 1794, France abolished slavery, but Napoleon re-established slavery in 1802 and re-instituted “Code Noir,” which prohibited Blacks, mulattoes, and other people of color from entering French colonial territory or intermarrying with whites.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States of America.
In 1914, the U.S. Congress approved the Burnett anti-immigration law.
In 1952, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American executive of a major U.S. TV and radio station, serving as Director of Community Activities at TV station WNBT and radio station WNBC-NY.
In 1986, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Sojourner Truth.
In 1997, O.J. Simpson was found civilly liable for the deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson.
Pamela,
While there are a lot of black songwriters who got cheated in this country, this sounds like you wanted the American artists who recorded it to pay copyright to Gallo Records.
Linda was cheated out of it before this song ever reached these shores.