The Lion Sleeps Tonight

On 17 November 1961, The Tokens, a doo-wop group from Brooklyn, New York, released their song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight.  At that moment, the most remarkable thing about it was that their singer, Mitch Margo, was only 14 years old!  (He was 13 when he recorded the song.)  It soon hit #1 on the Billboard charts and stayed there for three weeks, forever securing their place in music history.

The song was an African song originally written in the Zulu language back in the 1920s.  The song had been popular throughout the ‘50s on the Folk circuits in America and the UK under the title, “Wimoweh.”  It had first hit the mass, English-speaking, audience nine years earlier when it was released by Pete Seeger and the Weavers.  What was new and innovative with the Tokens version in 1961 was the addition of English lyrics in addition to the Zulu ones.

“In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…

“Near the village, the peaceful village, the lion sleeps tonight…

“Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling, the lion sleeps tonight…”

As time marched on, the song’s popularity would only grow.  In 1972, Robert John would cover the song, complete with the English lyrics and it would climb to #3 on the charts.  (I will play all songs mentioned in this post on Tuesday night.)  There would be other chart-topping versions and the rights to the song would eventually be acquired by Disney and a version used in the Lion King.

Those English lyrics were written by songwriter, George David Weiss.  He was hired to do so by executives at RCA Victor for the Tokens upcoming release.  Weiss had written many songs that charted and was quite prolific.  He wrote the lyrics to Louie Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World.  His lyrics would forever change the title of Wimoweh to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

The song was originally written in the 1920s in the Zulu language by South African, Solomon Linda.  The song’s title was “Mbube,” which is Zulu for “Lion.”  It was in 1938 that he recorded the song with his then group, the Evening Birds.  The title, “Wimoweh,” was actually an English mangling of the lyrics.  The chorus, “Uyimbube,” sounded like “wim-o-weh” to the average English speaker.  The line translated means “you are the lion.”

Solomon Linda, or “Solly” to his friends, was quite the celebrity in Zulu culture in the 1930s.  He was known for his music and setting cultural trends and fashions.  He wrote songs about things he said and did in his life.  Mbube was inspired by memories of chasing lions away as a teen, protecting his father’s cattle.  The lyrics translate something like, “Lion! Ha! You’re the lion!”  So much legend would rise among the English-speaking public that soon it was believed to recount a lion hunt.  I’ve seen various versions of what the lyrics were reported to say including, “Hush, hush. If everyone’s quiet, we’ll have lion meat to eat tonight.”  Untrue!

Although Apartheid would be another ten years into the future, when Solly and the Evening Birds recorded Mbube, South Africa was a very racist and segregated society.  After recording it, Solomon Linda was paid ten shillings and the record company, Gallo Records, owned the recording, and all rights, including the copyright.  Linda saw nothing wrong with that in their world.  He was paid for an honest afternoon’s work.  Ironically, Linda would work for Gallo Records for the rest of his life doing a menial job in a record-packing plant.

In the 1950s, the song became famous world-wide as the folksong, Wimoweh.  Decca Records had been paying Pete Seeger writer royalties on the song, but when he learned of the true origins of the song, Seeger demanded that Decca stop paying him and instead they were to pay Linda in South Africa.  Seeger’s payments immediately stopped but payments to Solomon Linda never started.  Pete Seeger would not learn this truth for many years.

The song was quite famous in folk music circles and made a fair amount of money.  It would be taken to the next level in 1961 when the Tokens released their famous version.  Now the fame extended world-wide in the pop and rock & roll markets.  The record would go gold and the song began earning millions, none of it seen by Linda.  Solomon Linda would die the following year, penniless and destitute, and be buried in a pauper’s grave.

The song was an amazing hit.  It is said that when Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, first heard the Tokens’ version on the radio, that he had to pull his car off to the side of the road.  Songwriter Carol King, in a flabbergasted voice, simply called it a “Motherfucker!”

Many artists have covered the song, some under the title of “Wimoweh,” but most of them as the “Lion Sleeps Tonight.”  Since the Tokens released their song in 1961, I count at least 61 versions covering it and I’m probably missing some.  Here are some notable ones that you will hear Tuesday night.

In 1964, Glen Campbell released a beautiful instrumental rendition on his 12-string guitar.

In 1969, The New Kingston Trio released a live version.  They never recorded it in the studio, but it had been a staple of their live performances since the late ‘50s.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight would again go gold in 1972, with Robert John’s cover climbing to #3 on the charts.

In 1982, British Pop/Disco band, Tight Fit, would have a #1 hit in the UK with their cover.

In 1993, R.E.M. would cover the song and it would be released as a B-side single.

In 2001, Baha Men would sample the Tokens’ release on their song, You All Dat.

In 2010, Celtica Pipes Rock! Released their instrumental cover, complete with bagpipes.

Let the Lawsuits Begin…

In 1990, the copyright for the Lion Sleeps Tonight was about to expire and during its renewal process, all sorts of claims came out of the woodwork.  The Tokens claimed that they had provided enough to the song that they should share in the writing credits.  This claim was summarily dismissed.  The entire mess would wind up in arbitration in 1991, including the Estate of Solomon Linda, who had been dead for almost 30 years.

The matter was too complex to go into here, but the result was Solomon Linda would finally be credited as the song's writer and George Weiss would be credited for the English lyrics.  Eventually, Linda's surviving daughters would receive royalty payments amounting to around $12,000, for a song that had made millions.  A bit confused as to why they were being given money, they happily accepted the cash, not knowing they had been owed anything.

In 1994, the song was used in Disney’s animated motion picture, the Lion King.  Disney acquired the rights to the song to assure its position legally.  When the song was originally recorded in South Africa, that country had not signed the International Conventions of Copyright.  Therefore, the South African copyright held no legal weight in the United States.  Disney now owned the song.

This was the beginning of a new monetary windfall for the Lion Sleeps Tonight.  The true story about the origins of the song would start to surface along with its new popularity.  Pete Seeger would write a passionate letter to the United Nations, urging them to take up the cause of international copyright.  In 2000, the BBC released a documentary, A Lion’s Trail, which brought the injustices of this song to public light.

In 2004, the Estate of Solomon Linda filed a case in the United States against Disney.  In a court of law, Disney held the upper hand.  However, the court of “public image” was another story. Disney, not wanting their name sullied, settled with his estate.  The earnings for the song are now placed in a trust for the heirs of Solomon Linda.

Join us this Tuesday at a Woman’s Touch, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, as we celebrate what is undoubtedly the most famous song to ever come out of Africa. 

Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds, the late 1930s, about the time they recorded Mbube, Linda on the far left. 

Hey Joe

Patty Hearst in front of SLA flag, 1974

“Honey, the way you play guitar makes me feel so… makes me feel so masochistic.  The way you go down low deep into the neck, and I would do anything…  and I would do anything.  And Patty Hearst, you standing there in front of the Symbionese Liberation Army flag with your legs spread.  I was wondering; were you gettin' it every night from a black revolutionary man and his women or were you really dead?  And now that you're on the run what goes on in your mind?

“Your sisters, they sit by the window and all your mama does is sit and cry.  And your daddy, well you know what your daddy said Patty…  you know what your daddy said Patty?  He said…  he said…  he said, “Well, sixty days ago she was such a lovely child.  Now here she is with a gun in her hand.”

Introduction to Patti Smith’s version of Hey Joe, 1974

 

Last fall, I did a special, two-hour set of just Patti Smith.  I recall sharing with everyone that I started with a play list that was over two hours long and needed to make some tough decisions in weeding out some songs to get it down to the allotted time.  One of the songs I cut was her version of Hey Joe, complete with the introduction I’ve reproduced above.

Today, I find myself in a similar situation.  I typed “Hey Joe” into the search field of my music database, expecting to find a handful of entries.  I was shocked when they filled the page!  So, I created a playlist of Hey Joe, without duplicates or live versions, like Hendrix’s Woodstock performance, and found that even then, I still had an hour and seventeen minutes of Hey Joe.

What this hour and seventeen minutes list soon showed me is that these are not just copies of an original and most are unique and interesting in some way, like the Smith version.  Once again, I’m going to face some hard choices, but the Patti Smith version will not be cut again.  I’ll revisit the Patti Smith version later in this post.

This post is the result of a discussion at AWT about the origins of this song and its interesting history.  What followed was not only the idea for this post but for it to be the first in a series.  Each would feature a song with a rather interesting history.

So, what is the origin of the song, Hey Joe?

The first recording was in 1962 by folk singer, Billy Roberts.  Roberts also copyrighted the song, listing himself as the composer.  With most any song, that is where it would end, and I would not be writing this post.

Billy Roberts

In 1963, Dino Valenti copyrighted Hey Joe in Los Angeles, listing himself as the composer.  Valenti is most famous for composing the much covered Let’s Get Together (often covered as “Get Together”) for the Kingston Trio in 1963 (eventually released in 1964).  Roberts and Valenti were actually friends and there is a story circulating that he gave the rights to Valenti since he was in jail at the time and he thought the income would be useful when he was released.  Valenti was serving a one-to-ten-year sentence at Folsom State Prison for possession of marijuana.  Upon his release, he became a member of the Quicksilver Messenger Service, singing and writing some of the biggest hits, including Fresh Air.

Eventually, despite the copyright dispute, all the writing credits were eventually changed to show Billy Roberts as the composer, but did he write it?  It doesn’t end there and gets even more complicated.  When Folk legend, Pete Seeger heard Roberts’ recording and learned of the copyright, he became infuriated.  He had heard a demo tape by Niela Miller, which he felt was close enough to Hey Joe to infringe on her copyright, filed earlier the same year as Roberts did.  Miller’s song, Baby, Please Don’t Go to Town, existed only as a demo and was likely heard by Roberts, who was dating Miller at the time.  Miller never pushed the issue despite Seeger even offering to testify on her behalf.  The demo was never released until 2009 and I’ll play it Tuesday night so you can decide if Roberts ripped it off.

So, could it get more complex?  Of course, it can.  Scottish folk singer, Len Partridge, claims he and Roberts would perform the song together as early as 1956 while playing the clubs in Edinburgh, Scotland.  He even claims that they both wrote Hey Joe.  If the song existed back in 1956, maybe that is why Miller never pursued the issue.  Who ripped off whom?

Other songs have been suggested as the “inspiration” for Hey Joe.  These include the traditional southern folk song, Little Sadie.  Country music artist, Carl Smith, came out with his own song, Hey Joe!, in 1953.  Both share some elements with Roberts’ song and probably did inspire him to some degree.

Regardless of what happened or which bits are true, there is no doubt that since 1962, Hey Joe has been evolving and taking on a life of its own.  The first band to release a rock version of it was the Leaves in 1966.  I have versions by twenty different artists in my music library and that is probably not even close to an exhaustive list.  The song has invited each artist to make it their own with variations on the music and lyrics.

Also, in 1966, Tim Rose released a version of Hey Joe that has no writing credit and attributes it to a “traditional” folk tune, meaning one that has its beginnings lost somewhere back in time.  He claimed to have heard it as a child in Florida.

In 1967, on his debut album, Jimi Hendrix released what is probably the most famous cover of the tune.  It is interesting that so many people just assume Hendrix wrote it.

In 1968, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released a parody of Hey Joe called “Flower Punk,” on their album, We’re Only in It for the Money.

Also, in 1968, Deep Purple released a cover of Hey Joe on their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple. This was a very unique one as it started with an over two-minute organ intro that sounded like it was from a spaghetti western.  The entire song is over 7 minutes long and I will use it to end my set on Tuesday.

Back to the Patti Smith version…

On 4 February 1974, 19-year-old Patty Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst was kidnapped, and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) claimed responsibility.  The news followed the story as the Hearst family cooperated with the SLA in hopes they would release Patty unharmed.  After several tapes by Patty were released to her family, it became clear that she had become indoctrinated and now embraced the SLA cause.  It was soon after, that the picture of Hearst at the top of this post, standing in front of the SLA flag, surfaced.  We started to hear about something called the “Stockholm Syndrome,” where captives become sympathetic to their captors.

A couple months later, in June 1974, Patty Smith recorded her very first single, Hey Joe, with the intro quoted above.  It was released the following November.  The quote that Smith attributes to Hearst’s father is fairly accurate to what he said after he saw that picture of his daughter.

Here is a list of the versions I have in my music library, in as best a chronological order as I can get.  The ones in bold will be part of my set on Tuesday. (Listing only one version by each artist though there might be several.)

Billy Roberts, (demo recording), 1962

The Leaves, (single), November 1965

Tim Rose, (single), 1966

The Surfaris, (single), 1966

Love, Love, March 1966

The Standells, Dirty Water, May 1966

The Byrds, Fifth Dimension, July 1966

The Tangents, (single), 1966

The Litter, Distortions, 1 May 1967

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced, 12 May 1967

The Creation, We Are Paintermen, June 1967

Cher, With Love, Cher, November 1967

Deep Purple, Shades of Deep Purple, July 1968

The Music Machine, (single), 1968

Wilson Pickett, Right On, 1970

Fever Tree, (single), 1970

Patti Smith, (single), November 1974

Body Count, Born Dead, September 1994

Popa Chubby, Flashed Back, 2001

Charlotte Gainsbourg, (single), April 2014

I’ll play any of the others by request at Tuesday’s set or any other set (where appropriate).  So, load up your blue steel .44 and head on down to AWT This Tuesday night (April 6), from 7-9 pm as we salute Hey Joe.