Unbelievable that they can still sing this song. According to the youtube entry, this was recorded live in 2008.
There’s an interesting story about this song. It was written by a poverty stricken African who remained poverty stricken for the rest of his life, while the song made millions for the folks who bought the rights for less than three dollars. His descendants managed to rectify the situation a bit, but too late for him:
Millions of dollars in royalties from the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” will go to the heirs of the late South African composer Solomon Linda, who died in 1962. In 1950, when blacks had few negotiating rights under apartheid, Linda sold the song, written in 1939, for fewer than two dollars. His three surviving daughters live in South Africa.
It’s unlikely that the Tokens had anything to do with this injustice, so we are free to enjoy what is the classic American version of this song.
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