The story of
the Tokens is really the story of a song. Formed in the mid-'50s in Brooklyn with
Neil Sedaka as the lead singer,
the Tokens eventually settled on a lineup of Jay Siegel, Hank Medress, and brothers Phil and Mitch Margo. The group scored a massive international hit in 1961-1962 with the impossibly infectious "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a song with a fascinating history. Originally called "Mbude," the song was written and recorded in Zulu by South African Solomon Linda in 1939 and was a big local hit in what is now Swaziland in the '40s. A copy of the original 78 found its way into folklorist
Alan Lomax's hands, who, in turn, played it for
Pete Seeger, then a member of
the Weavers. Both men assumed it was a traditional African folk song.
Seeger and
the Weavers lifted the chorus and recorded it as "Wimoweh," which went to the top of the charts in 1952. The Weavers re-recorded it live in 1957 as part of their Carnegie Hall concert album, which is where Jay Siegel of
the Tokens heard it. Since "Wimoweh" was simply a rhythmic vocal chorus as performed by
the Weavers,
the Tokens, still believing the song was an old traditional tune, added a verse melody line and lyrics and the song became "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," again soaring to the top of the charts in 1962. The new verse lyrics, in the most amazing of coincidences, actually echoed the original Zulu lyrics of "Mbude" (a song about hunting lions) as written and recorded by Solomon Linda way back in the '30s, a recording Siegel and
the Tokens had never heard and didn't even know existed. Ten years later, a version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" produced by
the Tokens and sung by
Robert John hit the top of the charts once again, and a decade and a half after
John's hit, South African
Lebo M. recorded the song as part of Disney's The Lion King soundtrack, sending yet another hit version around the world. A royalties nightmare, "Wimoweh"/"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ended up defining
the Tokens' career. Three versions are included on this collection (in disco remixes), along with several covers and the group's only other significant hit, "Tonight I Fell in Love." ~ Steve Leggett