Mbube - Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds

Today's song takes us into South Africa.  Many will know the song as The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) but the song was originally called Mbube (Lion in Zulu) and recorded by Solomon Linda.  Linda was born in South Africa and learned about Western music and hymns in school.  He blended that knowledge with that of traditional Zulu songs and started singing at weddings and feasts.  In order to make money Linda went to find work in Johannesburg, where he joined the choir The Evening Birds.  Their popularity grew and they started wearing pinstripe suits and dandy shoes.  Eventually their style of singing was known as Mbube or isicathamya, with many singers on the bass line and a falsetto singer to bring in the 'female' element.  Anyway, they recorded Mbube in 1939 in the only studio in sub-Saharan Africa and it saw great success.  Unfortunately, Solomon Linda passed of renal failure a pauper, but his descendants have been trying to get the recognition for their ancestor that he deserves - even now Disney credits Linda in the Lion King for their use of Mbube.

The original version of the song Mbube is sung entirely in Zulu - it wasn't until North America acts like the Weavers or Jimmy Dorsey did we start hearing the song in English, and then probably its most popular version as sung by the Tokens (heard here).  In the end there ended up being 3 different incarnations of the song: Mbube (this version by Miriam Makeba), Wimoweh (here is the Weavers) and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.  Decide for yourself which version you like best!

Holly:

Mbube (Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds): Oh. I know this. Wimoweh is apparently just how Pete Seeger misheard it! Kind of a sad story behind this song since Solomon Linda died a pauper, even though this is one of those songs that everyone knows. I really enjoyed listening to the original version. I had no idea that it was even in existance and I thought it was historically super interesting, and musically a lot of fun. It’s much slower and less raucous than most versions we’re used to hearing, but there’s a lot of energy and excitement in the singing. I also love the background singers’ voices. 4/5

Kelly:

Right away the first time I listened to this song I thought "Oh!  Sounds like Ladysmith Black Mambazo!" and then the recognizable melody came in and I thought "OH!  I know this song".  I had always assumed it was a traditional song, so it's kind of neat to learn that it's actually a 20th century creation.  I love that sound of all those voices singing the bass line, gives the song so much depth and oomph.  I love the timbre of the voices too - apparently different from Westerners because of where the Zulu language sits in the mouth and throat.  4/5

Mbube