Soundtracks - Mbube
Listening to PRI's The World last week, I happened upon an interesting story about a South African migrant worker, Solomon Linda, who wrote a song in 1939, Mbube, that has since been recorded by more than 150 artists. What made this a story, is that Linda sold this song for a mere 60 cents and died nearly penniless in 1962. However, on February 18, an out of court settlement with a US publishing company cleared the way to make Linda's heirs exceedingly weathly.
Okay, so what makes this one of my soundtrack songs? One of the more recently recordings of Mbube was made by Mahotella Queens. If you listen, you may catch a clue.
Pete Seeger heard this song in 1952, and he changed the Zulu word Uyimbube to a nonsensical word, wimoweh, and recorded the song with his group, The Weavers. Then, in 1961, it became a number 1 song in the US for The Tokens. For my generation, it was known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Back in the early sixties, I shared a room with my brother, and much of my earliest exposure to music was what he'd play on the old forties style radio that sat at the foot of his bed. Well, either that or one the the 45 records he'd play over and over and over and over after he'd broken up with one girlfriend or another. (Actually, this happened only once that I know of, but has attained mythical proportions within the family with a song called Patches. . . .Down by the coal yards. . . . but that's another story.) Anyway in 1961 I'd have been just about 7 years old, but I carry a distinct memory of lying in bed in the dark bedroom looking out at the Christmas lights around my window listening to The Lion Sleeps Tonight. More than any other song I can think of, this one evokes memories of those early winter nights when all thoughts were about the impending holidays. Memories of Christmas as a child are some of the most powerful. I can remember everyday being filled with excitement and anticipation. How even school became festive with arts and craft projects and special bulletin board displays. It seems like every Christmas was snow covered and every Christmas tree was lush and beautiful and silver in my childhood. Every nighttime seemed filled with cookie baking and sledding on the hill behind the house. Each trip in the car with my parents seemed like an event, and each ride home filled with caroling in the car and oogling the snow covered Christmas decorations of every house we drove by.
I suppose it isn't true, of course. But it doesn't matter. As I listen to this song, I am still transported to those Christmas memories of my childhood, whether they be how they really were, or how I imagined them.
I suppose even in these days of political correctness, kids still are making memories that they will think back on as adults when the holidays come around, but somehow those golden sheltered years of my early childhood seem like the best memories anyone could have ever had. How odd that it would be THIS song, written by a Zulu tribesmen almost on the spur of the moment while sitting in front of a microphone way back in 1939, that should evoke such powerful and wonderful memories for me.
For the back story of this song and it's many twists, this website is most informative.
Okay, so what makes this one of my soundtrack songs? One of the more recently recordings of Mbube was made by Mahotella Queens. If you listen, you may catch a clue.
Pete Seeger heard this song in 1952, and he changed the Zulu word Uyimbube to a nonsensical word, wimoweh, and recorded the song with his group, The Weavers. Then, in 1961, it became a number 1 song in the US for The Tokens. For my generation, it was known as The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Back in the early sixties, I shared a room with my brother, and much of my earliest exposure to music was what he'd play on the old forties style radio that sat at the foot of his bed. Well, either that or one the the 45 records he'd play over and over and over and over after he'd broken up with one girlfriend or another. (Actually, this happened only once that I know of, but has attained mythical proportions within the family with a song called Patches. . . .Down by the coal yards. . . . but that's another story.) Anyway in 1961 I'd have been just about 7 years old, but I carry a distinct memory of lying in bed in the dark bedroom looking out at the Christmas lights around my window listening to The Lion Sleeps Tonight. More than any other song I can think of, this one evokes memories of those early winter nights when all thoughts were about the impending holidays. Memories of Christmas as a child are some of the most powerful. I can remember everyday being filled with excitement and anticipation. How even school became festive with arts and craft projects and special bulletin board displays. It seems like every Christmas was snow covered and every Christmas tree was lush and beautiful and silver in my childhood. Every nighttime seemed filled with cookie baking and sledding on the hill behind the house. Each trip in the car with my parents seemed like an event, and each ride home filled with caroling in the car and oogling the snow covered Christmas decorations of every house we drove by.
I suppose it isn't true, of course. But it doesn't matter. As I listen to this song, I am still transported to those Christmas memories of my childhood, whether they be how they really were, or how I imagined them.
I suppose even in these days of political correctness, kids still are making memories that they will think back on as adults when the holidays come around, but somehow those golden sheltered years of my early childhood seem like the best memories anyone could have ever had. How odd that it would be THIS song, written by a Zulu tribesmen almost on the spur of the moment while sitting in front of a microphone way back in 1939, that should evoke such powerful and wonderful memories for me.
For the back story of this song and it's many twists, this website is most informative.
posted by (jim) Bo Ba Log at 9:25 AM
2 Comments:
I actually have a recording of Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds singing "Mbube." With so many people recording it, it's not surprising that I have several different variants of this song in my CD collection. However, I didn't know anything about Linda, nor that he was the FIRST artist to record it. Thanks for the info.
I have a fun version by They Might Be Giants that ends with the Lion piloting a spaceship and waving goodbye to Earth. Oh, how far has this song travelled from South Africa!
Of possible relevance...
"Three impoverished South African women, whose father wrote "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," have won a six-year battle for royalties in a landmark case that could affect musicians worldwide."
-CNN
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