"The Journey of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight': From South Africa to Disney's Success"
Mbube, a specific variety of South African choral music composed of multipart a cappella harmonies, usually sung by men, and usually in Zulu, was made famous by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds in 1939. The song, which intricately balances the three-part bass harmonies of Gideon Mkhize, Samuel Mlangeni, and Owen Sikhakhane, as Boy Sibiya and Gilbert Madondo deliver honeyed middle tones and Linda himself soars over the top with an unmatched soprano, became a hit in South Africa and beyond. However, Linda was exploited by the industry and received little compensation for his work. The song would later become a centrepiece of Disney’s animated classic The Lion King.