Solomon Linda and bandmember circa 1941

When I was little and  was sure,  no, I was positive that the monster that lived in our attic was going to make an appearance in my room that night ( if you were five years old and had watched ” Nightmare Theatre ” and had an over active imagination like me, you’d have been on edge too ) I used to sing this song to myself until I fell asleep- even now when I’m feeling  stressed out for some reason-  that song pops into my head all on it’s own.

There are a lot of songs that I love, but this is the one that I have to say has stayed with me for my entire life.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight written and composed by the South African musician Solomon Linda in 1939. He has only recently been acknowledged and credited. In fact he lost control of his song when he signed a contract that he could not read.

By the time The Tokens released their version the practice of white washing rock and roll songs ( example- Pat Boone releasing covers of Little Richard’s songs ) was in full swing and in the end  Solomon Linda’s family  could not afford to buy him a tombstone upon his death in 1962.

Solomon Popoli Linda was born near Pomeroy, on the labor reserve Msinga, Umzinyathi District Municipality in Ladysmith in Natal, where he was familiar with the traditions of amahubo and izingoma zomshado (wedding songs) music.[2][3] He attended the Gordon Memorial mission school, where he learned about Western musical culture, hymns, and participated in choir contests