This week, my chosen song share piece is The Lion Sleeps Tonight, a popular cover of the famous 1939 original composition written and performed by Soloman Linda, a Zulu composer from South Africa, under the title Mbube. The group performing the cover is a South African male choral group called Ladysmith Black Mamabzo, who released this piece for their 1990 album Do It A Cappella. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was formed by Joseph Shabalala in the early 1960s in response to a series of recurring dreams about spreading African tradition through music. Today, the group is known for its distinctive style of singing called isicathamiya, a form of a cappella music rooted in Zulu- an ethnic group from South Africa- music traditions. The group gained international fame in the 1980s when they collaborated with Paul Simon for his Graceland album, helping their music become exposed to a global audience. Their music, which often conveys messages of hope, love, peace, and African culture, has earned them multiple Grammy awards and worldwide recognition as cultural ambassadors.

This piece, which features the women’s a cappella group, the Mint Juleps, is commonly recognized by listeners due to the well-known lyrics and memorable, upbeat sound, as it has been performed and listened to in many contexts for generations. However, looking at this particular performance, a listener would hear a much slower, more relaxed timbre and rhythm than typically associated with the composition. This element, already making the piece distinctive to a listener’s ear, is mixed with tight harmonies, rich bass lines, and light rhythmic steps, which are unique characteristics commonly used in Ladysmith Black Mambazo music. While hearing this, the audience would also listen to the Mint Julep singing the well-known harmony of the piece, which, combined with the other elements, makes this composition both familiar and unique to a listener’s ear.

I chose this piece for my song share this week because I think it is necessary to highlight that this composition, though commonly recognized or remembered by listeners for the 1960 cover by the American band The Tokens, is a song originating from South Africa and the Zulu people. Because of this desire, I strived to find a piece that is still recognizable to many listeners due to the English lyrics and the world-famous bands performing, but still choose one that emphasized the African origins in a unique way, which led me to select this rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight for my song share assignment to learn about and share with my colleagues.