Information on working terriers, dogs, natural history, hunting, and the environment, with occasional political commentary as I see fit. This web log is associated with the Terrierman.com web site.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Louis Armstrong :: What a Wonderful World
George David Weiss, who wrote this song in 1966, has died. He was 89, and also wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." .
"What a Wonderful World" has consistently ranked high if not first on lists of the best songs of the 20th Century. There are a few perfect songs, and this one is right there.
George David Weiss was a great songwriter, but he didn't write The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It is credited to Zulu South African Solomon Linda. For more on this read the Wikipedia entry:
It turns out the story is a little more complicated than that, though you have a big chunk of it.
Solomon Linda's original a cappella tune, from 1939, had only two words to it -- "Lion" and "Stop".
He signed away his rights to the song for less than a dollar, and his family did the same again several times in later years (all the way into the 1980s).
Pete Seeger recorded a slightly changed version of the tune in the 1950s, when he was with The Weavers.
In 1961, the song got a pretty substantial rewrite by George Weiss who took the last 20 improvised seconds of Mr. Linda's recording and transformed it into a melody. He also added all the lyrics we know today.
_ _ _ _ _
In the jungle, the mighty jungle The lion sleeps tonight In the jungle, the mighty jungle The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village The lion sleeps tonight Near the village, the peaceful village The lion sleeps tonight
Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village The lion sleeps tonight Near the village, the peaceful village The lion sleeps tonight
My little darling Don't fear, my little darling My little darling Don't fear, my little darling
_ _ _ _ _ _
A teen group called the Tokens sang it with a doo-wop beat and it charted.
Solomon Linda died in 1962.
All of this, for the record, is lifted from the New York Times article from 2006. See >> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/international/africa/22lion.html
Most interesing here is that if you look in the box at the NYT article link, they have the original song, as recorded by Solomon Linda, and as it metamorphosed down the decades.
5 comments:
"What a Wonderful World" has consistently ranked high if not first on lists of the best songs of the 20th Century. There are a few perfect songs, and this one is right there.
Seahorse
George David Weiss was a great songwriter, but he didn't write The Lion Sleeps Tonight. It is credited to Zulu South African Solomon Linda. For more on this read the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight
and the excellent Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGZB7s5qLg8
When Pete Seeger realized the origin of the song, he redirected his royalties from it to Solomon Linda.
Thanks Marge --
It turns out the story is a little more complicated than that, though you have a big chunk of it.
Solomon Linda's original a cappella tune, from 1939, had only two words to it -- "Lion" and "Stop".
He signed away his rights to the song for less than a dollar, and his family did the same again several times in later years (all the way into the 1980s).
Pete Seeger recorded a slightly changed version of the tune in the 1950s, when he was with The Weavers.
In 1961, the song got a pretty substantial rewrite by George Weiss who took the last 20 improvised seconds of Mr. Linda's recording and transformed it into a melody. He also added all the lyrics we know today.
_ _ _ _ _
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The lion sleeps tonight
In the jungle, the mighty jungle
The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village
The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village
The lion sleeps tonight
Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling
The lion sleeps tonight
Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling
The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village
The lion sleeps tonight
Near the village, the peaceful village
The lion sleeps tonight
My little darling
Don't fear, my little darling
My little darling
Don't fear, my little darling
_ _ _ _ _ _
A teen group called the Tokens sang it with a doo-wop beat and it charted.
Solomon Linda died in 1962.
All of this, for the record, is lifted from the New York Times article from 2006. See >>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/international/africa/22lion.html
Most interesing here is that if you look in the box at the NYT article link, they have the original song, as recorded by Solomon Linda, and as it metamorphosed down the decades.
P
Patrick, I didn't realize you wanted me to post the WHOLE story. :-)
What a wonderful song. It never fails to make me smile.
AnnB
Scottie News
Post a Comment