Record World 2 - 1972, US Billboard 3 - Jan 1972 (17 weeks), Canada 3 - Jan 1972 (11 weeks), US Gold (certified by RIAA in Mar 1972), US CashBox 10 of 1972, Australia Goset 15 - May 1972 (8 weeks), Springbok 15 - Apr 1972 (7 weeks), US Radio 18 of 1972 (peak 3 11 weeks), WABC NY 19 of 1972, US BB 21 of 1972, Brazil 99 of 1972 UK 1 - Jan 1982 (15 weeks), Holland 1 - Mar 1982 (10 weeks), Belgium 1 - Mar 1982 (10 weeks), Eire 1 for 5 weeks - Feb 1982, Germany 3 - Mar 1982 (4 months), ODK Germany 3 - Mar 1982 (19 weeks) (7 weeks in top 10), UK Gold (certified by BPI in Mar 1982), Austria 8 - May 1982 (2 months), Switzerland 8 - Apr 1982 (6 weeks), Sweden (alt) 17 - Apr 1982 (2 weeks), Poland 24 - May 1982 (4 weeks), Germany 279 of the 1980s (peak 3 13 weeks), UKMIX 962 The film "A Lion's Trail" ( 2002) documents the story.
The film "The Lion King" alone, none of that money went to Solomon TRO earned at least $15M just from its use in
South African copyrights were not valid because South Africa was not a
The record company TRO claimed the copyright for a fictitious person, Recorded by The Weavers they assumed it was traditional, so The song was written by Solomon Linda however by the time it was The Tokens who had the biggest hit with it. Given this confusing set of alternate names we've selected the name used by Other groups have called it "The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)" They misheard the original chorus of "Uyimbube" (Zulu for 'You are a lion'). The original version from 1939, was called "Mbube"Īnd was by Solomon Linda & The Evening Birds, (Mbube is Zulu for lion). This list combines cover versions and distinct songs that happen to share the same title. Karl Denver died from a brain tumour in December 1998, aged 67.This page lists the chart runs for songs called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in order of success. The final song he recorded was I Can't Go On This Way. The finished tracks were included on a re-release of Just Loving You entitled Movin' On
In mid 1998, Denver began recording a new album, but died before full recording was completed. In 1993 he released his final album, Just Loving You, aimed at the country music market. Denver also appeared in The Happy Mondays’ video for the song, although he contracted pneumonia while filming the video.įollowing this collaboration Factory released two further Denver recordings, Wimoweh '89 (FAC 228) and Indambinigi (FAC 278 credited to Karl Denver and Steve Lima). However in 1989 he enjoyed a brief rise in profile after guesting on Madchester band, The Happy Mondays’ single, Lazyitis (One-Armed Boxer), on Factory Records (FAC 222). In the early 1960s he formed a trio which included Kevin Neil (born July 25, 1931, in Manchester died March 13 2010) and Gerry Cottrell (born Gerard Cottrell, December 18 1933, Manchester died November 24 2006).ĭenver's song, Never Goodbye, was an entry in A Song for Europe in 1962.Īfter the mid 1960s, Denver worked mainly on the cabaret circuit. In the US, he adopted the new name that he retained for the remainder of his singing career. He also had a country music influence, having lived in Nashville, Tennessee for a short time. Karl Denver was born Angus Murdo McKenzie, in Springburn, Glasgow and was well travelled by the time he took up singing, having had a previous career in the British Merchant Navy. He reached the Top 20 with his first five yodel-based singles. The most famous of these was his 1961 version of Wimoweh, which showed off Denver’s falsetto yodelling register.
Scottish-born singer Karl Denver, who, as part of his trio had a series of UK smash hit singles in the early 1960s.