The Lion Sleeps Tonight: Mahotella Queens and "Mbube"

Mbube is the title of today's random tune performed by South Africa's Mahotella Queens. Formed in 1964 as a girl group ensemble backup to the vocals of Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde, they developed a distinct harmony within the traditions of the mbaqanga music of South Africa. The ensemble capitalized on the explosion of popularity of South African music in the 1980s due to its exposure by Paul Simon and compilation albums that began to appear. However, the ensemble also had its share of problems, with more than one breakup and turnover of members. When Mahlathini died in 1999, not long after the death of their producer and their longtime guitarist, the Mahotella Queens might have disbanded altogether but instead decided to keep going. They reached out to a younger audience by creating music with modern beats, ultimately returning to mainstream success due to a 2016 collaboration with rapper Cassper Nyovest. Mbube can be found on numerous albums featuring the Mahotella Queens - we found it on a Putumayo sampler of various artists called Putumayo Presents: Kids CD Sampler (2007). The title of the song means "lion" and is also a genre of music in South Africa. You'll recognize the familiar "weem-o-way" chorus as the same used in The Lion King hit The Lion Sleeps Tonight. The song dates to the 1920s and was written by South African Zulu Solomon Linda under the title Mbube and has been recorded under that name, as Wimoweh and as The Lion Sleeps Tonight over 40 times.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahotella_Queens; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_Sleeps_Tonight