Around 60 years later, and he can still hit those notes! I'm 63 now, and have grown up with Jay and this version. I don't care who wrote it or where it came from. It will always belong to the Tokens!
Jay's voice is freakin amazing. I saw the Tokens back in the early 60's and I saw them appear recently. His voice is just as powerful and his falsetto is still monsterous.
Not to take anything away from the Tokens, but I recently learned that this is an authentic African song that is hundreds of years old. There are some original African performances somewhere around RU-vid which are interesting to watch and compare with modern treatments of the song. WTG Tokens with your great interpretation of this wonderful music!!
+PrayerRider Oh we was? Then why did his family sue and win in court? .Because he was ripped off, cheated, swindled, or whatever you want to call it. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1475434/Penniless-singers-family-sue-Disney-for-Lion-King-royalties.html www.aljazeera.com/archive/2006/02/2008491335677676.html content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,995466,00.html www.richardsilverstein.com/2006/03/26/solomon-linda-songwriter-who-penned-the-lion-finally-gets-his-just-desserts/ www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5300359 I've done my research. You, on the other hand don't seem to have done any research at all. Let that be lesson to you. Don't challenge anyone's post if you don't know what you are talking about.
Just not the same song without that beautiful blonde with that amazing voice. Great song, but just not same without her voice. She is or was, simply AMAZING!
Yes. Jay Traynor died of liver cancer in 2014. A few months later they hired Kurt Yahjian to replace him. And I must say, they couldn't have found a better replacement in anyone else. Mr. Yahjian is a marvelous singer! And a nice fellow to boot!
Yes, he does! I wish they would come touring in Canada, though. They never come up here. No famous recording artist ever seems to want to come here much. What are we up here anyway, the planetary no man's land?! Gee!
Fiddlesticks! She's good but she's not part of the group. They are supposed to be a male group and they sound just wonderful the way they are! She was only on stage in that one version because her husband was playing in that band as the drummer. The Grooms do have their own group, though, from what I understand.
PrayerRider He does not! He looks like a sweet, caring, distinguished, older gentleman. Mafia boss! Really! You wanna know who REALLY looks like a mafia boss? And I hope you're not a fan of the show. That weird, sourpuss old dad on Pawn Stars who wears that hat. I've never seen anyone look more like a stereotypical Mafia boss than he does! That sour look on his face makes him look like he wants to order his boys to rub out a customer at any minute!
Song is just not the same without that beautiful voice from that lovely Blonde songbird who was in the one video of this great song. Still, this is a timeless classic though. Just saying.
His name is Jay Siegel. He is one of the original founders of the group from 1955, from Brooklyn, New York. He and another boy in his class, Neil Sedaka, (yes, THAT Neil Sedaka) originally formed a group called The Linc-Tones, when they were only 15 and 16, after their high school named Lincoln High School. 3 years later Sedaka left to pursue his solo career and the group was renamed the Tokens. Two of the original group, Mitch and Phil Margo, broke off though, in the late 1990's, to form their own group, also named The Tokens. That is why Jay Siegel's group is called Jay Siegel's Tokens. Both groups have been touring and performing continually. However, 5 days ago, on November 24th, Mitch Margo died in his sleep. To the Margos' Tokens he was The Lion. So I don't know whether or not they will continue to perform or not. Please say a prayer for the Margo family as they grieve their loss.
alot of the white musicians of that time were inspired by black artists too. For example, the Beach Boys were heavily influenced by chuck berry. They even created "Surfin USA" with the same chord progression as Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen". They have even acknowledged that as a fact in their interviews. Also, this song (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) was inspired after a 1920 South African Song called "Mbube".
No, I don't think they are racist. I've watched many live interviews with them on videos, each one seperately, and they are very sweet, caring fellows as far as I can tell. Especially Jay Siegel. He in no way strikes me as anything close to being a racist. Plus, they've performed all over the world, so they would have had to put up with, and be exposed to, all different nationalities of people. So no, I do not think they have a racist bone in their bodies. In my opinion.
Also, my own parents grew up through those eras too, heck, through the depression of the 30's as well. And they were not the least bit racist. They were sweet, loving folks, who cared about everybody regardless or color, creed, religion, or anything else.
