THE STORY OF AFRICA’S MOST FAMOUS MELODY

The Lion Sleeps Tonight uses perhaps Africa’s most famous melody and made millions of dollars - but not for its original creator, Zulu singer Solomon Linda.

The melody did not belong to Disney, yet it helped turn The Lion King into a huge box-office success. The US entertainment giant held out crediting the South African singer until it was sued by his descendants.

Nothing wrong with African music being enjoyed and appreciated beyond the continent, of course, but credit where it’s due, please. Can you think of other examples of appropriation without acknowledgement?

This is the story of the song whose real name is Mbube.