Lion Sleeps Tonight / La Bamba / Nothing But Girl

The Tokens | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 30, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WID
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,897 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tokens turn the Weaver's "Wimoweh" into a doo wop hit, June 4, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lion Sleeps Tonight / La Bamba / Nothing But Girl (Audio CD)

The song, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," was based on an South African Zulu folk song "Wimoweh" made popular by the classic folk group the Weavers in the 1950s. However, the Weavers were political in the best sense of the folk tradition and fell out of favor among the common folk who thought them Communist sympathizers of varying hues along the spectrum of the color red. However younger music listeners might remember Robert John's version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which made it to #3 on the Pop charts in 1972 and was included on the soundtrack for "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."

The group, the Tokens, was a doo wop group out of Brooklyn, who originally included Neil Sedaka when they were known as the Linc-Tones (they were students at Lincoln High School). In the early 1960s the group was reformed by Hank Medress with Phil Margo, Mitch Margo, Joe Venneri, and Jay Siegel as the Tokens. In 1962 the Tokens recorded "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which hit #1 on the Billboard Pop charts. It was far and away the biggest hit the Tokens ever had and this CD-Single basically includes the two songs that are arguably the best of the rest of their inventory. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "La Bamba" were both off of the Token's debut album, while "You're Nothing But a Girl" was from a later 1966 release, "The Tokens Again." However, if you like doo wop, then my suggestion would be to pick up one of the three pretty solid collections of Tokens hits (e.g., "Wimoweh: The Best of the Tokens"). But if this song leads you to track down some of the recordings of the Weavers, that would be a thing of great good as well.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am giving credit to the background soprano on Wimoweh., March 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Audio CD)

I would like to give credit to the hair-raising background soprano that contributed to the success of the song (Wimoweh) The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Her name is Dolores Boswell a.k.a. Dee Tigue. She is a critically acclaimed, internationally known coloratura soprano. She is my vocal coach, piano teacher and mentor as well. She is a wonderful lady with a heart of gold, and deserves to be given credit for her awesome performance on the Wimoweh track.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lion Sleeps Tonight, February 10, 2000

By 

Iris E. Saied T. (Panama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Audio CD)

The Tokens did an incredible job on this one! I love the music, and the voices are awesome. 38 years later and it still is one of the best songs I've heard.