The song was originally created in 1939 by a South African Zulu migrant worker and musician named Solomon Linda. He recorded it with his acapella group, The Evening Birds, under the title “Mbube” (which means “Lion” in Zulu).
During the song, Linda improvised a background chant singing “Uyimbube”, which translates to “You are a lion”. The song became a massive hit in South Africa, selling over 100,000 copies. However, Linda sold the rights to his local record label for a tiny fee (worth less than $2 USD today) and spent the rest of his life working as a floor sweeper.
While American publishers, Disney, and various bands made millions of dollars off the song, Solomon Linda died in poverty in 1962, unable to even afford a headstone for his grave.
Following an intense journalistic exposé in 2000 and a massive legal battle, Linda’s heirs filed a lawsuit against Disney and global publishers. In 2006, an undisclosed, multi-million-dollar settlement was finally reached, officially ensuring that Solomon Linda’s descendants receive the royalties.