“The Lion King” may be one of the most successful franchises in history. It started with a 1994 animated feature by Disney but led to a sequel that went directly to video, a 2019 movie remake, a spin-off movie, two spin-off television series, a TV film sequel, several video games, three educational shorts, merchandise, and finally the third-longest running Broadway musical in history. The musical has earned six Tony Awards. That’s a lot. The storyline of “The Lion King” revolves around a pride of African lions that oversees a large swath of savanna as their kingdom, which is known as the Pride Lands. Their leader, Simba, watches over the savanna as their king. Interestingly, the first three animated movies were influenced by the works of William Shakespeare.
The 1994 animated film was widely acclaimed and praised, and the box office didn’t disappoint. Grossing more than $783 million, “The Lion King” was the most successful film released in 1994 and is the 27th highest-grossing feature film in movie history. But what about awards? Well, “The Lion King” won the Academy Award for the Best Original Score, a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, and another Academy Award for the song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” as well as a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance Male.
The song featured in the video below is “Circle of Life,” which was composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Incidentally, Rice gave Elton John the lyrics at 2:00 one afternoon, and an hour and a half later, Elton presented him with the musical score. Rice is said to have been astonished at the speed with which Elton worked. In the original 1994 “The Lion King” film, the song was performed by the artist Lebo M (Lebohang Morake) performing the opening Zulu vocals and Carmen Twillie singing the deep female lead vocals.
Image via YouTube
Below you can enjoy watching the legendary Lebo M perform a song that changed his life.