And we had a lot of success with Tony Orlando and Dawn. Q: Why did the Tokens get into the producing end of the business?Ī: We were the first vocal group to produce a number one hit when the Chiffons did “He’s So Fine” in 1963. ![]() Children were listening to it from the movie as they grew up, so I had a brand new audience. Also, when “The Lion King” came out, the song had a whole new second life. They’re standing up giving me a great reaction. But every time I sing it there are new people in the audience that never heard a live performance, and the reaction of the people who’ve seen me many, many times, they still have that same reaction. A lot of people ask me that question, and I don’t know how many times I’ve sung it. When they stop flowing, I’ll stay home.Ī: No, absolutely not at all. Don’t ask me how it comes out, I just open my mouth and the notes flow. Most artists, lose their range a little bit, but for some reason I have kept the ability to hit all those high notes. I don’t know how this is possible, but I still perform ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ and all the other songs I do in the original key like I did in 1961. For some reason it’s very easy for me to do part of my genes, I guess. For me, singing falsetto just came out very naturally for me very easily. ![]() But he did a good job with his falsetto, and he certainly inspired me to do it his way. It had been just a traditional folk song from South Africa, but George added lyrics like “the lion sleeps tonight” and ‘in the jungle.”Ī: Well, you know, it wasn’t like mine. That’s why I did some research on what the song was about, shared it with George Weiss and he came up with the lyrics. But when RCA wanted us to record it, they were concerned because they didn’t think it had any real potential as a commercial record. I just loved hearing the song and I taught it to all my high school friends. Some of the biggest folk acts of the 1950s were doing this song, it was called ‘Wimoweh,’ and Pete Seeger was doing the falsetto with The Weavers. Question: When did you first hear the song, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight?”Īnswer: think I heard it first as part of an album on the radio by The Weavers at Carnegie Hall. He spoke to the Gazette earlier this week. He currently lives in Rockland County and he and his wife of 56 years, Judy, have three children and five grandchildren. Siegel did spend a few years in Los Angeles, but most of the time he’s remained in the New York area. Siegel also got into the producing end of the business early in his record career, helping the Chiffons record “One Fine Day” and “He’s So Fine.” He was also a producer of Tony Orlando and Dawn’s three big hits, “Candida,” “Knock Three Times” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.” Traynor, who grew up just south of Albany in Greenville, toured as a member of the Tokens from 2006 until his death three years ago. It was Yajhian who in 2014 replaced Jay Traynor, the original lead singer of Jay and the Americans. Along with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the group enjoyed some chart successes with “He’s in Town,” “I Hear the Trumpets Blow,” and “Portrait of My Love.” Making up the Tokens with Siegel Saturday night at Proctors will be Bill Reid and Kurt Yajhian. One of the members of that group was Neil Sedaka, who shared the vocals with Siegel before embarking on his own solo career. ![]() Siegel grew up in Brighton Beach and formed the original Tokens back in 1956 when he was still in high school. Saturday night at Proctors, Siegel and the 2017 version of the Tokens will be performing that song as part of the Golden Oldies Spectacular with a handful of other top acts from the 1960s, including The Duprees and The Happenings. charts for three weeks in November of that year. Siegel’s rendition, released when he was a member of the Tokens in 1961, is the version everyone recognizes, and thanks to a few lyrics added to the melody by songwriter George Weiss, the song climbed to No. Nobody owns it, however, like Jay Siegel. The song we know today as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” was written in 1939 by South African Solomon Linda, and has been performed by thousands of artists all over the world.
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