Sunday Reads

Obituary: Singer Mitch Margo, 70, who sang professionally at a very young age when he joined a vocal group called The Tokens, has died. His group was responsible for the massive hit, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," based on a Zulu folk song.

To be exact, Margo was 13 years old when he joined.

The song was released in 1961.

More from Billboard:

Margo was 13 and a first tenor when he and his older brother, Phil Margo, a baritone, hooked up with Jay Siegel and Hank Medress, two of their friends from Brooklyn, to form The Tokens in 1960. (Neil Sedaka had earlier performed with Medress in a group known as The Linc-Tones.)

"The Lion Sleeps Tonight," The Tokens' adaptation of South African singer Solomon Linda's "Mbube" and The Weavers' "Wimoweh" for RCA Victor, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1961 and remained there for three weeks.

The Tokens' other hits in the 1960s included "Tonight I Fell in Love," "I Hear Trumpets Blow," "Portrait of My Love" and "He's in Town," but clearly, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was their most famous tune.

"We've sung billions and billions of Wimowehs," Margo often said. (The indelible falsetto on the song was performed by Siegel.)

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Yet millions of people will still vote for their financial destruction. It is incredible anybody believes the GOP spiel.
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