"The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" is a song and single by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

, released in 1992. The track is one of three singles from '' Apollo 18''. The song has also appeared on several compilation albums, including '' Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants'' and ''

A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants ''A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants'' is a 2005 compilation album by the group They Might Be Giants. In the April 29, 2005 "TMBG News" online newsletter, bandmember John Flansburgh describes the album as such: :"Rhino is releasing the single ...

''.

Background

The song, originally titled "The Guitar", was the result of a jam session based around "

The Lion Sleeps Tonight "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title "Mbube" for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda's original was written in isiZulu, while the English version's lyrics were wri ...

" by

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit singl ...

. This motif is most pronounced in the chorus of the song, which is sung by

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

, who also appears in the song's music video.''

Direct from Brooklyn ''Direct from Brooklyn'' is a compilation of music videos by American alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. It was released on VHS in 1999 and DVD in 2003. The title refers to the home of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, founding members ...

''. Dir. Adam Bernstein, Nico Beyer, John Flansburgh. Restless, 2003. DVD. However, the influence of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is present throughout the song in its continuous bassline. Due to the legal ramifications of the recurring theme, Elektra appended "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to the end of the song's title. The music video for "The Guitar" was the first They Might Be Giants video to be directed by bandmember

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Common ...

.''

Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns) ''Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)'' is a documentary profiling the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Mark Hoppus, and others. It was directed by AJ Schnack and premiered at ...

''. Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003.

Usage

In promotion of ''Apollo 18'', TMBG performed "The Guitar" and "

The Statue Got Me High "The Statue Got Me High" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song was released as the lead single from the band's 1992 album, '' Apollo 18''. The song reached number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs chart ...

" on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' in 1992.They Might Be Giants Leno Interview
. YouTube. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 2012-11-25. For this appearance, the duo of Linnell and Flansburgh debuted their new live backing band, which accompanied them on the Don't Tread on the Cut-Up Snake World Tour in support of ''Apollo 18''. The band also performed the song as part of their 2001 documentary, ''

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) ''Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)'' is a documentary profiling the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Mark Hoppus, and others. It was directed by AJ Schnack and premiered at ...

''. "The Guitar" was used in a 2013 advertisement for the

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Encore.

Track listing

# "The Guitar" (Williamsburgh Mix) - 4:13 # "The Guitar" (Outer Planet Mix) - 6:39 # "Welcome to the Jungle" - 2:28 # "I Blame You" - 1:52 # "Moving to the Sun" - 2:17 # "The Guitar" (Even Further Outer Planet Mix) - 6:38

References

External links

*'' The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)'' EP at This Might Be A Wiki *" The Guitar" (song) at This Might Be A Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight), The They Might Be Giants songs Elektra Records singles Rough Trade Records singles Songs written by John Linnell Songs written by John Flansburgh