The Lion Sleeps Tonight in The Lion King

Speaking of the smell and taste of Africa (非洲氣息) of Paul Simon’s Graceland album, it takes me back to my high school days when “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” was the king, and that was in Taiwan. Like Graceland, it was originally recorded in South Africa.  The Tokens group introduced to Americans in 1961.  Disney’s “The Lion King” re-introduced it to another generation (see the link to YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8milJNj_W0

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King all came out in 1990s, and then a dry spell came.  It all depended on Pixar’s Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 etc. to keep it going.  Steve Jobs invested on Pixar in 1986 and sold it to Disney for $7.4 billion in 2006.  It was said when Bob Iger (Disney’s CEO) told Jobs the deal will be sealed, Jobs wept.

Jobs couldn’t get along with Disney’s former CEO, Michael Eisner, the deal was made possible when Bob Iger took over.  It doesn’t hurt that Iger’s wife was the roommate of Jennifer Egan at the University of Pennsylvania, a former (in early 1980s) girl friend of Jobs.