Hakuna Matata - Bunny Wailer

Rasta Records has a whole line of reggae cds aimed at getting kids enthusiastic about the reggae genre. The albums are all well thought out and well produced with top reggae talent performing childrens music. In 2001 they released REGGAE FOR KIDS: MOVIE CLASSICS, a whole album of Disney covers done reggae!

The first track on the album is the Lion King's Hakuna Matata. What an appropriate song for this album. Timon and Pumbaa's motto of "no worries" reflects the reggae lifestyle and is perfect in a laid back reggae beat.

This song is sung by BUNNY WAILER one of the two surviving members of the Wailers. Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh banded together in 1963 and went through a few name changes before settling on the Wailers in 1966.

The Wailers broke up in 1976 and the three founding members went on to pursue solo careers. Peter Tosh used his music as a vehicle for his campaign to legalize marijuana and Bob Marley found international fame as Bob Marley and the Wailers. But Bunny Wailer, always the most laid back of the trio, decided to stay true to his Rastafari roots and stay in Jamaica recording album after album of reggae hits. He won three Grammy Awards in the 90s for Best Reggae Album.

Hakuna Matata Bunny Wailer 2001

Hakuna Matata - The Chipmunks

It's Terrible Track Friday and today I'm posting a track that is not only terrible, but also has a movie coming out today that looks equally as bad. That's right, it's the Chipmunks.

THE CHIPMUNKS were created in 1958 by Ross Bagdasarian when he wrote The Witch Doctor and sang it under the name David Seville. He used cutting edge technology to speed up the recording of the Witch Doctor's vocal track which gave it a 'chipmunk-sound'. The song was a suprising hit, peaking at #1 in the US for two weeks! It went on to win a Grammy Award for engineering!

Realizing the money making potential he had created, Bagdasarian began recording album after album, starting with the hit song The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late).

To date, the Chipmunks have released over 40 albums! Including WHEN YOU WISH UPON A CHIPMUNK in 1995 which features ten songs from Disney movies done in their trademark squeaky voices. The album has novelty value (as any cover album does), but this one gets boring after the first minute of the opening track, Hakuna Matata. And while some of the songs get new musical arrangements, this one sound exactly the same as the original except with vocals in a higher octave. Boring!

Take a listen and see for your self. It sounds just as bad as the trailer for the new movie looks.

Hakuna Matata The Chipmunks 1995

Hakuna Matata - Lebo M & Jimmy Cliff

It means 'No worries for the rest of your days'. Everyone now knows the meaning to the Swahili phrase 'hakuna matata' thanks to the Lion King. The song, written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and originally recorded by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, was one of the main plot points and one of the catchier tunes in the film. Timon and Pumbaa explains to Simba how they live their life.

While I love this song, it always sort of bothered me that this song gained so much popularity because it is teaching Simba a lesson that he later finds out is holding him back from achieving his goal. Not really the lesson to teach kids.

This version of Hakuna Matata can be found on the 1995 release RHYTHM OF THE PRIDE LANDS, a follow-up soundtrack to the popular LION KING soundtrack. The album features LEBO M, a South African composer who did a lot of work on the Lion King movies and Broadway musicals. Joining him on this track is JIMMY CLIFF who you probably as the guy who sings I Can See Clearly Now. You'll notice that this version not only expands on the origin of Pumbaa but it also goes into Timon's past.

Hakuna Matata Lebo M & Jimmy Cliff 1995