Potentially lost The Lion King song

[AkaiLioness]

So I was browsing one of my social media sites (Tumblr) when I found a post that directed to this Youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZeF4juk8lM

From what I could gather, it's from a cassette tape of The Lion King, but the song is not found anywhere online other than this video. I found it quite interesting since it talks about the Lion King being a king of jungle, and at one point in development TLK was about to take place in a jungle until the producers realized lions don't live there. Could this be a song produced before the actual plot of TLK? Does any of you find it familiar, or know who could've sung it? It sounds very 80s/90s and I'm going to bet it was found in a Lion King cassette tape, so maybe someone who has it in their posession might be able to comment on this.

[Stormy]

Quite honestly don't know. It could've been before the main plot was established like you mentioned, but other that, I have no idea what this is. This song was never mentioned in any interview or anything else of that sorts.

[KiovuLove]

I know that it used to be called King of the Jungle but idk if it was going to take PLACE in the jungle. I also know that there were a lot of songs cut from the movie so I wouldn't doubt this is a real thing. I have not been someone who collects cassette tapes so I've not come across it but it does sound like something they could've come up with to inspire or just something to play around with when they first announced the making of it. Am I crazy to think that it kind of sounds like Lebo M?

[DGFone]

I do know that several songs were cut completely: One was called "The Lion in the Moon", and was replaced by the scene where Mufasa tells Simba about the great kings of the past. Another was "To Be King", which was cut because Mufasa (James Earl Jones) singing just sounded odd and clashed horribly. "Warthog Rhapsody" was released on the "Rhythm of the Pride Lands" CD/Cassette, then reworked into "That's All I need" in The Lion King 1 1/2. Finally "The Madness of King Scar" was also reused, this time in the stage version.

So it's not like Disney was shy about their songs which didn't make it into the final movie. So the fact that this song is completely unheard of makes me thing that this was some sort of fan song that was added into the cassette. A non-legitimate way to bypass copyright and create a pirated cassette perhaps? I know things like these were done with Russian rips of western media - slightly modify them and call it a day.

[KiovuLove]

My thing about them sharing a lot of the original ideas is that they mentioned that the movie was originally going to be King of the Jungle and while we don't know how long that concept was decided upon, there hasn't been too much revealed about that original concept ( that I know of). Im sure they haven't shared everything they have hidden away in the archives but it's possible that back in the day they would have a cassette tape to send to other people working on the film. My only question is what else is on it, if anything? Disney is different than the backstreet boys, but I came across a physical single of a bsb song and it had a hidden preview track for their next album and one of the songs was a demo version of what was later released. I'm not saying Disney would do a preview thing like that, but the early 90s were a different time for them and they were only just picking up speed again. Regardless it's an interesting song and I wouldn't count it out as being legit with the lack ofcontext we have about it

[TheLionPrince]

It doesn't sound at all like a song that was written for the film. Most "Lion King" audio cassettes was the official soundtrack with all the songs and a few tracks of Hans Zimmer's instrumental score and a sing-along edition. So, if this came from an audio cassette, it was probably a fan-made song that someone added a bootleg cassette.

[Timon the great]

"He is the Lion-Kinnnngggggg!" XD

Yeah, I actually heard the entire thing and love the song

Interesting find on YouTube, really. The 'King Of The Jungle' concept should already be an explained thing to the fandom. Though it's possible that I may have stumbled on the song vid when I was learning more about the franchise in years past, the way it sounds (even if it's fan-made or bootlegged content), sounds a good ways like 'Kube'. A laid-back, but very contemporary 90s song too compared to all the other ones in the 'Rhythm Of The Pridelands' album. So I'm fairly sure this "lost" Lion King song could legitimately pass for one and considering the Zulu chorus singing in the background also just like in the film songs. And the fact that this YT video has 0 downvotes vs. 19 upvotes would pretty much say this as well, as this was uploaded before bot activity issues became more of a thing on YouTube.

[MeerkatOnTheMoon]

Funny 'cause I was just listening to "Kube", one of my all-time faves from the "Rhythm of the Pridelands" album. Lol. Speaking of lost songs, TLK Wiki page mentioned a song that was once in the works about a lion on the moon (sung by Sarabi to young Simba). Maybe it was the lullaby type. It may have been mentioned here but I didn't know about it 'til recently.

[SimbasGuard]

That song is called Lion King Of The Jungle. It is from an album called Rhythm Of The Jungle. It is a tribute album to The Lion King performed by The London Theater Ensemble and The London Pops Orchestra. The last names credited (I assume it they are last names because that is how Elton John and Tim Rice are credited) are Skeggs and Pugsley. If they are the composer and Lyricist then a singer is not listed.

[TheLionPrince]

SimbasGuard is right. It's a song titled "Lion King of the Jungle" and it comes from a tribute album to the film by the London Theatre Orchestra. It's an amazing find on his part. To be honest, it is a catchy song.