The Lion King

In the early 1990s, Walt Disney Feature Animation was enjoying its second golden age, and through a series of circumstances it enlisted the services of one Elton John, who was seeking a second golden age of his own. True, his star had not completely dimmed and his most recent albums, Sleeping With the Past and The One, had showed strong promise of an artistic rebirth. But no doubt, the agreement to write a songtrack for Disney's planned animated feature, The Lion King would prove a pivotal part of the second act for the Rocket Man soon to be known as Sir Elton John.

A little background is in order to see how this new opportunity for Elton came about. Disney was on a roll with The success of The Little Mermaid and Beauty & The Beast, a pair of films that signaled a renaissance in the art of animation. Music had played a large part in this renaissance, with the songwriting team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman creating classic songs for both those films as well as undertaking early work for the feature that would be released as Aladdin.

Sadly, in 1991 lyricist Howard Ashman died of AIDS before the songs for Aladdin were completed. To complete the job, Menken listed the help of Sir Tim Rice, a lyricist best known for the landmark album/play and eventual movie Jesus Christ Superstar. Around the same time Disney was considering for production an original collaborative screenplay that was described around the studio as “Bambi in Africa” and originally titled “King of the Jungle.” When this "Hamlet Goes to the savannah" script was okayed for development (notably before the release of Aladdin), Tim Rice had been asked to write the lyrics for the project but with Menken unavailable (completing the Aladdin score) it was decided a new musical collaborator would be needed.

Rice, who had worked with Elton on a song called "Legal Boys" on the Jump Up! album, suggested Elton John but added in conversations with Disney that they would “never get him.” Sure enough, Elton's management twice rebuffed Disney, but to Rice’s surprise Elton caught word of the Disney project and personally overrode the objections of his management team. It proved a fortuitous development for all parties.

Elton wrote the music to Rice's lyrics in much the same fashion as he had long done with his usual partner Bernie Taupin, receiving the lyrics and working out the song without direct input from Rice and in very quick order. In fact, Elton's bandleader Davey Johnstone (whose credit on the original final album release mistakenly read "David Johnston") recalled that Elton had written the entirety of the track "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" in the time it had taken Johnstone to make a chicken sandwich.

With the album's release on May 31, 1994, anticipation for the June 15 release of the film was very high. Aladdin was at least as big a smash as the two films that preceded it, and the fact that Elton John was still a big name to the parents of the film's target audience proved a selling point as well. What those who obtained the CD before the film found was five new Elton compositions, three of which were voiced by Elton himself (one of which was available only on the "special edition" of the album. Also featured were excerpts of the movie score, which was written and conducted by veteran film composer Hans Zimmer.

The response to The Lion King that summer was overwhelming. Children who knew nothing of Elton's "classic years" were exposed to his music at a pivotal age through two mammoth singles: "The Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," songs that not only worked as effective parts of the film narrative but were as strong as any singles Elton had released in more than a decade. The Elton versions in fact were pretty much done as he would do a standard album track, with Chris Thomas doing the production and regulars Guy Babylon, Kiki Dee and the aforementioned Johnstone providing musical or vocal assistance.

The remaining three songs were performed by the voice cast of the movie, with two being lighthearted romps that moviegoers enjoyed greatly. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" was a joyous statement from Simba, the king in waiting, which was reprised by John himself in the aforementioned special edition. The title of the song "Hakuna Matata" (it means "no worries") was so popular it was widely thought that it was an authentic Swahili phrase--and damned if that wasn't (at least partly) true.

The remaining song "Be Prepared" was a more functional tune, providing veteran British actor Jeremy Irons the chance to chew some scenery as the film's "evil" Lion, Scar.

But in a review of Elton's discography the key are the three songs performed by the man, and all three were hit well out of the park. They were front and center with young children and their parents, as well as veteran Elton fans, throughout the summer of 1994. And their popularity resonated again during the award season of 1995.

In a development that thrilled Elton, a longtime movie and Hollywood buff whose charity Oscar parties remain a staple of Hollywood life, the Elton songs were nominated not only for Grammy Awards but Oscars and Golden Globes as well. Three of the songs ("Hakuna Matata," "Circle of Life," and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight") were all nominated for the best original song, with the latter winning the category. Hans Zimmer also won, getting an Oscar for the best original score. The same category awards were won at the Golden Globes by Rice/John and Zimmer, with the film capturing the best musical or comedy award.

With The Lion King, the now sober John had a second taste of international stardom, gained an open door to pursue entertainment ventures beyond the traditional album and tour life of a rock star, and became a presence for a whole new generation of fans. With the Lion King musical on Broadway for many years and the non-traditionally animated Lion King movie in 2019, the songs gained new life and Elton was able to add a couple of more songs to the film's new "Circle of Life." In short, overriding management was one of the better decisions Elton has ever made.