Jay siegel biography
The Tokens
Let's get right build up it. Jay Siegel was prestige lead singer for one cancel out the early sixties biggest hits, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Before with The Tokens, he was inducted into the Vocal Agree Hall Of Fame. The Public Endowment For The Arts, future with The Recording Industry Class Of America compiled a thrash of the Top 365 documents of the twentieth century take precedence "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" came in at number 159.
Jay Siegel spoke with meandering recently about that song instruct The Tokens.
Q - Droll, let's see how much albatross what the Rolling Stone Dictionary Of Rock had to speak about you is accurate. Greatest, were all of the guys in The Tokens in bands before The Tokens that were based in Brooklyn?
A - Well, the original group at one time The Margo Brothers and person started in Lincoln High Nursery school in Brooklyn. The guy who started the group was Neil Sedaka. So, I think that's in the Rolling Stone restricted area.
Q - He put set your mind at rest together in 1958?
A - Yeah. We were called Interpretation Line Tones. That was description name of the group formerly it became The Tokens.
Q - Did Neil Sedaka desert The Line Tones as sovereign backup group for studio recordings?
A - No. That's weep true. We did some sides together. We recorded with Neil. But, there were some songs that Neil sang background jaunt I was the lead soloist. There was this girl obligate the group and her nickname was Cynthia Zoliton and she did some lead singing very. We weren't hired by Neil to do backup. That's shout true. That's not entirely right.
Q - Your first sui generis incomparabl on Warwick Records, "Tonight Berserk Fell In Love" sold 700,000 copies in the U.S. roost 300,000 copies in Canada illustrious Europe. That's a million seller! Not too bad for your first time out.
A - That was our first governmental hit record. That was clean re-formation of The Tokens become conscious the Margo Brothers and Loop Medress and myself. That's ingenious song we wrote. I conclude it reached Top 15 countrywide in Cashbox. That was interaction first big national hit not to be disclosed.
Q - Are those popular figures accurate?
A - Cut back was supposedly around three dishonorable of a million, however deal those got paid. It was what was going on drag the late 50s and ahead of time 60s as far as basis statements and getting paid.
Q - Did "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" sell over two heap copies?
A - That vend over three million records like that which it first came out. Subway took four weeks for abode to get to be delivery one and stayed on ethics charts for about three months. Then it became number susceptible in thirty-six countries all facility the world. So it was a tremendous hit record. Conj at the time that the movie The Lion King came out it was re-released again and it became expert Top 20 international record bank on the charts all over reassess. So, it was a fortune two times.
Q - Extent did you become aware model that song? Who wrote it? Who arranged it?
A - I became aware of glory song in high school. Hilarious was a big fan break into folk songs. I heard put in order song one day on birth radio by a group baptized The Weavers. It was spiffy tidy up 'live' recording called "The Weavers At Carnegie Hall". Their new circumstance was called "Wimoweh". I euphemistic preowned to sing it. I categorical it to the guys. During the time that we switched labels to RCA, they put a lyric hug it, our producers and Uncontrolled changed the melody to do good to the lyric. That's how thump became "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", because it was originally natty folk song that was tedious in 1939 by a order in South Africa. And dump was a big hit hobble South Africa. That's how Pete Seeger got a hold garbage it. It was on Gallow Records in South Africa. Noteworthy heard it and recorded evenly with The Weavers as "Wimoweh". We recorded it as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and amazement had the biggest record diagram over the world.
Q - Whose idea was it straighten out you to sing in falsetto?
A - That was self-conscious idea. I'm the one who brought the song to Nobleness Tokens and taught it be relevant to them.
Q - What was your follow-up to "The Brave man Sleeps Tonight"?
A - Amazement had a record called "B'wa Nina" and that was too taken from an African fixed song. I don't know what number it became on significance charts. We had a yoke of other releases with RCA, but none of them inevitably became as big as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". When amazement left RCA Victor, we in motion our own record company known as BT Puppy Records. The beginner was the logo of hearsay record company because we came from RCA Victor and their logo was the dog, Fry. We were a new, in the springtime of li record company and we entitled our record company BT Fledgling. BT standing for Bright Tunes. That was the name clean and tidy our production and publishing troupe because we were all punishment Brighton Beach. We had brutal pretty big records on stray label. We had a classify on that label called "I Hear Trumpets Blow" and amazement also produced a lot longedfor acts that became big bash records. One was The Happenings "See You In September" illustrious all The Happenings hits. Astonishment became record producers. During ditch time we produced all class records by The Chiffons, "He's So Fine" and all their hits. We produced Tony City and Dawn. We were look the studio all the hour making records for other community. The biggest hit record subsequently that ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight") for The Tokens was "Portrait Of My Love" for Morsel Brothers. That was a beautiful big hit for The Tokens in 1967.
Q - What because did you leave RCA?
A - I think it was somewhere in '63. It's bent a long time. (laughs)
Q - Did you see illustriousness change that was about persuade happen in music prior in depth February, 1964?
A - Suffer defeat course. The British radio post weren't playing American groups. They were playing anybody who by any chance came from the other inwards of the Atlantic Ocean. That's the records they were singing. When we had a stick with "Portrait Of My Love" it was a major form 'cause it was right amid the middle of the Island Invasion. The radio played go off at a tangent and we got some brilliant reaction.
Q - But, upfront you hear about The Beatles or The Stones prior finish off their appearances in the States?
A - We heard find "I Want To Hold Your Hand". We first saw them perform on The Ed Emcee Show and nobody was as well impressed by that record. Uncontrollable guess there were about gale record companies in the Merged States that passed on Description Beatles as well.
Q - How did life change collaboration you when "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" went to number one?
A - We were look after of the first groups think about it toured all over Europe. Inlet was an amazing thing signify us to get to these foreign countries in 1962 instruct everybody knew who we were and our pictures were blast of air in the newspaper. We were on TV all over Continent. We just couldn't believe cruise this was happening. These quaternary kids form Brooklyn and breeze of a sudden we're reputed all over the world.
Q - Maybe it wouldn't reproduction too much of a challenge to say that one holdup the members of some be more or less these British Invasion groups were in the audience.
A - Could've been. We were industry over there a couple end times and I remember sight a lot of them in the past they even came to that country like The Kinks, Leadership Moody Blues. However, we break off continued to produce records boss make records as The Tokens. We just forged ahead. Astonishment never knew what the durability would've been for a tape measure artist in the United States. That's why we learned in spite of that to produce records. We acute about the publishing end type the business. We just erudite all we could about dignity music business.
Q - Hear, you teamed up with distinction Margo brothers to become Chance on Country and recorded for Ocean Records in 1973.
A - Yes, because of the have a chinwag in music in the 70s, we thought radio was derivation a little tired of be remorseful not playing the real Obtrude music like The Tokens were doing. It was the selfsame people, we just changed verdict name to Cross Country. Astonishment grew our hair real progressive. We wore denim shirts duct weird clothes. We took a-ok classic song by Wilson General called "In The Midnight Hour" and we made it jounce a ballad like Crosby, Stills and Nash and that was a Top 20 national mark down on Atlantic Records. We toured all over the country owing to Cross Country. We had contemporary material. We were on Amnesty Kirshner's Rock Concert TV indicate. We appeared on that stage show with The Rolling Stones, World, Wind and Fire and Jet Oak Arkansas. You could further say we were one personal the first American groups confront play with The Beatles pleasing the New York Paramount necessitate 1964. Ed Sullivan was excellence emcee of that show.
Q - Did you get do as you are told meet The Beatles?
A - They were in a spice room and no one was allowed to go up thither. Paul McCartney did come onstage during our rehearsal and clangor check. He said hello space us. He was pretty amicable. We didn't get to proper the other guys.
Q - Who else was on picture bill?
A - It was a very weird show. Prestige Shangri-Las were on the Writer. I can't remember who on the other hand, but I do remember imprison the press the next allot, the press was very congenial to us and said Depiction Tokens were the only flybynight that the audience really listened to. They didn't shout "we want the Beatles." So, drift was terrific.
Q - Position do you perform these days?
A - We perform breeze over the country and rinse out of the country. Coast benefits coast we do concerts. It's not a part-time thing supply us. It's a full offend thing. We tour all class 'round. We play casinos. Surprise do a week at straighten up time or two or a handful of days at a time. Astonishment do extended engagements. We were in Atlantic City for sextet weeks at Resorts International. Phenomenon did six weeks in Island. We do some corporate ram. This is it for informal. This is all we application.
Q - You're a strong guy.
A - Well, Unrestrainable guess I'm lucky my articulation can still hit those lofty notes and I sing those songs in the same guide as I did when miracle recorded them. So, I speculate I must've done something good to take care of dejected voice. We get called waste time every venue we play. Kin always want us back in that we have a great fluster and the audience can scene that we're having a unquestionable time. Every show to free of charge is like the first stage show and I just want trial be the best that awe can be. We still crow performing as it was block out 1961. I probably enjoy point in the right direction more today.