The Lion King (soundtrack)

The Lion King
Soundtrack album by Elton John and Hans Zimmer
Released	May 31, 1994
Recorded	January 1993 - April 1994 Media Ventures, Los Angeles Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles Snake Ranch, London Angel Studios, London BOP studios, Mmabatho
Genre	Rhythmic, world beat, pop
Length	46:21
Label	Walt Disney
Producer	Hans Zimmer, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Chris Thomas
Walt Disney Animation Studios chronology
Aladdin (1992) The Lion King (1994) Pocahontas (1995)
Elton John chronology
Duets (1993) The Lion King (1994) Chartbusters Go Pop (1994)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
allmusic
Filmtracks
Vox	(3/10)

The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the original motion picture soundtrack for Walt Disney's 1994, 32nd animated feature The Lion King. It contains songs from the film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. Elton John has a dual role of performer for several tracks. Additional performers include Carmen Twillie, Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and Sally Dworsky. The album was released on July 13, 1994 on CD and audio cassette. The soundtrack was recorded in three different countries: the USA, the UK and South Africa. There is also an unreleased complete score CD, entitled The Lion King 2005 Expanded Score^{[citation needed]}.

Composition

Lyricist Tim Rice, who was working with composer Alan Menken on songs for Aladdin, was invited to write the songs, and accepted on the condition of finding a composing partner. As Menken was unavailable, the producers accepted Rice's suggestion of Elton John, after Rice's invitation of ABBA fell through due to Benny Andersson being busy with the musical Kristina från Duvemåla.

Track listing

Standard edition

1. "Circle of Life" – 4:00

   Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Carmen Twillie; African vocals performed by Lebo M and his African chorus with Mbongeni Ngema

2. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" – 2:50

   Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Jason Weaver with Rowan Atkinson and Laura Williams

3. "Be Prepared" – 3:40

   Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Jeremy Irons with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings

4. "Hakuna Matata" – 3:33

   Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella with Jason Weaver and Joseph Williams

5. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" – 2:57

   Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Joseph Williams and Sally Dworsky with Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella and Kristle Edwards

6. "This Land" – 2:55

   Instrumental by Hans Zimmer

7. "...To Die For" – 4:17

   Instrumental by Hans Zimmer

8. "Under the Stars" – 3:45

   Instrumental by Hans Zimmer

9. "King of Pride Rock" – 5:59

   Instrumental by Hans Zimmer

10. "Circle of Life" – 4:51

    Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Elton John

11. "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" – 3:36

    Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Elton John

12. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight (End Title)" – 3:59

    Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice, Performed by Elton John

Special edition

On September 30, 2003, Disney released a Special Edition of the soundtrack with two newly-added tracks:

13. "The Morning Report" - James Earl Jones, Jeff Bennett, Evan Saucedo
14. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Remix)" - Elton John

In addition, on the same day, a vinyl record picture disc of the original soundtrack was released in a limited edition of 4,000.

International editions

In most international releases of the CD, Elton John's versions were removed except for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight (End Title)." In addition, a previously unreleased track from Hans Zimmer's score was included, entitled "Hyenas (Instrumental)".

B-sides

Song	Format
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Instrumental Version)"	Can You Feel the Love Tonight 7"/CD (UK)

Chart positions

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1994	The Billboard 200	1

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard 200	21

Awards and acclaim

The soundtrack has managed to ship over 10 million copies in the U.S. and eventually went 10x Platinum (diamond record) in 1995, thus becoming the biggest selling soundtrack ever from an animated film.

In 2010, Rhapsody (online music service) called it one of the all-time great Disney & Pixar Soundtracks.

Academy Awards

Award	Recipient
Best Original Score	Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight")	Elton John Tim Rice
Nominated:
Best Original Song ("Circle of Life")	Elton John Tim Rice
Best Original Song ("Hakuna Matata")	Elton John Tim Rice

Golden Globe Awards

Award	Recipient
Best Original Score	Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight")	Elton John Tim Rice
Nominated:
Best Original Song ("Circle of Life")	Elton John Tim Rice

Award and album chart succession

Awards
Preceded by Schindler's List	Academy Award for Best Original Score 1994	Succeeded by Best Dramatic Score Il postino (The Postman)
Preceded by Heaven & Earth	Golden Globe for Best Original Score 1994	Succeeded by A Walk in the Clouds
Preceded by Purple by Stone Temple Pilots Me Against the World by 2Pac	Billboard 200 number-one album July 16 - September 16, 1994 April 29 - May 5, 1995	Succeeded by II by Boyz II Men Throwing Copper by Live

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States