Solomon Linda sold "Mbube" for 10 shillings, and his daughters seized Disney's South African trademarks to win a share of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

In 1939 Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant worker, recorded "Mbube" in Johannesburg's first recording studio. He assigned his worldwide copyright to Gallo Record Company for 10 shillings. The record sold more than 100,000 copies by 1949. The melody became "Wimoweh" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which was used in Disney's The Lion King. The journalist Rian Malan estimated the song earned about US$15 million from the film. Linda died in 1962 with less than $25 in the bank. His family took 18 years to put up a tombstone. His lawyers said the family received R140,000 from all users between 1992 and 2001. They used section 5(2) of the 1911 Imperial Copyright Act, under which copyright an author assigned reverted to his estate 25 years after his death. In July 2004 the estate's executor attached more than 240 Disney trademarks registered in South Africa, including Mickey Mouse. In September 2004 Judge Hekkie Daniels in the Pretoria High Court refused to lift the attachment. Days before the trial set for 21 February 2006, the heirs settled with Disney and Abilene Music. Linda was credited as co-composer, the heirs received payment for past uses and a share of future royalties, and a trust was set up. The amount is secret. His surviving daughters are Delphi, Elizabeth and Fildah.