The Tokens
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The Tokens were an American male doo-wop vocal group from Brooklyn, New York. They are perhaps best-known for their chart-topping 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
[edit] Career
The original version of the group was formed in 1955 at Brooklyn's Lincoln High School. Featuring Neil Sedaka, Hank Medress, Eddie Rabkin, and Cynthia Zolitin, the group was known as the Linc-Tones. After Rabkin was replaced by Jay Siegel in 1956, the Linc-Tones recorded their first single. Two years later, Sedaka and Zolitin left the band; Sedaka would go on to make a name for himself as a popular solo artist, and singer-songwriter, during the 1960s and 1970s. By 1960, the classic group line-up was in place, containing Siegel, Medress, Phil Marocola and Mitch Margo. The group renamed itself The Tokens.
In early 1961, The Tokens released a single for Warwick Records entitled "Tonight I Fell In Love," which went to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spurred them to an appearance on American Bandstand. This proved to be a prelude to the unleashing of their signature song for RCA, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (which had earlier been recorded by South African artist Solomon Linda, as well as U.S. folk group The Weavers). Jay Siegel's characteristic lead vocals helped the song rise all the way to #1, where it remained for three weeks.
From 1962 to 1970, the group would put nine more songs in the Top 100, including "I Hear Trumpets Blow" and "Portrait of My Love." They also began producing for other artists, such as The Chiffons. In 1973, Siegel teamed with the Margo Brothers to form the group Cross-Country; this trio had a minor hit with their cover of "In The Midnight Hour."
Today, Marocola and Margo continue to be the original members of The Tokens; indeed, Marocola still serves as the group's drummer.
[edit] Awards & Recognition
The Tokens were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.
