EP · They Might Be Giants
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) by They Might Be Giants
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) is an EP by They Might Be Giants, released in 1992. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 15 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “The Guitar”, on 15 lists with a best position of #88.
"The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", released by Elektra on March 24, 1992, was one of the singles pulled from Apollo 18, the fourth They Might Be Giants album, a record tied to International Space Year, for which NASA had named the duo official musical ambassadors. Its title nods to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", and John Flansburgh and John Linnell run the idea through their usual funhouse mirror.
Apollo 18 was the record where the two Johns set out on purpose to move past their early sound, going for more conventional rock rhythms and fuller arrangements, and it was the last album they made as just a duo before bringing in a backing band. Of its three singles, "The Guitar" was one of only two that charted, alongside "The Statue Got Me High".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Guitar | 15 | #88 | – | 1992–2014 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.