Based on the 1994 animated film of the same name, The Lion King features music by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice; there is additional music by Hans Zimmer, Lebo M., Jay Rifkin, and Julie Taymor. Julie Taymor also directed the ground-breaking musical which opened on Broadway on October 15, 1997.  Produced by Disney Theatrical, The Lion King won eight of its 11 Drama Desk Awards nominations and six of it’s 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.  As of July 2017, The Lion King is Broadway's highest-grossing show.

There are 24 tracks on this album: Tracks 1-12 contain the background tracks and guide vocals; tracks 13-24 contain the accompaniment tracks alone. This album is a re-recording in the original show key and show tempo.