July 6, 2025 would have been Merv Griffin's 100th birthday if he was still alive (he died in 2007). While he's best known creating two of the greatest game shows ever invented, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, he had so much more going for him; he was also a talented singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, and overall media mogul. To celebrate, here is a song he helped make famous, even though it wasn't his to start with: "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts."

This is a novelty song composed in 1944 (as "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts") by Fred Heatherton, a songwriting pseudonym for a collaboration of English songwriters Harold Elton Box and Desmond Cox, with Lewis Ilda (itself a pseudonym of American songwriter Irwin Dash). The song was published by Box and Cox Publications (ASCAP).

If you're a fan of the Disney film "The Lion King" (and I'm referring to the original 1994 animated version, not the 2019 remake), you might remember the scene where Zazu sings this to Scar, although he doesn't want to sing anything at first. ("Oh, I never had to do this with Mufasa," he moans.)

My version uses a modified big band template:

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Sax section (2 altos, 2 tenors, 1 baritone)
4 B-flat trumpet parts
4 trombone parts
Jazz guitar
Piano
Acoustic bass
Drum set
Vibraphone

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This arrangement © me and me alone
Additional information provided by Wikipedia
Original music © Box and Cox Publications, and everyone else who owns the rights. Multiple versions have been done over the years, but my arrangement is based on the one sung by the legendary Merv Griffin.
The Lion King © The Walt Disney Company

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I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqEmAsUXVJY (as sung by Merv Griffin)

Zazu sings the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VykxB7MMTWs (The Lion King)

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UPDATES: Now in scraps.