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 this ground-breaking musical which opened on Broadway on October 15, 1997.  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. The tracks on this album are fully-orchestrated.