| "King Tut" | |||||||||||
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| Single by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Sally Goodin" "Hoedown At Alice's" |
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| Released | April 28, 1978 | ||||||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl record | ||||||||||
| Genre | Comedy | ||||||||||
| Length | 2:10 | ||||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Steve Martin | ||||||||||
| Producer | William E. McEuen | ||||||||||
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"King Tut" is a novelty song performed by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons (actually members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). It was released as a single in 1978 and reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August of that year. Martin previewed the song in a live performance during the April 22, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live. The song was also included on Martin's album A Wild and Crazy Guy.
"King Tut" paid homage to Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun and presents a caricature of the sensational Treasures of Tutankhamun traveling exhibit that toured seven United States cities from 1976 to 1979. The exhibit attracted approximately eight million visitors. In the Saturday Night Live performance of "King Tut," loyal subjects appease a joyful King Tut with kitchen appliances. An instrumental solo is delivered by saxophone player (Lou Marini) who steps out of a sarcophagus to great laughter.
In the book Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live, authors Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad write that the sketch was one of the most expensive productions the show had attempted up to that point. Producer Lorne Michaels was hesitant to approve the special set, makeup, costumes, and dancers, but Martin insisted that the performance wouldn't be funny unless it were staged in an over-the-top manner.
The song is the subject of in-depth analysis in Melani McAlister's Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000.
External links
- Live performance of King Tut on the Saturday Night Live website
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