When the Pharoah
Tutankhammen exhibit toured the world in the late 1970s and captured the awe and curiosity of the public, comedian and song writer
Steve Martin saw it has his cultural duty to bring some serious awareness to the artifacts and life of the legendary Egyptian ruler. Seeking to educate people about "King Tut"'s reign as pharoah, Martin composed a song written in the ancient melodies and modalities of the ancient era. The song,
King Tut, swept up the
disco charts in 1978 and eventually became a number one single as performed by Martin and his band, the
Toot Uncommons. The arrow-headed comedian began performing the song live at his comedy shows and even performed it in full costume surrounded by backup dancers on
Saturday Night Live on the
April 22, 1978 edition of the show. The performance has since been immortalized on the album
A Wild And Crazy Guy and on the DVD release
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Steve Martin. The King Tut costume that Martin wore during the song's performance appears in a cameo on the
December 14, 1991 edition of
Saturday Night Live when
Chris Farley brings the costume out of storage for Martin to autograph, which then leads to Martin's nostalgia for days gone by and, as a result of that, the cast then performs the original song
Not Gonna Phone It In Tonight.
Born in Arizona
Got a condo made of stone-a
King Tut
References:
http://www.stevemartin.com