"King Tut" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

performed by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and the Toot Uncommons (actually members of the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constan ...

), about the Egyptian pharaoh

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

and the '' Treasures of Tutankhamun'' traveling exhibit that toured seven American cities from 1976 to 1979. It was first performed on

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

History and description

"King Tut" pays homage to Egyptian pharaoh

and presents a caricature of the '' Treasures of Tutankhamun'' traveling exhibit that toured seven American cities from 1976 to 1979. The exhibit attracted approximately eight million visitors. The song was released as a single in 1978, sold over a million copies, and reached number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song was also included on Martin's album '' A Wild and Crazy Guy''. Martin previewed the song in a live performance during the April 22, 1978 episode of ''

''. In this performance, loyal subjects appease a joyful King Tut with kitchen appliances. An instrumental solo is delivered by saxophone player

Lou Marini Louis William Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brot ...

, who steps out of a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...

—painted gold—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. Martin had brought the song to the show and asked if he could perform it, not expecting the production that occurred—producer

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

put everything behind it. The song is the subject of an analysis in Melani McAlister's 2001 book, ''Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East Since 1945.'' It is also referenced in a dialogue in the video game ''

The Lost Vikings ''The Lost Vikings'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Silicon & Synapse (now Blizzard Entertainment) and published by Interplay. It was originally released for the Super NES in 1993, then subsequently released for the Amiga, Amiga CD32, M ...

'' (1992) at the end of one of the Egyptian themed levels of the game. Chicago radio superstation

WLS-AM WLS (890 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Cumulus Media, through licensee Radio License Holdings LLC, the station airs a talk radio format. WLS has its radio studios in the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive ...

, which gave the song much airplay, ranked "King Tut" as the 11th biggest hit of 1978. It spent four weeks at the number-one position on their chart. This was not during the time the Tut exhibition was on display at the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

near downtown Chicago, which was April 15 - August 15, 1977. Martin has performed "King Tut" live in a bluegrass arrangement with the band

Steep Canyon Rangers Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina. Though formed in 2000, the band has become widely known since 2009 for collaborating with actor/banjoist Steve Martin. In 2013, the Steep Canyon ...

on several occasions. One of these performances was released on the 2011 album ''

Rare Bird Alert ''Rare Bird Alert'' is a 2011 bluegrass album by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, featuring guest appearances by Paul McCartney and The Chicks. This is Martin's second consecutive musical album, and comprises 13 songs. His first all-mu ...

''. In 2017, students in a humanities class at

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, protested the inclusion of the ''Saturday Night Live'' performance in their coursework, calling it an example of

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

while demanding its removal. One complained that the gold face of the saxophone player was a racist exhibition of

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* (official channel of Steve Martin) {{DEFAULTSORT:King Tut (Song) 1978 singles Steve Martin songs Novelty songs Songs about Egypt Songs about kings Cultural depictions of Tutankhamun 1978 songs Warner Records singles Race-related controversies in music