"Egyptian Shumba" is a song by American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

the Tammys, released as a single in November 1963 on

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

Composition

"Egyptian Shumba" is a fast-paced, two- chord

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song in the tradition of the

fad dance Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance cr ...

hits that were popular during the 1950s and 1960s, such as " The Twist", "

Mashed Potato Time "Mashed Potato Time" is a 1962 single written by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe, and performed by Dee Dee Sharp, with backing vocals by The Orlons, on her debut album ''It's Mashed Potato Time''. The song refers to the Mashed Potato (dance), Mashed Pota ...

" and "

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a pop music, pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is espec ...

". The song is notable for its "crazed"

musical arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

—the work of Garry Sherman—which served as a vehicle to "unleash the barbaric-adolescent spirit" of the Tammys. It opens with a "pseudo-

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

that has been compared to the use of the

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since develop ...

garage-rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

, and was presumably inspired by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs' "

Sugar Shack "Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack. McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards". The song was recorded in 1963 ...

", the highest-charting single of 1963. The group's high-pitched, nasal harmonies have been compared to those of

the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...

, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Andrew Leahey referring to them as their "

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and farther uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. The Brill Building hous ...

equivalent". Like other

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

tracks from the era, "Egyptian Shumba"'s lyrics are brief and inconsequential. The group begins singing "shimmy shimmy shimmy shy-yi meece-e-deece", followed by the first

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

: "Last night I dreamed I was on the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

/Dancing with you Egyptian style/Way down in Egypt land/The mummies took our hand". Throughout the entirety of the track, a

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

erated guitar is constantly

bending In applied mechanics, bending (also known as flexure) characterizes the behavior of a slender structural element subjected to an external Structural load, load applied perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis of the element. The structural eleme ...

on a single string, conveying a "feeling of

delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

". The song's energetic

drumming Drumming may refer to: * the act of playing the drums or other percussion instruments * Drummer, a musician who plays a drum, drum kit, or drums * ''Drumming'' (Reich), a musical composition written by Steve Reich in 1971 for percussion ensemble ...

has been described as "troglodytic" and "head-splitting". The overall instrumentation was compared to that of

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

's "

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

". In the song's famous

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, the girls' vocals go from being "perky" and "sweet-sounding" to "shrieking, yelping and grunting like nut-jobs", in what has been considered a mimic of monkey screams. Nitsuh Abebe of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' wrote: "The Tammys bop hard and bratty, but by the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

they're literally growling, barking, and squealing like sexed-up hyenas; in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

you can hear them shudder and jerk their way into a frenzy." Likewise, Wayne Bledsoe of the ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

'' wrote that the song is "filled with yelps and whoops that are nearly orgasmic." Writing for the ''

Observer–Reporter The ''Observer–Reporter'' is a daily newspaper covering Washington County, Greene County, and the Mon Valley in Pennsylvania, with some overlap into the South Hills of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylv ...

'', Brad Hundt felt that the shrieks were "very reminiscent" of

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

's 1970s work. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' considered "Egyptian Shumba" to be "the closet the irl group genreever got to ripping-up-the-rulebook

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

panache". It has also been described as "a template for garage-rock abandon barely held together by bubblegum and hairbands." However, Jaime Cristóbal of ''Jenesaispop'' noted that the track's sound and energy "undoubtedly originated not so much from a sudden

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

spirit but rather from an attempt to achieve a

novelty hit 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 ...

." In like manner, Johnny Black of '' Q'' called it "little more than a typical '60s novelty platter".

Release and reception

"Egyptian Shumba" was released as a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

in February 1964 on

. It featured "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, a teen-angst song written by

Larry Kusik Larry Kusik (also known as Larry Kusic) is a lyricist. He is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics for the tune " Speak Softly Love", the love theme from the 1972 film ''The Godfather''. He has also written lyrics to many other movie themes, in ...

Eddie Snyder Edward Abraham Snyder (February 22, 1919 – March 10, 2011) was an American composer and songwriter. Snyder is credited with co-writing the English language lyrics and music for Frank Sinatra's 1966 hit, "Strangers in the Night". Snyder was bor ...

, Joan Babbitt and Phyllis St. James. A contemporary review in '' Cashbox'' read: "Teen lark threesome could make a chart stand with this engaging teen-dance romp. It's wild, whacky and original. Watch it." Another review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the song as a "way-out rocking ballad with a rendition that seems to go out of its way to be noisy", while noting that "that could be the sound which will make this disk step out of the pack." Despite being a local

top-40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top ...

hit in Pittsburgh and a top-30 hit in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, the single failed to chart nationally.

Legacy

"Egyptian Shumba" has grown to become an

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

. During the 2000s, "Egyptian Shumba" became a cult favorite at

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

dances. While reviewing the 2005 compilation ''One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found'', Jeremiah Tucker of ''

The Joplin Globe ''The Joplin Globe'' is a seven-day digital edition and five-day print edition daily newspaper published in Joplin, Missouri, United States, covering parts of 14 counties in southwestern Missouri. Ottaway Community Newspapers owned the ''Globe' ...

'' described it as "one of the most peculiar girl group songs I've ever heard, sounding like the modern

freak folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. ...

ers the

Animal Collective Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore County, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is cha ...

produced the song". He also felt that "it would blow the minds of indie-music blogs everywhere if released today." Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Joseph Ridgwell called it "the best girl group song ever", praising it as "breathtaking, foot-stomping, soul-shaking" and "mesmerising". Writing a special feature on the Records You've Never Heard But Probably Should for

in 2008, Andrew Leahey felt that the song's hook was "perhaps some of the wildest, sex-crazed moments in the history of forgotten pop" and concluded: "Forty five years later, the song still sounds electric; it must've sounded positively ''nuclear'' back then." In 2006, ''

'' placed "Egyptian Shumba" at number 177 on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 1960s, with Nitsuh Abebe writing in its entry: "It's not just that this girl group's gone wilder than any garage band on the list—it's that they're ''possessed''." In 2012, it placed on number seventeen on ''

''s list of 20 Forgotten 60s Girl Groups, with the publication calling it "one of the strangest and most flawless girl group tracks ever laid to tape". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked it thirty fifth on the magazine's 2017 list of the 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. In the song's entry, Joe Lynch noted that the track "missed the charts but guaranteed its place in the cult canon by virtue of sheer insanity." Jaime Cristóbal of ''Jenesaispop'' noted that, although the influence of such an unknown record cannot be objectively deduced, it "is still fascinating to draw a genealogical line" between "Egyptian Shumba" and songs like

the Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

' "

Walk Like an Egyptian "Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song by the American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released in September 1986 as the third single from the band's second studio album, '' Different Light'' (1986). It was the band's first number one single, being ...

", as well as "any punk band in which a group of women has unleashed similar fierce screams, from

the Go-Go’s ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

through

the Raincoats The Raincoats are a British post-punk band formed in 1977. They were founded by Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) while the two were students at Hornsey College of Art in London. Other prominent members have included ...

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...

or the 5678's." Likewise, Keith Harris wrote in the ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...

'' that the Tammys' "squiggly harmonies and delirious yelps seem to point toward

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

punks like

Liliput LiLiPUT, initially known as Kleenex, were a Swiss punk rock band formed in Zürich in 1978. The band experienced numerous line-up changes throughout their existence, with bassist Klaudia Schiff being the only constant member of the band over the ...

and the Raincoats", and the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

''s Scott Mervis called the track a "

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

prototype". Several critics have taken the song as a precursor to the work of new wave band

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

, with ''Billboard''s Joe Lynch noting that the Tammys "successfully combined musical

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

with unhinged screaming 15 years before

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

debut." "Egyptian Shumba" was covered by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Black Kids Black Kids are an American indie rock band. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2006, the group consists of singer/guitarist Reggie Youngblood, keyboardists/backup singers Ali Youngblood and Dawn Watley, bassist Owen Holmes, and drummer Kevin Sn ...

in 2008, with frontman Reggie Youngblood calling it "quite possibly the most punk thing I've ever heard in my life".

References

External links

* "" Lou Christie & The Tammys Official * "" @EgyptianShumba Official Twitter * "" at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

(list of releases) * "" at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Utilizing a music recommender system known as "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm creates a detailed profile of each user's musical preferences by recording the details of the tracks they ...

* "{{url, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-tammys/egyptian-shumba-whats-so-sweet-about-sweet-sixteen/, Egyptian Shumba" at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online encyclopedia of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also features comm ...

1963 songs 1964 singles Songs written by Lou Christie Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements American pop songs Songs written by Twyla Herbert

Composition

Release and reception

Legacy

See also

References

External links