Walk like an Egyptian

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"Walk Like an Egyptian"
Single by The Bangles
from the album Different Light
Released	December 1986
Format	Vinyl record (7")
Recorded	Sunset Sound Factory (1985)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:21
Label	Columbia
Producer(s)	David Kahne
Chart positions
#1 (Australia, Germany, Netherlands, U.S.) #2 (Ireland) #3 (UK) #6 (Austria) #8 (Switzerland)
The Bangles singles chronology
"If She Knew What She Wants" (1986)	Walk Like an Egyptian	"Walking Down Your Street" (1986)

This article is about the song. For the dance that pre-dates the song see Walking like an Egyptian.

Walk Like an Egyptian is a U.S. number-one hit from the album Different Light by The Bangles in 1986.

Contents 1 History 2 Trivia 3 Track listing 4 Charts 5 Covers 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History

Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance as figures do in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, "All the old paintings on the tombs/They do the sand dance don't you know". The reference to the sand dance possibly refers to a music hall routine performed by Wilson, Keppel and Betty where Wilson and Keppel danced around in the postures portrayed on the reliefs wearing the fez while Betty watched. The music video for "Walk Like an Egyptian" similarly featured people dancing in such a pose. ^[1]

The perception that ancient Egyptians normally walked in such a way has been reflected in other items of popular culture such as the song "King Tut" performed by comedian Steve Martin and the King Tut Strut. Ancient Egyptian sculptures reflect the subjects walking normally.

Sternberg offered his song to Toni Basil, who turned it down. David Kahne, the producer of Different Light, took the song to The Bangles who agreed to record it. ^[2] Kahne had each member of the group sing the lyrics to determine who would sing each verse with Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele each singing lead vocals on a verse in the final version.

"Walk Like An Egyptian" was released as the third single from Different Light. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1986. The song reached a peak of number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1986 and reached number one in the U.S. on December 20, staying at the top of the Hot 100 for four weeks, carrying it over into January, 1987. The song is the first song by an all female group playing their own instruments to top the Billboard. ^[3] The success of the song and "Manic Monday" propeled Different Light to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the group's most successful album. ^[4]

"Walk Like An Egyptian" was one of a List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks, presumably due to its reference to Egypt. ^[5]

[edit] Trivia

On the American Top 40 Top 100 of 1987 radio show, host Casey Kasem reported the song was added to album as a joke, to which he added, "Some joke. Here's the punchline: The Bangles' sand dance of the ancient pharaohs walks away with the pyramid prize of the year!" contrasting how the song was added to the album with how popular it became, as it topped the year-end Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, which is the chart American Top 40 was using at the time.

[edit] Track listing

Side	Title	Length
A	"Walk Like An Egyptian"	3:21
B	"Angels Don't Fall In Love"	3:21

[edit] Charts

Chart	Date	Position	Certification
Billboard Hot 100	December 20, 1986	#1 (4 weeks) [6]
United Kingdom	September 1986	#3 [7]	Silver [8]
The Netherlands	December 6, 1986	#1 (5 weeks) [9]	Platinum [10]
Germany	December 1986	#1 [11]
Australian Singles Chart	February 14, 1987	#1 (2 weeks - not consecutive)
Ireland	October 12, 1986	#2 [12]
Austria	February 1, 1987	#6 [13]
Switzerland	January 18, 1987	#8 [14]

[edit] Covers

The British rock group The Laddz use the tone of the song for support of the England National Football Team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in a chant called "Chant Like an English Fan."

Another cover of the song was done by the German punk rock band Die Ärzte who wrote German lyrics to the original melody and called their cover "Geh'n wie ein Ägypter" which also features The Incredible Hagen on vocals.

The Italian rock band Linea 77 produced a metal version of this track.

A cover recorded by Eric Mouquet and Deep Forest Featuring Beverly Jo Scott can be found on the soundtrack for Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre.

There is also a cover recorded by the Egyptian singer Hakim, featuring a singer named Cleopatra. This cover is included on the album Desert Roses 3.

[edit] References

Additional sources used:

• All Music Guide song review
• Jay Warner, On This Day in Music History: Over 2000 Popular Music Facts Covering Every Day of the Year Hal Leonard 2004 ISBN 0-634-06693-5 pages 272, 321, 356

[edit] See also

• Walking like an Egyptian.

[edit] External links

• The Bangles official website

Preceded by "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range

Billboard Hot 100 number one single December 20, 1986- January 10, 1987

Succeeded by "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott