When I was going through the box of vinyl that inspired my series “Turntables & Vinyl”, there were quite a few 45 singles.  One of those singles was from a comedian that released a single about King Tutankhamun (King Tut).  That person was Steve Martin.  The “Wild & Crazy” guy is quite talented and he can kill it on the banjo.  He can also sing (don’t let this song be the judge of that singing though).  There is no banjo playing on this version sadly, but on the flip side you will here it.

The song was a satire of how the King Tut artifacts were turned into a traveling museum that went around the world back in the 1970’s for people to see and experience.  Apparently, Steve found this funny at how popular the exhibit was and how commercialized it had become.  I guess he thought he might as well capitalize on its popularity as well.

The song was released in 1978 and actually did quite well as it sold over one million copies and charted as high as #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.  One cool fact is the band backing him were members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and they called themselves the Toot UnCommons for this project (get it!!).

And if you want to see the comedy sketch he did on Saturday Night Live you can click on the link below.

http://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3159116ba5980aede3e81fc0dadf735e

The B Side of the 45 contained the songs “Sally Goodin” and “Hoedown at Alice’s”.  I mentioned that Steve can play the banjo earlier. On Side B, you get to hear how great a banjo player he really is.  The youtube videos below are the two songs on the B Side.

Below are the lyrics to “King Tut” and as you can see they are quite ridiculous on their own, but with the song they work so well.

“KING TUT”

(King Tut)
(King Tut)
Now when he was a young man,
He never thought he’d see
(King Tut)
People stand in line to see the boy king.
(King Tut)
How’d you get so funky?
(Funky Tut)
Did you do the monkey?
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia
(King Tut).

(King Tut)
Now, if I’d known
They’d line up just to see him,
(King Tut)
I’d taken all my money
And bought me a museum.
(King Tut)

Buried with a donkey
(Funky Tut)
He’s my favorite honkey!
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia
(King Tut)

(Tut, Tut)
Dancin’ by the Nile,
(Disco Tut, Tut)
The ladies love his style,
(Boss Tut, Tut)
Rockin’ for a mile
(Rockin’ Tut, Tut)
He ate a crocodile.

He gave his life for tourism.
Golden idol!
He’s an Egyptian.

They’re selling you!

Now, when I die,
Now don’t think I’m a nut,
(King Tut)
Don’t want no fancy funeral,
Just one like ole king Tut.
(King Tut)
He coulda won a Grammy,
(King Tut)
Buried in his Jammies,
(King Tut)
Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia,
He was born in Arizona, got a condo made of stone-a,
(King Tut)