King Tut song

"King Tut" is a novelty song by Steve Martin and the Toot Uncommons (members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) that pays homage to Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun and the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibit, which toured seven U.S. cities from 1976 to 1979 and attracted eight million visitors. The song was released as a single in 1978, selling over a million copies and reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also appeared on Martin's album *A Wild and Crazy Guy*. Martin first performed the song live on *Saturday Night Live* on April 22, 1978, with an elaborate sketch featuring kitchen appliances as offerings to King Tut and a saxophone solo by Lou Marini emerging from a gold-painted sarcophagus. The production was one of the most expensive in SNL history at the time.

The song is analyzed in Melani McAlister's book *Epic Encounters* (2001) and referenced in the 1992 video game *The Lost Vikings*. Chicago radio station WLS-AM ranked "King Tut" as the 11th biggest hit of 1978, where it spent four weeks at number one. The song still receives regular airplay on Sirius XM's 70s on 7 station. Martin has performed "King Tut" in a bluegrass arrangement with the Steep Canyon Rangers, including a version released on the 2011 album *Rare Bird Alert*.