"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song recorded by the American band
the Bangles
The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...
. It was released in 1986 as the third single from the album ''
Different Light
''Different Light'' is the second studio album by American pop rock band the Bangles, released in January 1986. The album's Top 40 sound was a departure from their earlier 1960s-style rock'n'roll sound. It is their most successful album, reachin ...
''. It was the band's first number one single, being certified gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, and became
''Billboard'''s number-one song of 1987.
Composition
Liam Sternberg
Liam Sternberg (born July 28, 1949 in Akron, Ohio) is an American songwriter and producer who wrote the Bangles hit "Walk Like an Egyptian". Sternberg first got noticed as part of the late 1970s "Akron Sound" which included Devo and the Waitresses. ...
said he was inspired to create the song while on a ferry crossing the English Channel. When the vessel hit choppy water, passengers stepped carefully and moved their arms awkwardly while struggling to maintain their balance, and that reminded Sternberg of the depiction of human figures in
ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. He wrote the words "Walk like an Egyptian" in a notebook. Later, Sternberg looked back in the notebook, and composing the melody with a guitar, he put together an up-tempo song with lyrics about Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Nile River, crocodiles, desert sand, bazaars and hookah pipes and then segued into modern scenes of blond waitresses, school kids and police officers.
Recording
Sternberg finished a demo version by January 1984 with singer
Marti Jones
Marti Jones is an American singer and visual artist known for her albums (solo and with husband Don Dixon) and her paintings. She sings, records, and performs as "Marti Jones" and exhibits visual art as "Marti Jones Dixon."
Early life
Marti ...
. He offered it to
Toni Basil
Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...
, who turned it down.
Lene Lovich
Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Single ...
recorded the first version of the song, but it went unreleased when she decided to take a break from music to raise her family.
David Kahne
David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive.
Professional career
Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...
from
Peer Southern Publishing was the producer of ''Different Light''; he received a copy of the demo and liked it, especially Jones's "offhand quality".
Kahne took the song to the Bangles, who agreed to record it. He had each member of the group sing the lyrics to determine who would sing each verse;
Vicki Peterson
Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson Cowsill (born January 11, 1958) is an American rock musician and songwriter. She has been the lead guitarist for the Bangles since their foundation in 1981. After their first disbandment in 1989, she has returned ...
,
Michael Steele
Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...
, and
Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles.
Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...
sang lead vocals in the final version on the first, second, and third verses, respectively. Kahne disliked
Debbi Peterson
Deborah Mary Peterson (born August 22, 1961) is an American musician and the drummer of the band The Bangles. She sang lead vocals on two of the band's released singles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984) and " Be with You" (1989). She is the you ...
's leads, so she was relegated to backing vocals, which angered her and caused tension within the group. The situation was exacerbated by the use of a
drum machine in place of her drumming, further diminishing her role in the song. She can be seen playing the
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
during their 1986 performance on ''
The Old Grey Whistle Test
''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...
''. The
whistling
Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...
in the song was played by a machine.
Chart performance
"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
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in November 1986 and reached number one in the US on December 20, staying at the top of the Hot 100 for four weeks, carrying it over into January 1987. The success of the song and "
Manic Monday
"Manic Monday" is a song written by American musician Prince, but is better known from the version recorded by the American pop rock band the Bangles, which was the first single released from their second studio album, ''Different Light'' (198 ...
" propelled ''Different Light'' to number two on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart, making it the group's most successful album.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Walk Like an Egyptian" was nominated for
Best Group Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 by vocalis ...
at the
1987 MTV Video Music Awards. It features both the Bangles performing the song at a concert and scenes of people dancing in poses similar to those depicted in the Ancient Egyptian reliefs that inspired songwriter Liam Sternberg. Most of these people were filmed on the streets of New York City, although special effects were used to modify photos of
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
, and the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
.
In a popular scene from the video, Hoffs was filmed in a close-up where her eyes moved from side to side, looking left and right. When asked about the scene in an interview, Hoffs explained that she was looking at individual audience members during the video shoot, which took place with a live audience. Looking directly at individual audience members was a technique she used to overcome stage fright, and she was unaware that the camera had a close-up on her while she was employing this technique, switching between one audience member on her left and one on her right.
1990 re-release
In 1990, "Walk Like an Egyptian" was re-issued as a single in the UK to promote the Bangles' ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' album. It featured new remixes for the song called Ozymandias Remix. It charted at number 73 in the UK.
Airplay restrictions
"Walk Like an Egyptian" was one of the songs which were
claimed to have been banned by Clear Channel following
the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Snopes
''Snopes'' , formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a Fact checking, fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been see ...
in researching this found that the list was simply suggestions regarding songs to be sensitive about when deciding what to play. It was also included in a "list of records to be avoided" drawn up by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
The song was used as the theme of the ending credits of the Japanese animated series ''
''.
, Carter Pewterschmidt is shown listening to the song while singing different lyrics that relate to his life.
;1985 release
;;7" single
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (3:21)
#"Angels Don't Fall in Love" (3:21)
;;12" maxi
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (extended dance mix) (5:48)
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (dub mix) (5:17)
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (a capella mix) (2:47)
;1986 release
;;7" single
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (3:21)
#"Not Like You" (3:05)
;;12" maxi
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (extended dance mix) (5:48)
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (dub mix) (5:17)
#"Walk Like an Egyptian" (a cappella mix) (2:47)
#"Angels Don't Fall in Love" (3:21)