Tuesday, March 25, 2008

My Favorite Honky



In 1978 the world was amazed by the Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972-1979. This exhibition was first shown in London at the British Museum from March 30 until September 30, 1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queueing for up to eight hours and it was the most popular exhibition ever in the Museum. The exhibition moved on to many other countries, including the USA, USSR, Japan, France, Canada, and West Germany. The exhibition in the United States was organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and ran from November 17 1976 through April 15 1979. It was attended by more than eight million people in the United States.
Here is an excerpt from the site of the American National Gallery of Art:
"...55 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun included the boy-king's solid gold funeral mask, a gilded wood figure of the goddess Selket, lamps, jars, jewelry, furniture, and other objects for the afterlife. This exhibition established the term 'blockbuster.' A combination of the age-old fascination with ancient Egypt, the legendary allure of gold and precious stones, and the funeral trappings of the boy-king created an immense popular response. Visitors waited up to 8 hours before the building opened to view the exhibition. At times the line completely encircled the West Building."
Fascinating, no?
Yet, none of this is as important as King Tut, as sung by Steve Martin.


The original performance of King Tut by Steve Martin was telecast on the April 22, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live. A live performance of the song was later included on Martin's LP* A Wild and Crazy Guy. This was back when Steve Martin was one funny, funny bastard.
At dinner the other evening I was amazed (horrified) that two of our dining companions (ages 24 & 23) had NO IDEA that King Tut was EVER a song sung by the incomparable Steve Martin.
This was also true of two of my co-workers who, after I heard "King Tut" on MIKE-FM last week, promptly said "I've never heard of it."
This, my friends, is a travesty.
To rectify this situation, I present for your listening (and viewing!) enjoyment, King Tut.
He's my favorite honky.


*For all of you fetuses that have never known the joy of vinyl, LP stands for "Long Playing Record".

4 Comments:

Blogger Fox In Detox said...

King Tut... He could a won a grammy, King Tut...burried in his jammies. He was born in Arizona, moved to Babalonia, he was born in Arizona, gotta condo made of stone-a....

I remember Henry McManus playing that song over and over in his basement when we were in the 8th grade. Too funny. Thanks for the memories.

11:22 AM, March 25, 2008  
Blogger Andy said...

I remember George Withers playing this ad nauseum throughout the Spring of 1978 and I laughed every time.

This, and "Cruel Shoes".

8:28 AM, March 26, 2008  
Blogger Fox In Detox said...

Here's an assignment for you:

I want you to blog about a time when you got caught doing something really bad, and you just knew that the person who caught you was going to tell your parents...but they dragged it out so that the acid of your guilt would eat a hole in your guts as you anticipated the awesome weight of the anvil hanging above you, just waiting to fall and crush your skull.

Every kid has felt this at least once.

Ok, have fun!

2:32 PM, April 07, 2008  
Blogger Fox In Detox said...

Old McDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. Can you guess what he had on his farm? Here's a hint......

Bok bok...bgaaawk! Bok bok bok bgaaaawwwkkkk!

1:47 PM, April 08, 2008  

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