Walk Like an Egyptian The Bangles

Walk Like an Egyptian features from the 1986 album Different Light by The Bangles. The song was written by Liam Sternberg, after he saw people on a ferry walking clumsily in order to maintain their balance in similar way to figures depicted in Ancient Egyptian relief. The reference to the sand dance in the opening which probably refers to a music hall performance by Wilson, Keppel and Betty, whereby Wilson and Keppel danced in similar postures as depicted on the relief.

The music video for the song Walk Like an Egyptian featured people dancing in similar postures. Initially, Sternberg offered Walk Like an Egyptian to Toni Basil, who rejected it. Subsequently, David Kahne - Different Lights producer, approached The Bangles with the song, who agreed to record it. The final version of the song had Susanna Hoffs, Michael Steele and Vicki Peterson, each singing lead vocals on a verse.

The music video of Walk Like An Egyptian with Susanna Hoffs was released as Different Lights third single. In September 1986, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. November 1986 saw it reaching the highest position of number three on the UK Singles Chart; on December 20, it became number one in the U.S. and went on to top the Hot 100 for four weeks, till January, 1987.

Walk Like An Egyptian is the first song by an all female group playing their own instruments, to top the Billboard. Propelled by the success of this song and Manic Monday, Different Light went on to become the most successful album of the Bangles.

During the American Top 40 Top 100 of 1987 radio show, host Casey Kasem jokingly remarked about The Bangles' sand dance of the prehistoric pharaohs walking away with the years pyramid prize. He hinted at the contrast of how the song was included in the album and how popular it became.

Walk Like An Egyptian was the last non-cover Top 40 hit by The Bangles that was not co-written by at least one of the band members. The song was however considered inappropriate by Clear Channel after the September 11, 2001 attacks, apparently because of its reference to Egypt. These findings were, by a long way, the most popular reports of the songs criticism.

Walk Like An Egyptian also sparked a joke in 1997, which teased the death of Dodi Fayed - Harrods heir and film producer, after he and Diana - Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash. Many websites mocked that Dodi had recorded a song by the name of Die Like an Egyptian. Walk Like an Egyptian