Walk Like An Egyptian (3:12)

“Walk Like an Egyptian” is a number-one hit from the album Different Light by The Bangles in 1986. Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance, which reminded him of figures in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, “All the old paintings on the tombs/They do the sand dance don’t you know”. The reference to the sand dance possibly refers to a music hall routine performed by Wilson, Keppel and Betty where Wilson and Keppel danced around in the postures portrayed on the reliefs wearing the fez while Betty watched.

David Kahne had each member of the group sing the lyrics to determine who would sing each verse, with Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele each singing lead vocals on a verse in the final version. Kahne did not like any of Debbi Peterson’s leads and she was relegated to backing vocals. This angered Peterson and caused tension within the group as she felt the rest of the group wasn’t being supportive to her, a fact that worsened when the drumming in the song is done by a drum machine instead of Peterson’s, further diminishing her role in the song.