The Sheik of Araby

Origin

Reception

• The Huntington Press wrote, "The song hit "The Sheik of Araby" is being sung and played by millions of music lovers throughout the country. The melody has the whole town by the ears. It is being played by dance orchestras everywhere."
• The Orlando Sentinel wrote, "That's the way it goes! They're all singing it! The whole bally town is echoing and re-echoing to the strains of that raging song hit "The Sheik of Araby" — the song of the desert chief that has the whole nation by the ears. It's being played in ten thousand homes and club houses. The pianos tinkle it — guitars and banjos are strumming it — and the phonographs are reeling it off in a flood of jazzy melody. It's hit the town like a cloudburst of harmony."

  Notable recordings and performances

• Recordings by Ray Miller and the Club Royal Orchestra charted, each peaking at #3 in 1922.
• Eddie Cantor performed it in his revue Make It Snappy in April 1922.
• Jack Teagarden recorded it in 1939
• In November 1936, Don Albert's band recorded the first version with the chant "with no pants on" between the lines of lyrics.
• Alice Faye and Betty Grable performed the song in the 1940 film Tin Pan Alley
• Spike Jones
• Louis Prima frequently sang it as a medley with "When You're Smiling".
• The Everly Brothers recorded the song in 1961.
• The Beatles covered this song in 1962 at their unsuccessful Decca audition with George Harrison as the lead singer and Pete Best on the drums. The band based their arrangement on a version released by Joe Brown and The Bruvvers the year before. The Beatles' recording can be found on Anthology 1.
• Leon Redbone's recording was featured in an episode of Boardwalk Empire.
• Tim Armstrong in June 2013 for his project Tim Timebomb and Friends
• Jean Shepherd frequently sang the song during musical interludes on his radio show.
• The song was featured in Heaven Can Wait and in Valentino with words of parody by Ken Russell, performed by Chris Ellis.

  Related song

• In 1926, to go with the film The Son of the Sheik, Ted Snyder worked parts of the melody into "That Night in Araby", a related song with words by Billy Rose.