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"Misirlou" (Greek: Μισιρλού < Turkish: Mısırlı 'Egyptian' < Arabic: مصر Miṣr 'Egypt') is a traditional song from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The earliest recordings of the song are a 1919 Egyptian composition called Bint Misr and a 1927 Greek rebetiko composition influenced by Middle-Eastern music. There are also traditional Arabic (belly dancing), Jewish (klezmer), Armenian, Persian and Turkish versions of the song.
"Misirlou" gained worldwide popularity through Dick Dale & His Del-Toness 1962 American surf rock version, originally titled "Miserlou", which popularized the song in Western popular culture. During a performance, Dale was bet by a young fan that he could not play a song on only one string of his guitar. Dale's father and uncles were Lebanese-American musicians, and Dale remembered seeing his uncle play "Misirlou" on one string of the oud. He vastly increased the song's tempo to make it into rock and roll.
"Misirlou" gained renewed popularity through its use in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction and again through its sampling in The Black Eyed Peas song "Pump It" (2006) and Mad Men: "The Jet Set" (2008).The beginning of the song also made an appearance in the 1996 film Space Jam, during a short scene parodying Pulp Fiction, with Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam portraying Vincent Vega and Jules Winfield.
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