There is a clear resemblance between the riff and the French song
Colin prend sa hotte (published by
Christophe Ballard in 1719), whose first five notes are identical.
Colin prend sa hotte appears to be derived from the lost
Kradoudja, an Algerian folk song of the 17th century. The melody was described as an "Arabian Song" in the
La grande méthode complète de cornet à piston et de saxhorn par Arban, first published in 1864.
Sol Bloom, a showman (and later a U.S. congressman), published the song as the entertainment director of the
World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. It included an attraction called "A Street in Cairo" produced by Gaston Akoun, which featured snake charmers, camel rides and a scandalous dancer known as
Little Egypt. Songwriter
James Thornton penned the words and music to his own version of this melody, "Streets Of Cairo or The Poor Little Country Maid". Copyrighted in 1895, it was made popular by his wife Lizzie Cox, who used the stage name
Bonnie Thornton. The oldest known recording of the song is from 1895, performed by
Dan Quinn (Berliner Discs 171-Z). ==In popular culture==