AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Bangles

Artist:Bangles
Song:Walk Like An Egyptian
Album:We Are The 80s





The girl group Bangles had a great run in the 80s. Walk Like An Egyptian was probably their biggest hit and Billboard named it the biggest hit of 1987. Bangles formed in 1981 when lead singer Susanna Hoffs placed an ad in the Los Angeles Recycler. She got a response from sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson. Vicki plays guitar and Debbi plays drums. The fourth member was bassist Annette Zilinskas. They called themselves The Bangs but changed it to Bangles when they found there was already a group called The Bangs. They released an EP on Miles Copeland's Faulty label and then they signed with Columbia Records in 1983 after Copeland closed Faulty. Annette left to form her own band. She was replaced by one time Runaways member Michael Steele. Their 1984 debut album All Over The Place did OK but there was no hit single. But they got the attention of Prince and he gave them the song Manic Monday which he had written for Appolonia 6. Manic Monday was the first single from the 1986 album Different Light. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by a cover of the Jules Shear song If She Knew What She Wants and then Walk Like An Egyptian. Producer Liam Sternberg wrote the song. Bangles producer David Kahne heard a demo and he had Bangles record it. The original idea was to have all four girls sing a verse. But Kahne didn't like any of Debbi's vocals so he relegated her to background. Walk Like An Egyptian topped the charts. Different Light was certified 3XPlatinum. So the album was very successful. One of the big differences was on the first album, the girls wrote most of the songs. And on the second album, Kahne brought in songs from outside songwriters. I've seen this happen before. Some bands write their own songs. They just aren't good songs. There was friction within the band because Susanna was perceived as the lead singer though all of them sang. Then Susanna starred in the 1987 film The Allnighter. Bangles recorded one more album featuring the number one hit Eternal Flame. Then Susanna left to go solo. You can get all of their hits on this budget comp. Susanna was dropped by Columbia after one solo album. Bangles reformed to write a song for the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me directed by Susanna's husband Jay Roach. They toured in 2000 and released the CD Doll Revolution in 2003. After Michael Steele left in 2005, Bangles continue to tour and record occasionally. Here's the video for Walk Like An Egyptian by Bangles.