If She Knew What She Wants: Susanna Hoffs At 65
Celebrating the brilliance of a power pop icon
Susanna Hoffs’ penchant for pop music has always been evident throughout her career.
Although she was only a child when rock and roll changed direction in the mid to late ‘60s, she’s carried that sound and style with her throughout her career, using it as impetus for the music she’s made on her own. That was immediately evident when she joined sisters Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson in forming the Bangles in 1981. Taking a cue from the power pop bands of that earlier era, the group released three successful albums during their initial incarnation — All Over the Place (1984), Different Light (1986) and Everything (1988) prior to disbanding for the first time.
In the process, Hoffs, born January 17, 1959, and her colleagues proved that great music is indeed timeless, regardless of sound or style. It may have helped that she was born into an artistic and intellectual family; as the daughter of film director / writer / producer Tamar Ruth and psychoanalyst Allen Hoffs, both her parents had an influence in her future direction. In addition to her music, she appeared in a pair of films directed by her mother early on, and later took other movie roles as well.
Her dad later inspired the name of an early band, The Psychiatrists, which she formed with her boyfriend and former high school classmate David Roback, later a prime player in L.A.’s Paisley Underground and the future founder of the band Mazzy Star. The group took their cue from the timing of a typical psychiatrist session by limiting their gigs to 50 minutes.
Her father also had an impact on her thought process as well, as evidenced by the fact that last year she released her first novel, a romantic comedy about a struggling musician titled This Bird Has Flown. The book was published by Little Brown and received outstanding reviews from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and NPR. Not surprisingly then, Universal Pictures optioned the rights for the possibility of adapting it as a major motion picture.
Still, it was The Bangles that brought her to the mainstream. They were originally known as the Colours, then the Supersonic Bangs, and finally simply the Bangs, before eventually changing their name to The Bangles due to the fact that another group had already claimed the name the Bangs. They were an all-girl group, which, along with The Go-Gos, made them something of a novelty, but it was the avowed influences of The Beatles, the Beach Boys, The Hollies, and The Ramones that helped assured their success.
Still, it was that feminism instinct that drive her and her colleagues primarily. “I think the culture today is very, very different from what it was in the ’60s, and I feel lucky that I grew up at a time when I had these very strong female role models,” Hoffs said in a 2011 interview with the Huffington Post.
The Bangles helped maintain that trajectory. With Hoffs and the Petersons sharing lead vocals and the later addition of bassist Michael Steele to their fold, the group maintained an ongoing presence at clubs throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, attracting a rabid male following in the process. Soon enough, their fame spread, and bolstered by their critically acclaimed string of hit singles, they climbed to the heights of the pop plateau, courtesy of their covers of Prince’s “Manic Monday” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter,” their signature song, “If She Knew What She Wants” (written by songwriter Jules Shear), a successful take on the Katrina and the Waves original “Going Down To Liverpool,” and songs such as “Walk Like An Egyptian,” Big Star’s “September Gurls, “Eternal Flame,” “Walking Down Your Street” and “Be With You.”
VIDEO: The Bangles “If She Knew What She Wants”
It was disappointing then, that the group opted to disband at the peak of their prowess. The fact that Hoffs tended to take center stage led to some inter-group tension and that, combined with the stress and exhaustion of constant touring, eventually took a toll.
“As the 1980s were winding down, I knew I wanted a break from the band,” Hoffs said in an interview with the publication known as Golden Edition. “I wanted to go solo, start a family… I realized there were other things in life, and that it might be okay to slow down a little bit and find other ways to be creative. What’s interesting is it wasn’t the end for The Bangles – we had other chapters and made more records. But stepping away from music and towards writing was the right thing to do – it’s made me so happy.”
Hoffs rebounded well, starting up a solo career that has reaped five albums so far — When You’re A Boy (1991), her eponymous sophomore set (1996), Someday (2012), and two albums of covers, Bright Lights (2021) and The Deep End (2023). Those latter two albums were another example of Hoffs’ reverence for past precepts, which came to full flourish when she teamed with another archival admirer, singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet. The two first worked together as part of a faux British band of ‘60s vintage called Ming Tea with Saturday Night Live alumnus Mike Myers. Ming Tea actually did a series of performances and later became the inspiration for Myers’ film, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Ming Tea made appearances in all three of those Austin Powers films, and it eventually led to Hoffs and Sweet to continue their collaboration through a series of cover albums that took the banner Under the Covers. The duo covered a wide stylistic terrain, incorporating songs from Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac, Carly Simon, the Pretenders, Roxy Music, The Smiths and other icons of a superstar stature.
Hoffs and Sweet participated in another high profile project of vintage origin as well, Sons of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys. Yet, Hoffs’ efforts weren’t limited emulating others. She wrote songs for both The Go-Gos and solo Belinda Carlisle plus Bette Midler, contributed to albums by Talking Heads, Rufus Wainwright and Travis, as well as the Lilith Fair compilation Celebration of Music. Her efforts were rewarded by being accorded Best Female Rock Vocalist at the Pro L.A. Music Awards.
Still, Hoffs’ devotion to The Bangles lingered into the new millennium, and at her urging, the band reunited in 2000. That, in turn, led to two more Bangles albums, Doll Revolution (2003) and Sweetheart of the Sun (2011) as well as participation on a Paisley Pop compilation called 3X4, which also included contributions from such fellow travelers as the Dream Syndicate, the Three O’ Clock an Rain Parade and found the participants covering each other’s songs. To cap things off, the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame, and became the top vote-getter at the Brit Awards for Best International Group, winners of an American Video Award for Best Group Performance and recipients of an ASCAP Pop Music Award for Most Performed Song, courtesy of “Eternal Flame.”
VIDEO: The Bangles “Eternal Flame”
“I wanted to do new Bangles music” Hoffs told Melbourne Australia’s daily paper The Age in 2008. “I was driving the other girls crazy calling them. I didn’t want to be a ‘greatest hits’ band. I wanted to write and sing new songs. That was really important to Vicki and Debbie too. We didn’t want to go on a ‘Ladies of the 1980s’ tour.”
While little has been heard from the Bangles of late, Hoffs herself continues to keep busy. She had the honor of inducting the Zombies into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, singing with Chris Martin on Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, performing with Tom Petty when he was named MusiCares Person of the Year, and appearing at the 2014 Stagecoach Festival along with a series of variety of shows at Café Largo along with Aimee Mann, Andrew Bird, Jon Brion, Maya Rudolph, and others. Her current focus is on touring and the ability to share her songs in more intimate venues.
“Music is the beginning, middle, and end of every day for me,” she insisted in a post on the Bangles website. “It’s not just what I do, it’s who I am.”
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