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Although the Bangles are most heralded for a string of top-10 singles and high spirited MTV music videos from their '80s heyday, a deep dive into the Los Angeles quartet's catalog reveals them to be one of the most diverse, clever and flat-out rocking bands of their generation. Founded by Vicki Peterson, her skins-pounding sibling Debbi, and guitarist/vocalist Susanna Hoffs in 1981, the Bangles blended Beatles-inspired harmonies and clever arrangements with gutsy guitars and garage-rock sensibilities. Bassist (and co-founding member of the Runaways) Michael Steele would join in time for smash hits such as "Walk Like an Egyptian," "In Your Room," the Prince-penned "Manic Monday" and a rocked-up remake of Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter." By 1988's, Everything album, the group began drifting toward a more polished, produced sound. Even though the ballad "Eternal Flame" would prove to be their biggest hit - as well as the biggest-selling single by an all-female band in history at the time - it would also underscore the creative tension that led to the Bangles' breakup by that decade's end.
Peterson then began the Psycho Sisters, a long-time creative partnership with vocalist Susan Cowsill of '60s pop group the Cowsills. In 1994, Peterson toured with the Go-Go's, replacing Charlotte Caffey, who was on maternity leave. She and Cowsill would also play regularly with indie-rock collective the Continental Drifters, becoming full-fledged member in time for 1999's Vermillion album.
Peterson then rejoined her sister, Hoffs and Steele in the reunited Bangles in the late '90s, and together they recorded several new albums that put the emphasis back on the band's guitar-pop roots. The Bangles and Continental Drifters continue to maintain semiregular performance schedules, and original Bangles bassist Annette Zilnksas replaced Steel as of 2018. Since 2017, Peterson has also played in the band Action Skulls with her husband, John Cowsill (the Cowsills' original drummer/vocalist, Susan's older brother and a touring member of the Beach Boys) and Bill Mumy, the former Lost in Space child actor whose music credits include collaborations with America, Shaun Cassidy and Rick Springfield. We asked her to share the tales behind five cuts from her career.
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