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Friday, December 21, 2018

Pop . . . . . . . well two words, 

Susanna Hoffs


She is still working at 57 and has done loads of work with the likes of Matthew Sweet and formed a covers band, Ming Tea,  with Mike Myers under the pseudonym Gillian Shagwell (of course). It's like watching Joanne Whalley on LSD turned rock star! 
On this day music history: December 20, 1986 - “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 4 weeks. Written by Liam Sternberg, it is the first chart topping single for the power pop/rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Songwriter Liam Sternberg (“21 Jumpstreet Theme”) is inspired to write the song after watching people trying walk while off balance on a ferry boat. Their movements remind him of movements of ancient Egyptians sculpted and painted on the walls of burial tombs. “Walk Like An Egyptian” is originally written for singer and choreographer Toni Basil who passes on recording it. While working on The Bangles’ second album in 1985, producer David Kahne finds the song through Sternberg’s publisher, presenting it to the band who record it for their second album “Different Light”. However, it creates tension in the band when drummer Debbi Peterson is regulated to a secondary role on the track, singing only background vocals and having her drum parts played by a drum machine. In spite of this the track is completed and included on the album. Released as the third single from “Different Light” in September of 1986, it becomes The Bangles biggest hit to date. The song is accompanied by a music video featuring the band performing live, inter cut with footage of various people on the street doing the signature “walk like an egyptian” dance and hand gestures. Entering the Hot 100 at #82 on September 27, 1986, it climbs to the top of the chart twelve weeks later. Following the 9/11 Attacks in September 2001, corporate broadcasting behemoth Clear Channel Media places “Walk” on its list of songs deemed “inappropriate” for broadcast radio play, due to the fact that some of the terrorist perpetrators were Egyptian nationals. The restriction on radio play for the song has since been lifted, and the record is a popular recurrent today. “Walk Like An Egyptian” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.


Me, I prefer 'Manic Monday' but hey this is fun!

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