Listen to Susanna Hoffs’ New Version of a Bangles Classic: “A Song I Have Loved and Cherished My Entire Adult Life”
Bangles singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs has released a new solo version of one of her old band’s biggest hits, “Eternal Flame.” The track is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.
Hoffs’ new rendition of the melodic power ballad faithfully recreates the original, albeit slightly more stripped down. Susanna’s vocals sound as strong and as sweet as ever on the new track.
“Eternal Flame” was co-written by Hoffs and the hit-making songwriting duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The song originally appeared on The Bangles’ third studio album, Everything which was released in 1988. “Eternal Flame” spent a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1989.
Hoffs shared a note about her updated version of “Eternal Flame” on her social media pages.
“Here is a brand new recording of ‘Eternal Flame’ which I co-wrote in 1988 with my friends Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly,” she wrote. “I was inspired to sing it again! As I stood before the microphone I fought back tears of gratitude—for the opportunity to sing a song I have loved and cherished my entire adult life. We’ve grown up together!”
Susanna added, “I’ve been touched time and again by stories from friends and strangers alike who’ve expressed how much ‘Eternal Flame’ has meant to them, whether the song played as they walked down the aisle at their wedding, or brought consolation. I still wake up each morning, motivated to sing, to write, to make art, and to find ways to connect. I’m still that same girl with that same emotion—older, and hopefully wiser.”
More About the New Version of “Eternal Flame”
The new version of “Eternal Flame” features Petra Haden on backing vocals, Benny Bock on keyboards, Maxwell Flanders on drums, Ryan Lerman on guitar, and Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass.
Haden has collaborated with many artists during her career, and has been a member the groups That Dog and The Decemberists. Lerman has worked with such artists as Ben Folds, Michael Buble, and John Legend. Meldal-Johnsen is best-known as Beck’s longtime bassist.
According to RollingStone.com, Hoffs will release another version of “Eternal Flame” as a digital single on April 9 featuring the yMusic chamber ensemble. That track can be pre-saved now.
More About “Eternal Flame”
Prior to collaborating with Hoffs on “Eternal Flame,” Steinberg and Kelly had co-written several huge hits with other artists. Among them were “Like a Virgin” (Madonna), “So Emotional” (Whitney Houston), “True Colors” (Cyndi Lauper), and “Alone” (Heart).
Hoffs explained in a 2012 interview with SongFacts that “Eternal Flame” began coming together when she got together with Steinberg to write lyrics. As they were collaborating one day, she told him about how The Bangles had been given a private tour of Graceland, where there is a memorial to Elvis Presley featuring a candle that’s always lit. The story sparked the idea for the song. That being said, the day The Bangles visited, it was raining, and the flame wasn’t lit.
Hoffs infamously recorded her vocals for “Eternal Flame” in the nude. Susanna explained to Songfacts that producer Davitt Sigerson played a joke on her, telling her that Olivia Newton-John had recorded her vocals naked when he’d worked with her and “she’d never sung better.”
“It wasn’t true, but I fell for it,” she shared. “I developed this whole routine on the record where, of course, they put in like a folding screen between me and the control room, so no one could see in. And it became this funny thing where I sang most of the songs on that record [Everything] in various states of undress, including ‘Eternal Flame.’ It was just for that record; it’s not something I ever did again.”
The all-female British pop group Atomic Kitten recorded a cover of “Eternal Flame” that was a No. 1 U.K. hit in 2001.
Other News About Hoffs
Hoffs was one of the performers at the star-studded Patti Smith tribute concert held March 26 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Susanna sang “Kimberly,” a song from Smith’s 1975 debut album, Horses.
Next up for Hoffs will be a May 3 performance at the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California.
Susanna confirmed to Rolling Stone that she’ll be releasing a new album in the fall of 2024.
