Bangles “Eternal Flame” hit #1

Eternal Flame Bangles

Writer(s): Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg (see lyrics here) Released: January 23, 1989 First Charted: February 3, 1989 Peak: 11 BB, 11 BA, 11 CB, 12 GR, 12 RR, 12 AC, 1 CO, 14 UK, 2 CN, 13 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.6 UK, 1.31 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 255.00 video, 467.38 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Bangles carved out a sound with their first two albums that was “jangly and garage-y and [a] consistently upbeat take on harmony-heavy '60s folk-rock.” SG They broke through with major chart success in 1986 with “Manic Monday” (#2) and “Walk Like an Egyptian” (#1) from their sophomore album, Different Light. When they came back in 1988 with their third album, Everything, it sported a couple of songs (“In Your Room,” “Eternal Flame”) written by band member Susanna Hoffs alongside the songwriting team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steiinberg. They’d built an impressive resume churning out #1 hits for female acts in the ‘80, including Madonna (“Like a Virgin”), Cyndi Lauper (“True Colors”), Heart (“Alone”), and Whitney Houston (“So Emotional”). “The lightly psychedelic rocker” SG “In Your Room,” the album’s lead single, was a top 5 hit. The Bangles followed it up with “Eternal Flame,” a ballad “that completely diverged from their established sound.” SG It is “a devastating four-minute prom ballad” SG that is “a monument to grand, operatic feelings.” SG Hoffs is “head over heels for somebody, but she can’t luxuriate in her own happiness because she’s too consumed with the idea that this love is a fleeting thing.” SG “Her voice cracks and quavers. She’s in anguish.” SG “The other Bangles, harmonizing behind Hoffs, sound dispassionate and ethereal, like ghosts.” SG The song grew out of the Bangles visiting Graceland and seeing an Elvis shrine that featured an eternal flame. The only problem was it was raining that day and the flame had gone out. FB When Hoffs relayed the story to Steinberg, he thought it would be a great song title. He’d also had his own experience with an eternal flame via the synagogue he went to as a kid. He said, “I remember thinking that there was this flame that could burn forever. It seemed very mysterious. It was like thinking about how far the universe goes, those little things that kids think about that blow their minds.” FB Initially the other band members rejected the song until producer Davitt Sigerson worked up a new keyboard arrangement for the song. Even then, the band’s manager, Miles Copeland, didn’t think the song was a hit. He said it would never get any play because it had no drums. SG Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 724. SG Stereogum (7/2/2021). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan Related Links: First posted 1/22/2026.