Walking Down Your Street

"Walking Down Your Street"
Single by the Bangles
from the album Different Light
B-side"Let It Go"
Released
  • December 1986 (UK)[1]
  • February 1987 (US)[2]
Recorded1985
StudioSunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles
GenreRock[3]
Length
  • 3:04 (LP version)
  • 3:17 (7" mix)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)David Kahne
The Bangles singles chronology
"Walk Like an Egyptian"
(1986) 		"Walking Down Your Street"
(1986) 		"Following"
(1987)
Music video
"Walking Down Your Street" on YouTube

"Walking Down Your Street" is a song by the Bangles. It is the fourth single from their 1986 album Different Light. After its single release in 1987, the song charted at #9 on the Cash Box Top 100,[4] #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #16 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] #26 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles and #56 on the Australian Kent Music Report chart.[6] "Walking Down Your Street" was the final single from Different Light in the US; the album's next single, "Following", was only released in the UK.

Production

The song was written in 1984 by singer-guitarist Susanna Hoffs with Louis Gutierrez, making it the Bangles' first of four US Top 40 hits composed by at least one band member. It is co-credited on the album and single to producer David Kahne.

"Walking Down the Street" was the most recent of a small batch of songs the band brought into the studio when recording for the album commenced in 1985. The original working title was "Desire". Hoffs has said she was going for a Supremes/Shangri-Las vocal style on the recording. It was initially discussed as a potential first single for Different Light, before "Manic Monday" was recorded.[7]

The original LP version varies slightly from the 7" single mix and the version included on the 1990 Greatest Hits compilation. The video for the song features appearances by Randy Quaid and Little Richard.

Video

The song's video features members of The Bangles as a neighborhood band that wins a contest in which the prize was a trip to Los Angeles to open a concert for Little Richard, who acted in the video chatting with the girls before they go on stage.[8]

Track listing

  1. "Walking Down Your Street" – 3:17
  2. "Return Post" – 4:21

Charts

Chart performance for "Walking Down Your Street"
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 56
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 22
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 26
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[12] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 21
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 16
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[16] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 11
US Cash Box Top 100[18] 9
West Germany (GfK)[19] 32
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[20] 33
Finland (Suomen virallinen singlelista)[21] 16

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  2. ^ "Bangles singles".
  3. ^ Molanphy, Chris (November 20, 2021). "Be the One to Walk in the Sun Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  5. ^ "UK Official Charts: Bangles". Official Charts Company. 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  6. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  7. ^ "Episode #141: Album Focus - The Bangles, "Different Light", with Eric Shade". Paisley Stage, Raspberry & Rhyme Podcast. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Bangles - Walking Down Your Street (Official Video)". YouTube. 24 January 2013.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and June 19, 1988.
  10. ^ "Bangles – Walking Down Your Street" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8802." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8914." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Bangles – Walking Down Your Street". Top 40 Singles.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Bangles Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  17. ^ "Bangles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "Cash Box" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 1987-04-25. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bangles – Walking Down Your Street" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  20. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 4, no. 6. June 7, 1986. p. 15. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Bangles". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 25. Retrieved 8 August 2024.