Early life
Hoffs was born in Newport Beach, California to a Jewish family. Her mother was a fan of The Beatles and played their records for Hoffs when she was a child. She began playing the guitar in her teens and hooked up with Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson, who needed a singer for their band, which would later become The Bangles. Susanna attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. In 1980, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Art.
The Bangles years
The Bangles released their first album All Over The Place in 1984, but their major breakthrough album was Different Light in 1986, with the hit singles "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian." Her fame rising, Susanna starred in the movie The Allnighter in 1987. It was directed by her mother Tamar Simon Hoffs and also featured Joan Cusack and Pam Grier. She also made the covers of many magazines, and the Rickenbacker guitar company issued a Susanna Hoffs model, which she still plays during gigs. Although the Bangles did not have a set lead vocalist, and the girls alternated on singing, Susanna was perceived by many casual fans to be the main vocalist. She also received by far the most media attention, which led to tensions within the band. The Bangles released their very successful third album Everything in 1988, with their biggest selling single "Eternal Flame." But the breakup was inevitable, and they disbanded in 1989.
Solo career and personal life
Susanna released a solo album When You're a Boy in 1991, which didn't sell very well (although it did spawn a US Top 40 hit with "My Side of the Bed"). In 1993, she married Jay Roach, later the director of the Austin Powers movies and Meet the Parents and producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. They have two sons, born in 1995 and 1998.
In 1996, Susanna released her second solo album Susanna Hoffs, this time with more personal lyrics and a more mature sound. Although it received some praise in the press (and yielded a minor US hit with the single "All I Want"), it didn't sell well either. Susanna also recorded another album during 1993/1994, prior to leaving Columbia records. So far it remains unreleased, though substandard bootleg copies have been circulating for years. Susanna also records demos prolifically, and these also sometimes surface on the internet. The best known of these is probably the song "Pride," which can be legally downloaded at Bill Bonk's website.
Hoffs appears in the first Austin Powers movie as a member of the fictitious 1960s rock group Ming Tea, fronted by the title character. In real-life, Ming Tea consisted of actor Mike Myers, Hoffs, Canadian musician/producer Christopher Ward, and singer Matthew Sweet. This group made a number of TV performances (with Myers in character as Powers) and had a minor hit with the song "BBC." Hoffs returned with the group in the second and third Austin Powers films.
Bangles reunion
In the late 1990s, Susanna started to contact the other members of the Bangles again. They recorded the single "Get the Girl" for the second Austin Powers movie in 1999. Playing together and enjoying themselves, they announced their decision to reunite in 2000. Their fourth album, called Doll Revolution, was released in 2003, followed by a tour.
Cover of Under the Covers, Vol. 1
Sid 'n' Susie
In 2006, Susanna teamed up with fellow Ming Tea rocker, Matthew Sweet, under the name Sid 'n' Susie to record 15 covers on an album appropriately called Under the Covers, Vol. 1. The Album was released in April of 2006 and they appeared on July 18th on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to promote the album and tour.
The Look of Love
Susanna Hoffs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is in your eyes
A look your smile can't
disguise
The look of love
Is saying so much more than
Just words could every say
Well it takes my breath away
[Chorus]
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
You've got the look of love
It's on your face
A look that time can't erase
Baby be mine, tonight
Let this be just the start of
So many nights like this
Let's take a lovers vow
And seal it with a kiss
[Chorus]
Don't ever go
Don't ever go
I love you so
The look of love
Let this be just the start of
So many nights like this
Let's take a lover's vow
And baby we'll seal it with a kiss
[Chorus]
In Susanna Hoffs's The Look of Love, the singer talks about how she has finally found the person that she has been waiting for. She describes this person and the love that they share using the metaphor of a "look," which is in their eyes and on their face. This "look of love" communicates so much more than words ever could, and it takes the singer's breath away every time she sees it. She goes on to express her excitement at finally being able to hold this person and love them the way she has been waiting to. The song is really about the power that love can have, and how it can completely transform your life when you find the right person.
Line by Line Meaning
The look of love
The feeling of deep affection and adoration can be observed distinctly in your eyes.
Is in your eyes
The intense emotion of love that you possess is strikingly visible in your gaze.
A look your smile can't
disguise
Even though you might try to conceal your feelings with a smile, the love in your eyes cannot be hidden.
Is saying so much more than
Just words could every say
Your look conveys a much stronger message than any words could express.
And what my heart has heard
Well it takes my breath away
The love that I perceive through your eyes leaves me speechless and takes my breath away.
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
I am eager to embrace you and hold you close after waiting for so long to be able to love you, and now that I have finally found you, I feel complete.
You've got the look of love
Your expression exudes the feeling of love.
It's on your face
The look of love is clearly visible on your face.
A look that time can't erase
The expression of love that I see on your face is so genuine and intense that it will remain with me forever, and time won't be able to erode it.
Baby be mine, tonight
Tonight, I want you to be mine and for us to share our love.
Let this be just the start of
So many nights like this
Let's take a lovers vow
And seal it with a kiss
I hope that tonight is merely the beginning of countless nights we spend together like this; let's commit to each other deeply and seal our love with a kiss.
Don't ever go
Don't ever go
I love you so
Please never leave me, as I love you so deeply.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jota
There is something addictive about her voice......
ozzie444
She nailed this......I'm in love, but I realize there are many people standing in that line.....
Pogi Einstein
She can cover any song and make it totally her own.
Bruce Merrill
I'm watching Austin Powers today reminiscing and guess I never thought the 90s would end let alone sitting here 25 years later and still feeling like it was just yesterday this movie came out!? Major SIGH. 😔
A J
I feel you. Find happiness in the memories, and make new ones :) we were lucky to live through those times…it was golden!
Wilfred Wilde
Yep .My first trip to Los Angeles and I remember the billboard up around town for this film .
Eric Freeman
Now that's what I'm talking about!!!
If you want to appreciate Susanna's interpretive skills and talent, just listen to this Bacharach and David classic.
Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Diana Krall, all great.
But Susanna mixes sweet and sexy together like no one else can.
Lexy O
I always wanted to hear a double CD album of her covering Bacharach
Eric Freeman
@Lexy O There's a recording of Susanna singing "What's It All About Austin", a kind of spoof on "Alfie", difficult song to sing with it's complex melodic line. It was supposed to appear in the third Austin Powers movie, "Goldmember". As far as I know, it didn't (we have to inquire with her husband, the director Jay Roach why it wasn't included).
Anyway, I thought Susanna's version of "The Look of Love" was great, but her version of "Alfie", or "Austin" was absolutely beautiful. It's on YouTube.
Kevin Kronsagen
@Eric Freeman That's funny because it was included on the DVD I have.