She Thought She Was a ‘Hack’—Until One Final Riff on ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ Had Tom Petty and Top Pros Whispering, ‘What Was That?’….

She Thought She Was a ‘Hack’—Until One Final Riff on ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ Had Tom Petty and Top Pros Whispering, ‘What Was That?’….

LOS ANGELES — April 24, 2025 — Vicki Peterson, the understated lead guitarist behind the Bangles’ signature jangle-pop sound, never imagined that a playful flourish at the close of “Walk Like an Egyptian” would stop fellow musicians in their tracks. “I came back around to ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’… It was so silly—none of us took it seriously. But people who are solid players have asked, ‘What are you playing at the end of that song?’ I was just goofing around,” Peterson confessed in a recent interview, recalling how that impromptu riff sparked genuine curiosity among top pros, including Tom Petty himself.

Peterson’s journey began on January 11, 1958, in Northridge, Los Angeles, where Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson grew up immersed in music. By age nine she’d moved from toy guitars to her first serious instrument—a plastic Electro ES-17 paired with a small Rickenbacker amp—and would spend childhood summers writing songs and performing for anyone who’d listen  . In high school she assembled several fledgling bands under names like Crista Galli and Those Girls, honing her songwriting even as technique often took a back seat to creativity.

In 1981, Peterson co-founded the Bangs (soon rechristened the Bangles) with sister Debbi Peterson and Susanna Hoffs, joining LA’s thriving Paisley Underground scene, which blended 1960s folk-psychedelia with power-pop energy  . The group’s early lineup—Peterson on lead guitar, Hoffs on rhythm guitar, Debbi on drums, and Annette Zilinskas on bass—cut a distinctive figure with tight harmonies and chiming guitars that set them apart from their punk-influenced peers.

Their indie debut, All Over the Place (1984), earned critical praise but modest sales—until Columbia Records signed them and “Manic Monday” (1986) vaulted the Bangles into the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to Prince’s memorable composition. By year’s end, the tongue-in-cheek “Walk Like an Egyptian” claimed the No. 1 spot, cementing the band’s status as pop heavyweights. The follow-up single “Eternal Flame” (1989) would become another worldwide chart-topper, showcasing Peterson’s ability to balance melodic restraint with emotional depth.

Despite the song’s commercial clout, Peterson recalls the recording of “Walk Like an Egyptian” as a breezy experiment. “I realized it was a really fun record to make for me… none of us took it seriously,” she admitted. The band layered quirky percussion, Hoffs’s dryly humorous vocal delivery, and Peterson’s deceptively simple guitar lines to create a track that felt more like a novelty than a future classic… until it wasn’t.

That final, off-the-cuff guitar riff at the song’s outro became an underground sensation among guitarists. “Solid players kept asking me, ‘What are you playing at the end?’” Peterson laughed. “It wasn’t part of the arrangement—it was just me goofing around in the studio.” Word spread so widely that at a 1988 MusiCares rehearsal for Petty’s Person of the Year tribute, Tom Petty himself leaned over and whispered, “What was that riff?”—an affirmation Peterson still treasures.

Peterson’s connection to Petty extended beyond mutual admiration. In 1988 she guested on his cover of “Waiting for Tonight” and joined the Heartbreakers in rehearsal for that landmark MusiCares show. “Being surrounded by the music of those players… I recognized, ‘This is America’s band. This is the best band in America,’” she reflected. For Peterson, contributing even a single chord felt “really magical”.

Yet despite accolades and platinum records, Peterson has long viewed herself as an unlikely guitar hero. “I’ve always seen myself as a bit of a hack player,” she confessed, noting her early focus on songwriting over technical mastery. It took producer Davitt Sigerson’s reassurance—“You’re a guitar composer”—to reframe her strengths, encouraging her to write lines that wove melody into the chords rather than chasing flashy solos.

Far from resting on past glories, Peterson continues to evolve as an artist. On April 25, she and husband John Cowsill (of Continental Drifters and The Cowsills) release Long After the Fire, an album of previously unheard songs penned by his late brothers Barry and Bill Cowsill. Drawing on vintage ‘50s and ‘60s influences, the record showcases Peterson’s affinity for crafting complementary guitar parts—her 1967 Stratocaster and 1973 Les Paul “Love Thing” featured prominently alongside Gretsch and acoustic guitars.

That album underscores a broader ethos: prioritize songcraft above ego. Onstage, Peterson reminds herself to “just shut up and play,” silencing her inner critic in favor of presence and spontaneity. “You have to let your thinking and mind go,” she advises younger players, echoing the moment she set aside perfectionism to discover the joy of pure musical communication.

Decades after its release, “Walk Like an Egyptian” continues to resonate—from sync placements in Stranger Things to viral TikTok guitar covers—fueling a resurgence of interest in Peterson’s work. Fans online tag their renditions with #WhatWasThat?, a testament to the riff’s enduring mystique and Peterson’s legacy as a composer whose “hack” sensibility yields unexpectedly brilliant results  .

As the Bangles prepare for their next reunion tour and Peterson balances family life with recording, her story remains a reminder that musical innovation often arises from humility, curiosity, and the willingness to embrace mistakes. In the end, the “hack” player who “was just goofing around” proved that sometimes the most memorable guitar moments aren’t crafted—they’re discovered in a moment of fearless play.