Sad Moment: Susanna Hoffs was involved in a ghastly car accident in the late hours of the day at…

When the Purple One heard a song you wrote, loved it, and insisted on gifting one of his own in gratitude, allow yourself a few minutes to freak the hell out before getting back to work. That’s exactly what happened to the Bangles while they were recording their second album, 1986’s Different Light, when Susanna Hoffs found herself with a demo of Prince’s “Manic Monday.” The lyrics, lamenting the start of the corporate week, were all there. The group just needed to make it their own. Or, as they prefer to say, “Bangle-fy” it. “Prince was wise — he gave a lot of songs away to artists and singers that he liked and felt a kinship to,” Hoffs says. “He was onto something with us.” Although the band had plenty of songs co-written by Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, Debbi Peterson, and Michael Steele to consider for Different Light’s lead single, “Manic Monday” fell into place without much debate. It became the band’s first big hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100.

While Hoffs is doubtful that the Bangles will record another album together — they have five in total, their most recent is 2011’s Sweetheart of the Sun — she is putting together a documentary about the band after a busy year of releasing singles from her own archive. She’s also optimistic that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will soon recognize the group’s achievements. Despite being eligible since 2007, the Bangles have never made a shortlist of nominees, and Hoffs admits it would be a “dream” to get in. Frankly, it’s overdue. Her songs, both for the group and just for herself, are an eternal celebration: “They’re all fueled by a strong emotion that I’m trying to find the words for.”