T H E P O P STA R A N D T H E M E N TO R
SUSANNA HOFFS
AND
Bangles Cofounder • KROQ DJ/Legend
RODNEY BINGENHEIMER
p h o t o g r ap h e d by J E A N E E N L U N D a t T H E R E C O R D PA R L O R
I N T H E 2003 documentary Mayor of the Sunset Strip, Bingenheimer—a diminutive misfit from Mountain View, California—is depicted as a near-Zelig, turning up in Sonny and Cher’s entourage and auditioning for the Monkees before becoming a pivotal figure in L.A.’s glam- and punk-rock scenes. He championed David Bowie to a skeptical local demimonde and put X, the Go-Go’s, the Runaways, and many other Hollywood rockers on the map via his radio show, “Rodney on the ROQ.” How influential was Bingenheimer? In 1981, Susanna Hoffs, then 18, hand-delivered her unknown band’s first single to him. He gave it airplay, a contract with IRS Records followed, and in 1985 the Bangles scored a triple platinum album and the worldwide smash “Manic Monday,” written by Prince. Today, Bingenheimer moves among us, past his star on the Walk of Fame, in a replica of the cobalt ’67 GTO he piloted through his days and nights on the Sunset Strip. — M .W.
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