Thursday November 4, 2021 “We Got the Beat” The Go-Go’s
As we continue with the 2021 inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame we get to the Go-Go’s, not the first all female band but the most successful one.
Originally formed in 1978 as the Misfits, the group featured Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards), Margot Olaverra (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums) later to be replaced by Gina Schock.
The Go-Go’s were the most popular all-female band to emerge from the punk/new wave explosion of the late '70s and early '80s, becoming one of the first commercially successful female groups who weren't controlled by male producers or managers, wrote most of their songs and they played all of their instruments.
The Go-Go’s had a tough time attracting the recognition of record label executives as an all female line-up until they met I.R.S. Records founder Miles Copeland III who saw them as an act that would appeal to a new generation of music lovers. So he signed them, leading to the creation of their first album, Beauty and The Beat. You may remember Miles Copeland III who also signed his brother Stewart’s band, the Police.
Drummer Gina Schock would go on to co-write songs recorded by Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.
Stay safe and well…and don’t we all ‘got the beat’?