As impossible as it may seem, the history of pop music has yielded exactly one instance of an all-female group landing a Number One album while also writing their own material and playing their own instruments. That happened in 1982 when the Go-Go’s found their way to the top of the Billboard 200 with their landmark debut album Beauty and the Beat. Emerging from the eclectic primordial ooze of the Los Angeles punk scene in the 1970s, the Go-Go’s—Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, and Kathy Valentine—cut a revolutionary path to a brief but deeply impactful run in the music world and were vital to bringing punk and New Wave to the masses in the 1980s. From the hits to their enduring legacy, this is the story of the Go-Go's.
THE GO-GO’S
WHY WE LOVE THE GO-GO’S • This band really was one of a kind
L.A.PUNKS • The Go-Go’s journey to the top of the pops started at the bottom
CHARLOTTE CAFFEY
BEAUTY AND THE BEAT • The band’s breakout 1981 album changed its sound as well as its fortunes
BELINDA CARLISLE
THE SONGS • The stories behind the Go-Go’s best-loved recordings
KATHY VALENTINE
TURMOIL AND TENSIONS • At the peak of popularity, the Go-Go’s were torn apart.
GINA SCHOCK
KICK AND MAKE UP • Things aren’t always rosy, but the Go-Go’s just can’t quit one another
JANE WIEDLIN
PUNK-POP PIONEERS • Many acts burst through the doors that the Go-Go’s opened
THE LEGACY • Underrated? Yes. But what this band did was about so much more than music
The Go-Go’s - All Rock! All Women! All Time!
PHOTO CREDITS