The Go-Gos

The Go-Go's are an all-female American pop band formed in 1978. They made rock history as the first all-woman band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts.

The Go-Go's rose to fame in the early 1980s. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, is considered one of the "cornerstone albums of new wave" (Allmusic), breaking barriers and paving the way for a host of other new American acts. In the beginning, they played primarily a pop-inflected form of the emerging punk sound, and later defined themselves with the distinct sound of 1980s rock. The Go-Go's had five U.S. Top 40 hits. Musical influences include The Ramones, The Shangri-Las, the Buzzcocks, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Blondie. During their career, the Go-Go's have sold more than seven million copies.

The band included Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, and Gina Schock. Although the lead vocalist, Belinda Carlisle, is the most well-known of the band, both with the band and in her solo projects, other members of the band have contributed to other projects as well. Jane Wiedlin, the rhythm guitarist, was the writer and co-writer of several of the Go-Go's songs. Away from the group, she had several solo albums, including the top 10 hit, Rush Hour, and an acting career with roles in Star Trek IV the Voyage Home, Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure, and Clue, as well as voicing the character Gwen on Mission Hill.

Albums:

• Beauty and the Beat (1981)
• Vacation (1982)
• Talk Show (1984)
• Greatest (1990)
• Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's (1994)
• VH1 Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection (2000)
• God Bless The Go-Go's (2001)

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This band provides examples of:

• The Chick: Averted, since all the members are women.
• The Eighties
• Panty Shot: A quick one in the video for "Our Lips Are Sealed" and all five members on the cover of Rolling Stone issue #375.
• The Pete Best: Margot Olavarria and Elissa Bello.