song of the day – “We Got The Beat” | The GO-GO’s | 1981 / 1982.

On January 15, 2020, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced their 2020 inductees, which included a semi-diverse list of artists, including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Doobie Brothers, T. Rex (long overdue), The Notorious B.I.G. and the only woman to be inducted in the 2020 class, Whitney Houston.

While it was hoped that Pat Benatar and Chaka Khan (as half of Rufus and Chaka Khan) would also be inducted this year, it’s not surprising they weren’t.  At the very least, the Dave Matthews Band didn’t get in.  How the fuck did they get nominated in the first place?  Christ.  But I digress.

A couple of days before the Rock Hall inductees were announced, the Academy Award nominees were announced.  Only one woman of color was nominated for a major acting award and no female directors (and there were many in 2019) were nominated. 

Here on the blog, I know I’ve often mentioned the lack of women in the Rock Hall, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.  And, with the double whammy of the Oscar nods and the Rock Hall inductees this week, I’m hopeful that by 2021, we’ll see a lot more women nominated everywhere. 

On the day the Rock Hall inductees were announced, I read an article online about 10 female artists who should be in the Rock Hall (and five who might be next).  At the top of the list, Carole King.  Abso-fucking-lutely.  One of the greatest songwriters of all-time, her 1971 TAPESTRY album was so huge, it spent 15 weeks atop the BILLBOARD album chart, won four Grammy Awards, has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and was the No. 2 album of the year in the U.S. for both 1971 and 1972, and the No. 22 album for 1973.  Pretty fucking amazing.

Other women on the list I would certainly vote for included Björk, Kate Bush, Dolly Parton and The Go-Go’s.  Courtney Love and her band, Hole, were on the list as well, and as was written in the article, “this one should be a no-brainer.”  WTF?!  She is only on the list because she was married to Kurt Cobain.  She did a decent acting job in a couple movies in the late 90s (including 1998’s MAN ON THE MOON), and the band had one okay song, but really?  A “no-brainer?”  How about just NO!!!  I would much rather have chosen Mariah Carey and Sheryl Crow (both on the list) over Courtney Love, and those are artists I am not really a fan of.  And nowhere (again) on the list was Cyndi Lauper.

Future Rock Hall inductees (yes, please!) Cyndi Lauper and Dolly Parton.

I’ve made my case for Cyndi to be in the Rock Hall (or at least nominated, fer fuck’s sake) many times here on the blog, and you can go back and read about my reasons for why she should have been inducted years ago, so if you see #Cyndi2021 trending anywhere this year, that’s prolly why. 

Even Steve Miller (who has had his own issues with the Rock Hall) called them out when he was inducted in 2016, and said, “keep expanding your vision, to be more inclusive of women.”  That’s goddamned right.

The Go-Go’s are definitely worthy of being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  The Los Angeles New Wave / Punk Rockers, formed in 1978 and consisting of singer Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar, Kathy Valentine on bass guitar, Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, and drummer Gina Schock, were the first all-female group to reach No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart with their 1981 album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.

One of two covers used for BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.

The album spent six weeks on top in March and April 1982, sold over two million copies in the U.S. alone, was the No. 2 album in America for 1982, and was one of the biggest debut albums of all-time.  To date, The Go-Go’s remain as the only all-female band to both write their own songs and play their own instruments on an album that reached No. 1 on the BILLBOARD album chart.  Still pretty impressive nearly 40 years later. 

BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was released in early July 1981 on I.R.S. Records, and took awhile for it to catch on.  The first single released from the album, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” also took awhile to catch on, but it ultimately reached No. 20 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, and also took its time leaving the survey, spending its 30th and final week on the Hot 100 in late March 1982.  It was on the chart so long, it ranked at No. 63 for all of 1982, beating out about 20 Top 10 hits, including their own single, “Vacation” (the No. 8 title track from their 1982 album).

The second single chosen from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was “We Got The Beat,” released this week in January 1982.  Written by Charlotte Caffey, this song made its original 1980 appearance on Stiff Records, and in the U.K., was released as a single in July 1981.  It was so popular in the dance clubs, the import got so much play, it even reached No. 35 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart in 1981.

The cover art for the original Stiff Records single version of “We Got The Beat.”

The re-recorded version you hear on BEAUTY AND THE BEAT did not take long to debut on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  Just a couple weeks after its release, it debuted at No. 79 in late January 1982, and just two weeks later, debuted inside the Top 40 at No. 31.  By mid-March, the catchy two-and-a-half-minute New Wave / Dance classic had beat its way to the Top 10.

For three weeks in April 1982, “We Got The Beat” stayed at No. 2 on the Hot 100, held off by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ monster hit, “I Love Rock N’ Roll,” and stayed on the chart for 19 weeks, exiting in early June 1982, nearly a full year after the release of BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.  “We Got The Beat” also reached No. 3 in Canada, No. 29 in Austria and No. 7 on BILLBOARD’s Mainstream Rock chart.

NERDY CHART FACT: Both “We Got The Beat” and the namesake of the The Go-Go’s originated from a song they covered, “Going To A Go-Go,” a 1965 hit by The Miracles, co-written, co-produced and sung by the legendary Smokey Robinson.  The week after “We Got The Beat” left the BILLBOARD Hot 100, a live version of “Going To A Go-Go” by The Rolling Stones debuted on the chart.  So, in a way, the Go-Go’s kept beating on until “Vacation” immediately followed The Stones into the Top 40 in July 1982.

The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985, after their third album, 1984’s TALKSHOW, Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin had successful solo careers, got back together briefly in 1990 and 1994, and have been together for over 20 years, and released their fourth album, the wonderful GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’s, in 2001.  In the summer of 2018, a musical about the band, HEAD OVER HEELS, premiered in New York.

One of the posters for the HEAD OVER HEELS musical.

“We Got The Beat” was named as one of “The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll,” a list that includes songs by the also-yet-to-be-nominated/inducted Siouxsie And The Banshees, Salt-N-Pepa, The B-52’s and the aforementioned Cyndi Lauper. 

Today (January 18, 2020) was the fourth annual Women’s March, which started worldwide the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as President Gas.  This year’s protest march for women’s rights and more took place in many cities in the U.S., including an event in Portland, Maine.

From the 2020 Women’s March in Philadelphia, January 18, 2020.

A hope I have for 2020 and beyond is that more women everywhere are recognized for the incredible work they do, not just in entertainment, and are treated (at least) as well and as fairly as their male counterparts.  Nearly 40 years ago, five young women from L.A. shouted, “Yeah!  We Got The Beat!”, and it was an inspiration to women everywhere.  And women still have the beat and then some.  It’s time for men everywhere to take notice and start dancing to that beat.  It’s long overdue…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55KlPe81Yw

song of the day – “Our Lips Are Sealed” | THE GO-GO’s | 1981 / 1982.

On June 15, 2014, Casey Kasem, host of the longtime countdown program, AMERICAN TOP 40, passed away at the age of 82.  From my first blog post (and prolly some more inbetween then and now), I explained how, in 1979, I was a geeky, lanky and somewhat lost 12-year-old living in Central Maine, had a few friends and not a lot of interest in much of anything, but at some point early that year, I discovered AMERICAN TOP 40, and was glued to it every weekend.  Not only could I hear the 40 biggest songs in the country every week, but also Casey’s cool trivia and facts about the songs and the artists, a trait I treasure to this day.  For me, the show was No. 1 with a bullet.  And still is (thanks to the re-airing of broadcasts of AT40 on iHeart Radio).

You know, time is a funny thing, not just for hit singles, but for life too.  For the month of June 2017, in honor of my radio hero, Casey Kasem, I’ve been highlighting songs that peaked in the Top 40 of the BILLBOARD Hot 100 (including some (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s), and with every blog post, just like on AMERICAN TOP 40, the hits have been getting bigger with each post.  On June 1, 2017, I featured a song that peaked at No. 40. 

My goal was to feature a “song of the day” on June 30 (today) that went all the way to No. 1.  Well, life happens.  I wanted to do 40 posts in 30 days, but during the last half of the month, it got crazy busy for yours truly, visiting with dear friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, including a kick-ass concert in Boston with Tears For Fears and Daryl Hall & John Oates, guesting on a couple of radio shows, plus work stuff, family stuff, home stuff, and more of each…

Anyhoo, long story longer, I promised a countdown and a proper tribute to Casey Kasem on the bloggy thing here, and I humbly apologize for the delay, but I’m going to proudly honor my tribute to Casey, and keep going through July until we count down all the way to No. 1! 

So, as Casey used to say on AT40, “And on we go!”

In Los Angeles in 1978, four young female Punk Rock upstarts from the area – including vocalist Belinda Carlisle and guitarist and vocalist Jane Wiedlin – got together and formed a band called The Go-Go’s. 

The Go-Go’s played on the same bills as bands like revered L.A. Punk bands Fear and X and others.  Later in 1978, vocalist and lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey joined the band, and in the Summer of 1979, Gina Schock signed on as the drummer. 

By the time they recorded a five-song demo in late 1979, The Go-Go’s went from a Punk Rock sound to a more Power Pop sound.  In 1980, they got a huge break by touring with Madness in Los Angeles and in England, spending half the year on tour over in England.  A demo version of “We Got The Beat” (released on Stiff Records) ended up being a minor hit in the U.K., and gave The Go-Go’s their first bout with fame.

In December 1980, guitarist Kathy Valentine came aboard as the band’s bassist, and thus became the final member of the quintet, or rather, the future history-making lineup of The Go-Go’s. 

Four months later, in April 1981, the band signed on with I.R.S. Records.  Within three months, they recorded and released their debut album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT.  It was not an instant smash here in America.  In England and Europe, however, the New Wave / Power Pop appeal of BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was definitely a hit.

The first single from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT (and the album’s opening track), “Our Lips Are Sealed” (co-written by Jane Wiedlin and Terry Hall, singer for The Specials and Fun Boy Three), was released in mid-June 1981, a few weeks in advance of the album.

“Our Lips Are Sealed” took a couple of months to reach on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, debuting in late August 1981, and coming in as the lowest-debuting song on the Hot 100 that week (No. 90).  About two months into its chart run, “Our Lips Are Sealed” squeaked onto the Top 40 (at No. 40), having lost its “chart bullet” (representing strength in airplay and sales) for two consecutive weeks.

It inched up “bullet-less” to No. 39 the following week, and regained its bullet in week No. 11 on the Hot 100.  A couple of weeks before Xmas 1981, lips and ears and wallets of fans were no longer sealed, as both the single “Our Lips Are Sealed” and parent album, BEAUTY AND THE BEAT, picked up momentum.  “Our Lips Are Sealed” spent a couple of weeks at No. 20 in December 1981, and was still in the Top 40 by mid-January 1982.

In late January 1982, “We Got The Beat,” the second single from BEAUTY AND THE BEAT, was the highest-debuting song of the week, coming in at No. 79.  Within three short weeks, “We Got The Beat” was already at No. 31 on the Hot 100, on its way to a No. 2 peak for three weeks in April 1982.  That also helped bring the BEAUTY AND THE BEAT album to No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart for six weeks in March and April 1982.

As for the debut single, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” it left the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in late March 1982 and spent a more-than-impressive 30 weeks on the chart.  Wanna be even more impressed?  “Our Lips Are Sealed” spent four more weeks on the chart than the biggest song of the 80s, Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” (which was the No. 1 song at the time “Our Lips Are Sealed” peaked on the Hot 100).

1982 was certainly the year for The Go-Go’s, who placed three singles among the Top 100 songs in the U.S. that year.  “We Got The Beat” ranked at No. 25 for 1982, and “Vacation,” the title song from their second album, a No. 8 hit, and the first-ever cassette single (then a novelty item), was ranked at No. 87 for the year. 

The unusually long chart run for “Our Lips Are Sealed” (even though it stopped at No. 20) placed it at No. 63 for the year, higher than many songs that were Top 10 hits, including “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey, “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock Of Seagulls, and even the gorgeous No. 3 hit by The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”

“Our Lips Are Sealed” wasn’t just a big hit on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  It also reached No. 10 on BILLBOARD’s Dance chart and No. 15 on BILLBOARD’s Rock chart.  Around the globe, “Our Lips Are Sealed” enjoyed success in Australia (No. 2), Canada (No. 4), Sweden (No. 14) and New Zealand (No. 23).  Oddly enough, in the U.K., where the band had its first success, it stopped at No. 47, though it would reappear a couple of years later.

In 1983, Fun Boy Three released their own version (as it was co-written by FB3 singer Terry Hall), from the album, WAITING, which was produced by Talking Heads’ David Byrne.  This version ended up being a big hit in both the U.K. and Ireland, reaching Nos. 7 and 13, respectively.

The Go-Go’s broke up in 1985, and Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin went on to successful solo careers in the second half of the 80s and early 90s.  The band got back together a couple of times in the 90s, and 2001, Belinda, Jane, Charlotte, Gina and Kathy reunited and released GOD BLESS THE GO-GO’S, their first studio album together since 1984’s TALK SHOW.

Though the band has already had their “farewell” tour, the legacy of The Go-Go’s lives on.  BEAUTY AND THE BEAT was once described as one of “the cornerstone albums of American New Wave” and 35 years later remains as the first and THE ONLY all-female band to reach No. 1 on BILLBOARD’s album chart.

I love “We Got The Beat,” and I am so glad it brought deserved huge success to The Go-Go’s, but I’ve always found myself more partial to “Our Lips Are Sealed,” which is two minutes and 44 seconds of simple and pure New Wave / Pop perfection.

“It doesn’t matter what they say / In the jealous games people play / Our lips are sealed / Pay no mind to what they say / It doesn’t matter anyway / Our lips are sealed…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3kQlzOi27M

song of the day – “Iko Iko” | THE BELLE STARS | 1982 / 1989.

The decade of excess gave us an excess of songs that were given a second chance on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 singles chart, songs like “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” “Twist And Shout” by The Beatles, “Do You Love Me?” by The Contours and “At This Moment” by Billy Vera & The Beaters, to name a handful. 

For whatever reason, 1989 was an especially popular year for singles to have a second go on the BILLBOARD Hot 100, including Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” (1986), “What About Me?” by Moving Pictures (1983), “When I’m With You” by Sheriff (1983), “Where Are You Now?” by Jimmy Harnen with Synch (1986) and “Into The Night” by Benny Mardones (1980). 

Another song that achieved success in 1989 but not originally from that year was “Iko Iko” by the seven-member, all-female New Wave band out of London, The Belle Stars, who formed in London in 1980 and broke up in 1986.

The origin of “Iko Iko” dates back to the early 1950s, when it was titled “Jock-A-Mo,” and was a 1953 single written and recorded by New Orleans group Sugar Boy And His Cane Cutters. 

According to a 2002 interview with the late James “Sugar Boy” Crawford (who passed away in 2012), he said the story of “Iko Iko” is about a “spy boy” [a lookout for one band of Indians] encountering the “flag boy” [the flag carrier for another “tribe”].  The “spy boy” threatens to “set the flag on fire.” 

“Sugar Boy” Crawford said “Jock-A-Mo” “came from two Indian chants that I put music to.  ‘Iko Iko’ was like a victory chant that the Indians would shout. ‘Jock-A-Mo’ was a chant that was called when the Indians went into battle.  I just put them together and made a song out of them.” 

Though it was not a hit, the next incarnation of “Jock-A-Mo” in 1965 – “Iko Iko” – was.  The Dixie Cups, an all-female Pop group out of New Orleans, best known for their hit, “Chapel Of Love,” recorded their version in 1964, and the following year, it was a global smash.

In 1982, The Belle Stars released their version of “Iko Iko” in their homeland of the U.K. on Stiff Records, and it was a Top 40 U.K. hit, reaching No. 35.  Their cover would appear on the only studio album they released, their self-titled effort released in January 1983, and which featured the U.K. hits, “The Clapping Song” (a version of this was an American Top 40 hit for Pia Zadora in 1983), “Indian Summer” and “Sign Of The Times,” which reached No. 3 in the U.K. and No. 75 on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.

The Belle Stars’ version of “Iko Iko” went virtually unnoticed here in America until its opening appearance in the wonderful Academy Award-winning film, RAIN MAN, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, and released at the end of 1988.

Their version of “Iko Iko” was included on the soundtrack to RAIN MAN, and it didn’t take long for it to catch the ears of folks like yours truly here in America.  It debuted on the BILLBOARD Hot 100 in early March 1989, and reached the Top 40 four weeks later. 

The Belle Stars’ version of “Iko Iko” would go on to spend a lone week at No. 14 in mid-May 1989, and remained on the charts for about four months.  It also reached No. 7 in Australia and No. 17 in Canada.  Since then, it has been featured in a number of other films, including THE HANGOVER in 2009.

“Iko Iko” remains as one of the most-covered songs of all-time.  Cyndi Lauper recorded a version for her second album, 1986’s TRUE COLORS.  It’s been also covered by Dr. John, Warren Zevon, Zap Mama (whose version appeared in the 2000 film, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II), and most recently, on THE TONIGHT SHOW featuring Sia, Jimmy Fallon, Natalie Portman and The Roots.

It’s the 1982 / 1989 version by The Belle Stars, though, that is the version that stays close to me to this day, and I’m forever grateful that someone involved with the film, RAIN MAN, discovered it and thought it was good enough to include in the movie, and ultimately, release it as a single, so many folks (like yours truly) could, in turn, discover it too. “IKO!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9RxSDgesKk