"We Got the Beat" by The Go-Go's

Top 10 Alert!

Gold Record Alert!
Rated 10 Alert!

Song#:  0899
Date:  01/30/1982
Debut:  79
Peak:  2
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Rock, New Wave



Pop Bits:  After the slow-rise success of their debut single "Our Lips Our Sealed" (30 weeks on the chart peaking at #20), this second single was an immediate smash reaching #2 and staying there for three weeks, kept out of the top spot by Joan Jett & the Blackheart's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." But the Go-Go's got a bit of revenge when their album "Beauty and the Beat" spent six weeks at #1, which kept Jett's album at #2. This song would be the band's biggest hit.

ReduxReview:  I really liked "Our Lips Are Sealed," but when this came out I fell totally in love with The Go-Go's. It was a fresh, quick blast of rock and was just so fun. I remember in the summer of '82 trying out for the marching band's color guard (flag corps). A small group of us got together and created a routine to this song for our tryout. I made the squad and in doing so became the only male to ever get a spot on the color guard in the history of the school (others tried out but did not make it). I don't know if I'm still the only guy to be in the guard, but it was quite something at the time. And it was a lot of fun. If I had to pick a song to define my high school years, I think it would be this one.

ReduxRating:  10/10

Trivia:  In 1979, the band recorded some demos and ended up opening for the group Madness in the US and the UK. With their popularity on the rise, one of their songs was issued as a single on Stiff Records in the UK. The original version of "We Got the Beat," featuring original bassist Margaret Olavarria, got good attention there with the import becoming popular in US dance clubs and reaching #35 on the dance chart. After an illness that sidelined her, Olavarria was replaced by Kathy Valentine. The band then got signed to I.R.S. Records and "We Got the Beat" was re-recorded for their debut album, eventually becoming their signature song.

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