They Got The Beat

In 1981, a California new wave band released their debut album. It was a gateway from the punk they started playing in the late 1970s to the pop sounds of the early 1980s. It was catchy pop with a punk undertone. It was also the first album by an all-woman group to top the charts with songs they’d written and performed themselves.

The album is Beauty and the Beat by The Go-Go's and it was released on this day 40 years ago.

The band consisted of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Gina Schock on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass guitar, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar. The majority of songs were written by Caffey and Wiedlin with Caffey bringing the pop sensibility to the band's punk sound.

The California band, fresh off a UK tour which had them playing gigs with such bands as Madness and The Specials, headed to New York City to record their debut. Under the watchful eyes of producer Richard Gottehrer (a former Brill Building songwriter in the 1960s and who produced Blondie's 1976 debut), the band created a different California sound - one that was "a glittery, gritty place where punks rule the streets after dark."

Led by the radio- and MTV-friendly songs "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed", the Go-Go's catapulted to the top of the charts and ruled the radio air waves. Reviews were strong, with some calling the album, "one of the cornerstone albums of new wave" and praised its "catchy hooks and an exuberant sense of fun."

The cover of the album even has a famous story - The band dressed in towels - Towels that were bought by their manager from Macy's who told the women not to get them dirty as she had to return them to store after the photo shoot.

The songs were glimpses into the hearts and minds of the band members. They dealt with love, lust, independence and optimism.

All hail Beauty and the Beat for it changed how punk and pop could sound and influenced a lifetime of great music.