The Go-Go's 8 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jane Wiedlin

Jane solely wrote "Living at the Canterbury" during The Go-Go's early years as a punk-rock band. Of the 13 never-released songs on the album and its two singles, Jane solely wrote two and co-wrote six, perhaps while living at the Canterbury apartments; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 37% of the "new" lyrics on the retrospective album.

In the lyrics, Jane reminisces living at the Canterbury as in a dormitory with roaches; however, "We can do what we want...We can say what we please...We can be who we want...Being poor's okay by me."

Answer: Donald Storball

The Go-Go's cover the song "Cool Jerk"; however, Donald Storball wrote the lyrics and The Capitols originally released this song as a single backed with "Hello Stranger" in March 1966.

Cool, Cooler, Coolest Jerks! The Go-Go's released three versions of their cover song.
1) In 1982, The Go-Go's released their most recognizable version on the album "Vacation."
2) In 1990, The Go-Go's released a smoother, more harmonious version on their compilation album "Greatest."
3) In 1994, The Go-Go's released their earliest version from their five-song studio-demo in October 1980 on the retrospective album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's."

Answer: Jane Wiedlin

The Fun Clue alludes to Jane Wiedlin's song "Our Lips Are Sealed" from their previous album "Beauty and the Beat." Of The Go-Go's 13 original songs on the album "Vacation" and its three singles, Jane solely wrote three and co-wrote six; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 45% of the lyrics on the album.

Answer: Beatnik Beach

Who wouldn't vacation on a beach?

On 26 Jun 1982, The Go-Go's were the first band in the US to release a single on cassette tape, aka a "cassingle," and this magnetic milestone was "Vacation" backed with "Beatnik Beach" to promote their album "Vacation."

Speaking of B-sides, Kathy originally wrote "Vacation" while with The Textones in 1980; however, not only was her song relegated to the B-side of the single "I Can't Fight It" written by Tom Petty, but Kathy's 105-second "Vacation" shared the B-side with the song "The Time Is Right."

Answer: Johnny Are You Queer?

The Go-Go's cover the song "Johnny Are You Queer?"; however, Bobby and Larson Paine wrote the lyrics and Josie Cotton originally released this song as a single in 1981.

In addition to "Johnny Are You Queer?", The Go-Go's covered three more songs on their retrospective album:
1) "Cool Jerk" was written by Donald Storball and the Capitols originally released as a single in 1966.
2) "Let's Have a Party" was written by Jessie Mae Robinson and Elvis Presley originally released for the film "Loving You" in 1957.
3) "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" was written by George Morton and The Shangri-Las originally released as a single in 1964.

Answer: Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's

The compilation album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" contains a booklet with the ladies' reflections and anecdotes of their favorite songs.

The booklet also contains a candid photo of The Go-Go's frolicking behind the banner of their PETA Naked Ad campaign from four years earlier in 1990. According to PETA, "The 30-year campaign began in 1990 when rock icons The Go-Go's posed in the buff for a 'We'd Rather Go-Go Naked Than Wear Fur' poster, which they sold at concerts to raise money for PETA" (Colley, 2020).

Answer: Ride into the future

Lyric: "Ride a sonic superslide into the future."

The Go-Go's "Sonic Superslide" is one of two songs containing an animal in the lyrics with "Fish are flying" and the second song "Good Girl" contains "Good dog, good girl."

The Go-Go's also wrote three words spelled the same as an animal eight times in the lyrics of four songs (aka homographs) with "fly", "tick" and "swallow."

Answer: One in a Million

Guns N' Roses released "One in a Million" on their album "G 'N' R Lies" on 29 Nov 1988.

Fun Numbers! If you add The Go-Go's enumerated songs together, the sum will be 101: 100 + One + Zero = 101. The 101st day of the year is 11 April and on 11 Apr 2025, The Go-Go's performed at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California with 168 other artists during the six-day music and arts festival.

The Go-Go's show on 11 Apr 2025 marked the first time in three years the original five members performed together since Gina Schock began recovering from thumb surgery in 2021. Blondie's drummer, Clem Burke, sat in for Gina on drums to help The Go-Go's celebrate their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as well as The Go-Go's West Coast Tour in 2022.

Answer: Beauty and the Beat

The Go-Go's released their hit song "We Got the Beat" on the album "Beauty and the Beat" on 8 Jul 1981.

The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" ranked on seven music charts in three countries during one year and peaked at number two on one chart: Australia, Canada (2) and the United States (4).

The Go-Go's originally released "We Got the Beat" backed with "How Much More" as a single to promote their UK tour in 1980, and this version ranked on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart for 18 weeks from 9 Aug to 12 Dec 1980 peaking at number 35.

Answer: We Got the Beat

Each of the four choices mentions a specific dance in its lyrics, but "We Got the Beat" on the album "Beauty and the Beat" bobs, "Go-go music really makes us dance...Do the Pony puts us in a trance...Do the Watusi just give us a chance...That's when we fall in line."

The album "Vacation" has two dances with "Beatnik Beach" having you fall in line again with "Limbo down...Hit the ground" and The Go-Go's cover song "Cool Jerk" from The Capitols' album "Dance the Cool Jerk with The Capitols" from 1966.

The final dance on the list of choices is "Fashion Seekers" on the retrospective album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" pretentiously posing "They dance the Hustle in Italian boots."

A fifth song to mention a specific dance but not included as a choice is another cover song "Let's Have a Party" also on the album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" fricasseeing, "I've never kissed a goon...But I can shake a Chicken...In the middle of the room."