We Got the Beat  

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"We Got the Beat" is a song recorded by the American rock band The Go-Go's. Written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, and considered to be their signature song, the band recorded the song in 1980 and it was released in July as a single in the UK on Stiff Records. The song's single release brought the Go-Go's underground credibility in the UK. The song climbed to No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart due to the popularity of the song in clubs as an import.

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Background, composition and release

Clocking in at only two-and-a-half-minutes, the song is instantly recognizable by its drumming intro. The song evolved out of the group covering the song that reputedly served as the group's namesake, the 1965 hit "Going to a Go Go" by The Miracles. Lyrically, it is a simple ode to dancing to a good beat, hanging out and looking cool. In line with a trend of early 1960s revival, also seen in bands like The B-52's, The Rezillos, and numerous power pop and ska revival bands, "We Got the Beat" mentions various early '60s dances such as the Pony, the Watusi and Go-Go dancing (which could also be interpreted as a self-reference). The song's music video received heavy airplay on MTV at the time and was taken from a live performance at Palos Verdes High School in Los Angeles, CA, on December 4, 1981. It gained further exposure by being used in the opening sequence of the Amy Heckerling-directed film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). The following year, the Go-Go's re-recorded the song for their debut album Beauty and the Beat. Released in January 1982, the song was the album's second single.

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Chart performance

"We Got the Beat" became the Go-Go's biggest hit, spending three weeks at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, behind Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n Roll". It was during the song's time in the U.S. top 10 that Beauty and the Beat topped the U.S. Billboard 200.

Chart (1981) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 35
Chart (1982) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 7
Canadian Singles Chart 3
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Legacy

The song was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The song is playable in games Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, Rock Band 2 and Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party.

In films, "We Got the Beat" was featured during the credits to Romy & Michele's High School Reunion and the opening sequence to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and was included in Brimstone & Treacle (1982) and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). On television, it was used in the "The Restraining Order" episode of Samantha Who? and as an episode title of the hit teen show Degrassi: The Next Generation.

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Track listing

UK 7" Single (1980, Stiff Records)
  1. "We Got the Beat" (Caffey)
  2. "How Much More" (Caffey/Wiedlin)
UK 7" Single (1981, I.R.S. Records)
  1. "We Got the Beat" (Caffey)
  2. "Skidmarks On My Heart" (Caffey, Carlisle)
US 7" Single (1981, I.R.S. Records)
  1. "We Got the Beat" (Caffey) - 2:30
  2. "Can't Stop the World" (Valentine) - 3:22
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Other cover versions and parodies

  • In 1999, the song was parodied as "We Got the Gifts" for Foley's 1999 Christmas ad campaign.
  • The song was parodied as "We Got the Bee" for the 2007 DreamWorks Animation film Bee Movie.
  • Target covered the song as part of their 2012 Back to School campaign.<ref>


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "We Got the Beat" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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