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Welcome to another Reminiscings of Youth where I go for some of the songs from my adolescence. The Go-Gos were just one of the many acts that awakened my interest in pop music. As I mentioned in the ROY for their "Vacation", I was awfully tempted to get their 1981 album "Beauty and the Beat" when it was playing over the speakers at the record corner of the local Hudson's Bay department store back in my high school days. Strangely enough, I was passing by the now-closed down Bay store earlier today as it was being prepared as a liquidation base for another store. I could see the old LP corner off in the back.
Along with "Our Lips Are Sealed", "We Got the Beat" was another Go-Gos hit that hit hard with Gina Schock's drumming rolling in like a Mac truck at full speed. Until Belinda Carlisle and company suddenly showed up on television screens everywhere, I hadn't known any girl bands before armed with full instruments, so listening to these two songs were a revelation as they rocked it out. And apparently, they partied as hard as they worked. I saw one YouTube comment stating that even Ozzy Osbourne had dropped his jaw at how the Go-Gos went medieval on his tour bus (not sure how they would have met, but the band was punk back in those days).
Speaking of punk, I didn't know until yesterday that there had been an original version of "We Got the Beat" that came out as a single in May 1980. From the few times I've listened to this one, the rock and punk roots show more prominently here. The 1982 single version hit No. 2 on US Billboard for three weeks while in Canada, it peaked at No. 3.
Well, for some reason, I ended up putting up the Top 10 Oricon singles chart for September 8th 1980 instead of the one for May 9th and I've already gone to the trouble of getting the relevant Top 3 postings for the comparative Japanese singles. Ah, heck...too tired to change back.
1. Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi -- Junko （順子）
2. Seiko Matsuda -- Aoi Sangoshou （青い珊瑚礁）
3. Toshihiko Tahara -- Aishuu Date （哀愁でいと）
Wow, what a great find! Until just now, I had not heard the original "We Got the Beat" ! Yeah, it really does have a very different vibe to it. I wonder whose idea it was to make the much more famous version of the song?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read, I think it was whoever produced the album. I've also read that a lot of folks prefer the 1980 original.
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