The Go-Go's

In the early '80s The Go-Go's scored a major victory for women in rock. Up until that time, no self-contained all-female band (as opposed to vocal groups) had ever really broken through to mainstream stardom. The Go-Go's changed all that when they emerged in the new wave era with a sound that mixed contemporary power pop with '60s influences. Despite their eventual presence on the pop charts, The Go-Go's started out as an L.A. punk band in 1978, with Belinda Carlisle on vocals, Jane Wiedlin on guitar, bassist Margot Olavarria and drummer Elissa Bello. They put in their time on the SoCal punk scene, but by the time they released their 1981 debut album they had adopted a much more radio-friendly sound and they'd added guitarist Charlotte Caffey and replaced the old rhythm section with bassist Kathy Valentine and drummer Gina Schock. The album went all the way to No. 1 and spawned two ubiquitous hit singles: "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips are Sealed." 1982 follow-up album Vacation brought The Go-Go's a Top 10 hit with the title track, and while 1984's Talk Show didn't fare as well as its predecessors, it nevertheless contained the No. 11 single "Head Over Heels." Due to internal friction, the hard-living band called it a day in 1985. They reunited briefly in 1990 and again in '94, but it wasn't until they got back together once more in 1999 that the reunion stuck. In addition to touring, the classic lineup released a fourth album, God Bless The Go-Go's, in 2001 and continued playing live for years. In 2013, Valentine departed the band, and brought a lawsuit against her former bandmates. She was replaced by auxiliary member Abby Travis until The Go-Go's finally played their farewell tour in 2016.