Toward the end of 1981, Los Angeles' Go-Go's scored their first hit with "Our Lips Our Sealed" and, as 1982 began, they stormed the charts with its even more successful follow-up, "We Got The Beat," which reached #2 on the pop charts and helped the band's debut album, Beauty And The Beat, become a #1 album.

As the all-female band readied their sophomore album for a summer release in 1982, they had become a cultural phenomenon, including their famous Rolling stone cover shot which featured the five bandmates frolicking in their underwear. By the time Vacation arrived in stores, music fans were eagerly awaiting new music from The Go-Go's, stoked by the release in July of the album's title track as the first single.

"Vacation" captured The Go-Gos at their manic best and was tailor-made for long summer days. At just over three minutes in length, "Vacation" charged at a breakneck pace as it told the tale of a summer romance, complete with shimmering vocals and a singalong chorus. It was certainly their most polished single, yet, which alienated some fans of their earlier, more punk-inflected songs.

The Go-Go's were now pop princesses, though. "Vacation" was accompanied by a video casting them as water-skiing beauties and the clip received endless airplay on MTV. The song became The Go-Go's third US Top 40 hit in less than a year in mid-July. It spent the rest of the summer making waves on radios nationwide, becoming the group's second Top Ten hit along the way when it peaked at #8 for three weeks in late August and early September.

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