Formed in Los Angeles during the late '70s punk movement, The Go-Go's became the darlings of the New Wave era of the early '80s and staples of MTV during the music channel's infancy. Of course, by the time that mainstream America had embraced the band and their debut album Beauty And The Beat, the rougher, DIY edges of the group had been polished and the resulting blend of surf-rock riffs and classic girl-group harmonies that was too infectious for pop music fans and Top 40 radio to resist.

Written by guitarist Charlotte Caffey, the energetic "We Got The Beat" was the follow-up to "Our Lips Are Sealed." That track had been The Go-Go's initial chart hit in late '81, reaching #20, but "We Got The Beat" proved to be an even bigger hit upon its release, rocketing to #2 (a position it held for three weeks in April of 1982). The giddy, breakneck song propelled Beauty And The Beat to the top of the album charts and earned them a place in music history as the first all-female band to write, sing, and perform their own material on a chart-topping album.

Ironically, the song that kept "We Got The Beat" from topping the singles chart as well was by a female-led band - Joan Jett & The Blackheart's "I Love Rock 'N Roll." Nonetheless, the song was one of 1982's biggest hits, memorably included during the opening montage of another icon of '80s pop culture, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and few songs capture the breezy spirit and sense of fun of the '80s as well as "We Got The Beat."

To hear this song, and more hits from the early '80s, log on to Pop Go The '80s.