The Go-Go's Lingo 11 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charlotte Caffey

Charlotte Caffey plays lead guitar and keyboards and transfigured The Go-Go's from a quartet into a quintet.

According to Charlotte's interview with Billboard magazine, "In April of 1978, I was asked to join an all-girl band that was just taking shape, The Go-Go's. It was one of those moments in my life...and there were many...when I just blurted out ′Yes!′...a pure gut reaction. Shortly after that, I went to England with my boyfriend, who, at the time, was Leonard Phillips of The Dickies. I missed playing The Go-Go's first gig at the now-infamous basement club the Masque" (Graff, 2019).

After the quartet of Go-Go's first gig on 29 May 1978, Charlotte made her onstage debut two days later on 31 May 1978.

Charlotte started as a lyrical dynamo for The Go-Go's by writing 49% of their debut album; however, her productivity decreased to 18% on the second album and 12% on the third. According to Jane Wiedlin's interview in the documentary "The Go-Go's," "I was really writing a lot because Charlotte was in a lot of trouble with the drugs" (Ellwood, 2020).

Jane quit The Go-Go's after the third album and The Go-Go's eventually broke up seven months later; however, after Charlotte sobered and The Go-Go's reunited, Charlotte would return on top with 30% of The Go-Go's fourth album.

Of The Go-Go's 61 original songs on seven albums and 17 singles, Charlotte solely wrote four and co-wrote 30 for 27% of the lyrics for The Go-Go's. In addition to Charlotte's four sole-writing credits, Charlotte teamed with two outside writers on two more songs to be the only Go-Go with lyrical credit on a total of six songs.

According to ASCAP online, Charlotte partnered with over 90 artists to compose over 200 songs during her career, such as Adam Ant ("Don't"), Bill Bartel ("King of Confusion"), Billie Joe Armstrong ("Unforgiven"), Jon Bon Jovi ("Sex Sells"), Keith Urban (three songs), Lindsey Buckingham ("Since You've Gone"), Peter Stuart (four songs), Peter Case (two songs), Rick Astley ("Danger") and Susanna Hoffs (ten songs).

According to Music VF, 11 of Charlotte's co-writes ranked on the music charts, such as The Go-Go's "Club Zero," "Get Up and Go," "Head over Heels," "Turn to You," "Vacation" and "We Got the Beat." Charlotte also co-wrote Belinda Carlisle's chart hits "Big Scary Animal," "I Feel the Magic" and "Love Never Dies." Charlotte co-wrote Redd Kross' hit "Get Out of Myself" and the hit "Lay Down Your Arms" while with her band The Graces.

According to Variety magazine, Charlotte sold her music masters and publishing catalog to Seeker Music in 2023 (Aswad, 2023).

Answer: Ginger Canzoneri

Ginger Canzoneri is The Go-Go's second manager, but The Go-Go's fired Ginger in November 1982.

According to Ginger's interview in the documentary "The Go-Go's," after the manager of The Specials asked if The Go-Go's could join their Seaside Tour in England, "And I said, 'Yes!' I did a lot of pawning of jewelry and selling a lot of things to be able to get the girls over on that trip." Charlotte Caffey confirmed in the documentary, "She sold everything. Her car. She put her whole life on sale basically to fund us to get to London." Belinda Carlisle endeared Ginger with "She was like the sixth Go-Go."

However, after their Vacation World Tour in 1982, The Go-Go's fired Ginger for, according to Belinda, "I think the band just got too big for her to handle. We wanted to make the most of the time that we had in the spotlight. We wanted to make money and continue to be successful, and we felt like we needed a more experienced person at the helm" (Ellwood, 2020).

Ginger was The Go-Go's manager for three years and three months but 18 years later in 2001, the six Go-Go's would reunite, for Ginger was art director on The Go-Go's album "God Bless The Go-Go's."

Answer: I'm the Only One

Kathy Valentine, Carlene Carter and Danny B. Harvey wrote the song "I'm the Only One" on the album "Talk Show" in 1984.

The songs "I'm the Only One," "Club Zero" and "Girl of 100 Lists" are the only Go-Go's songs with a number in the title.

Speaking of numbers, you can spell 16 numbers with the letters in Charlotte Irene Caffey's name: one, three, ten, thirteen, fifteen, thirty, thirty-one, forty, forty-three, fifty, fifty-one, fifty-three, fifth, tenth, fifteenth and fortieth.

You can spell four numbers with the letters in Belinda Jo Carlisle: one, billion, decillion and second. Six of Kathryn Valentine's eight numbers have relationships with three: three, nine, ten, thirteen, thirty, ninety, ninth and tenth.

Regina Ann Schock contains "one" and "nine" and we'll never forget Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin's somber "nine eleven."

Answer: Margot Olavarria

Margot Olavarria is The Go-Go's original bass player, but The Go-Go's fired Margot in January 1981.

According to Jane Wiedlin's interview in the documentary "The Go-Go's," after seeing the Sex Pistols in concert at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco on 14 Jan 1978, "I think that was the weekend I actually got to know Margot, and then we started talking about forming a band, a girl band, actually."

Continuing in the documentary, Charlotte Caffey recalls after Jane introduced "Our Lips Are Sealed" to The Go-Go's repertoire, "We started writing more melodic songs, and we got this hybrid of pop and punk. It was changing and some people [Margot] didn't like the change."

Margot explained her disapproval, "My identity is a punk. I was so absorbed in the scene. It was my life, my lifestyle, my everything. You know, it wasn't just the music, it was the sense of being packaged into a product. It was just becoming less about art and more about money" [...] "It was a shock to get a phone call from Ginger, 'You're out of the band. The girls didn't want to tell you'" (Ellwood, 2020).

Margot was a Go-Go for two years, 11 months and 16 days. Of The Go-Go's 61 original songs on seven albums and 17 singles, Margot co-wrote the song "Blades" on the retrospective album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" for 1% of the lyrical credit for The Go-Go's.

Answer: Masque Nightclub

A quartet of Go-Go's made their onstage debut at the Masque nightclub in central Hollywood on Memorial Day 1978.

According to Setlist.fm, Jane Wiedlin, Margot Olavarria, Belinda Carlisle and Elissa Bello performed three songs for their first show at the Masque: "Overrun," "Robert Hilburn" and "Overrun" (again).

The Go-Go's performed a total of five shows at two versions of the Masque. The Go-Go's first three shows were at the original Masque, which fire marshals permanently closed four months earlier on 14 Jan 1978, and two shows at the Other Masque, which fire marshals also permanently closed on 13 Jul 1979. Although fire marshals closed the original Masque four months before The Go-Go's first show, the original Masque was still available for rehearsals and private parties.

The Masque nightclubs in Hollywood were the epicenters for punk rock in Los Angeles and although both venues were eventually condemned, punk rock quickly spread to other areas of California, such as Long Beach, Redondo Beach, San Francisco and Santa Monica.

Answer: Paula Jean Brown

Paula Jean Brown is The Go-Go's third bass player, but Paula only performed two shows with The Go-Go's.

After Jane Wiedlin quit The Go-Go's on 11 Oct 1984, Kathy Valentine switched from bass to rhythm guitar and Paula assumed bass. Paula made her onstage debut with The Go-Go's at the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 13 Jan 1985.

Despite The Go-Go's vow to continue performing after Jane quit, The Go-Go's only performed two more shows before officially disbanding three months and 23 days later on 11 May 1985.

Although Paula didn't contribute lyrically as a Go-Go, Paula did contribute compassionately. According to Charlotte Caffey's interview in the documentary "The Go-Go's," "I am forever grateful to her [Paula] for giving me that information [drug rehabilitation] because it totally changed my life and saved me. When I got sober, it was so amazing to be free of that prison that I was living in" (Ellwood, 2020).

Paula did co-write the song "Mad About You" as a Go-Go; however, Belinda Carlisle recorded this song on her self-titled debut album one year after The Go-Go's disbanded along with two more of Paula's co-writes: "Gotta Get to You" and "Shot in the Dark."

Paula was a Go-Go for six months and 29 days.

Answer: Playboy Magazine

Belinda Carlisle posed in the August 2001 issue of Playboy magazine.

According to Belinda's autobiography "Lips Unsealed: A Memoir," "I had been at home in France when my manager had called with an offer from Playboy. I reacted by going , 'Me?' My parents happened to be visiting, and my mom immediately said, 'It sounds great. You have to do it!'" (Carlisle, 2010).

According Belinda's interview with "Good Morning America" about appearing in Playboy, "It's sort of an homage to the sort of Vargas style '50s pinup. You don't have to be age 20 and size zero to be sexually viable or viable as a woman. And that's part of the point that I would like or we all like to prove, anyway" ("Good Morning America", 2001).

Answer: Sonic Superslide

Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine co-wrote the song "Sonic Superslide" on the album "God Bless The Go-Go's" in 2001.

Until the album "God Bless The Go-Go's" in 2001, three Go-Go's were the most writers on one song, which was Jane, Charlotte and Kathy on the songs "Vacation" and "Mercenary." Not only does the album "God Bless The Go-Go's" contain one song written by all five Go-Go's but two songs for "Throw Me a Curve" was also written by all five Go-Go's.

"Sonic Superslide" is also one of two songs to mention an animal in the lyrics with the phrase "fish are flying." The second song is "Good Girl" with "good dog, good girl."

Answer: This Old Feeling

Jane Wiedlin wrote the song "This Old Feeling" on the album "Vacation" in 1982.

The largest number in the lyrics of The Go-Go's 61 original songs is a "million," and "This Old Feeling" is one of two songs to mention a "million" with the phrase "a million times said in as many songs but before you, I could never sing along." The second song is "You Thought" with "situations all invented, a million in your head."

Answer: Throw Me a Curve

Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine co-wrote the song "Throw Me a Curve" on the album "God Bless The Go-Go's" in 2001.

The Go-Go's "Throw Me a Curve" is the only song to mention candy in the lyrics with "lollipop" as opposed to the song "The Whole World Lost Its Head" being the only song to mention produce with "tomatoes."