The Go-Go's 5 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jane Wiedlin

Jane solely wrote "Girl of 100 Lists." Of The Go-Go's 13 original songs on the album "Vacation" and its four singles, Jane solely wrote three and co-wrote six; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 45% of the lyrics on the album.

One item Jane can check from a list is having solely written the most songs for The Go-Go's. Of The Go-Go's 61 songs on seven albums and 17 singles, Jane solely wrote eight and co-wrote 33; therefore, Jane contributed the most by composing 36% of the lyrics for The Go-Go's. In addition to Jane's eight sole-writing credits, Jane solely teamed with four outside writers on three songs to be the only Go-Go with lyrical credit on 11 songs.

Answer: Kathy Valentine

While with The Textones, Kathy had exclusively written "We Don't Get Along" but released it while with The Go-Go's on the album "Vacation." The Textones later recorded a version on their album "Back in Time" in 1990.

Answer: Elissa didn't write any lyrics for The Go-Go's.

Elissa isn't credited for any lyrics during her one year and six months with The Go-Go's. According to Bello's documentary interview in "The Go-Go's" (2020), "I had to answer to my employer, and I had to answer to the band. They wanted me to quit my job, the girls, and be more dedicated. I stuck my toe in the water, but I never dove in all the way" (Ellwood, 2020). After leaving The Go-Go's in 1979, Elissa was a member of Alarma!, Castration Squad, Interpol, Pasional, Sexsick, Suave Bolla and The Boneheads.

According to IMDb.com, Elissa began putting her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree to work in 1984 and has since earned over 130 credits in TV and film. She was an animator on the TV short "The Chipmunks: Rockin' Through the Decades" (1990) and a storyboard artist on the series "James Bond Jr." (1991) and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1992).

Elissa was also a visual effects artist/supervisor in 43 films and according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, 16 are ranked on the Top Lifetime Grosses (worldwide) of all-time and have earned a combined total of over $6.17 billion: "Pacific Rim" (2013), "Terminator Salvation" (2009), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), "Tropic Thunder" (2008), "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (2007), "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007), "Deja Vu" (2006), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006), "National Treasure" (2004), "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003), "Minority Report" (2002), "Dinosaur" (2000), "Hercules" (1997), "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" (1995), "The Santa Clause" (1994) and "Total Recall" (1990). Elissa dove into the animated waters, huh?

Answer: Good for Gone

The Go-Go's released "Head over Heels" backed with "Good for Gone" as a single to promote their third album "Talk Show"; however, "Good for Gone" was not recorded on the album. After ten years and seven months, "Good for Gone" was not entirely gone because The Go-Go's included it on their compilation album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's" in 1994.

Gina teamed with Kathy to write "Good for Gone" for her first lyrical credit on any release. Gina hasn't solely written any lyrics with The Go-Go's; however, she did contribute on eleven more songs after "Good for Gone."

Answer: Tour cancelled

The Go-Go's cancelled this 14-date tour because nobody can replace "Reverend Sister Go-Go!" According to JaneWiedlin.com after cancelling the tour, "The news comes as a result of guitarist Jane Wiedlin injuring herself after a 20-foot fall while hiking near her home in Northern California a couple of weeks ago. Jane is scheduled for ACL replacement surgery for her knee in the coming weeks with a prognosis of up to a year recovery time" (Team Wiedlin, 2010).

On 27 May 2011, Jane returned on stage at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to kick off The Go-Go's 26-date Ladies Gone Wild Tour. People, please, no more "Head over Heels" jokes.

Answer: Overrun

The song "Overrun" is not included on the album "Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's." According to Discogs, the only reference to The Go-Go's "Overrun" is a bootleg recording on "Hellogg's Punk Tarts" of The Go-Go's performing at the Whiskey a Go Go on 4 Oct 1978 with originalists Elissa Bello (drums), Margot Olavarria (bass) and newcomer Charlotte Caffey (guitar).

How many songs do you recognize? According to an audio-only video on YouTube, The Go-Go's performed 12 songs during this show in 1978: "We're Here Now," "B-Movie," "London Boys," "Robert Hilburn," "Remember (Walking In The Sand)," "Don't Hang Up," "Fashion Seekers," "Screaming," "Party Pose," "Overrun," "Just a Number" and "Living at the Canterbury" ("Go-Go's - October 4th, 1978 at Whiskey a Go Go, Hollywood, CA," uploaded by Distort Oakland).

"Hellogg's Punk Tarts" has two 7-inch vinyl records (45 RPM) and each side of a record is a different "flavor": Blueberry Razor, Cherry Safety Pin, Grape Sewing Needle and Strawberry X-Acto. Due to the time constraints of 7-inch records, "Hellogg's Punk Tarts" contains all but the first three songs of this show.

Answer: Sex

According to the video on YouTube, Belinda and Jane expound on the meaning of "Automatic" while on stage at the Metropol in Berlin, Germany: [Belinda] "It's one of the slower songs that we have." [Jane] "It's that one about sex. You know that one." [Belinda] "No, it's not about sex. It's about machines." [Jane] "Yeah, no minds." [Belinda] "Sex machines" ("The Go-Go's on Rockpalast in Berlin 11-3-1982," 21:35-52, uploaded by Big Blue Planet).

Answer: He's scary

Lyric: "He frightens you so much...He could burn you with his touch...Everything has changed."

According to Wiedlin's interview with The A.V. Club, "I still like that song a lot. It's broodier-sounding than a lot of the Go-Go's songs. I remember that one was about this guy that both Charlotte and I were seeing, but we didn't really know we were both seeing him. He was a very dark, mysterious punk-rocker. One of the punks, and unfortunately became a heroin addict and he's actually dead now, but I was very attracted to that darkness and bad boys, even though luckily I never became a drug addict. Praise Dog" (Adams, 2011).

Answer: Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's

Although "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's" is a compilation album, "The Whole World Lost Its Head" is one of three new songs The Go-Go's had written for the album and referred to as Reunion Tracks.

The Go-Go's released "The Whole World Lost Its Head" in 1994 and this single had ranked on five music charts: #8 US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, #21 US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, #26 Scotland (Official Charts Company), #29 UK Singles Chart and #84 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles.

Answer: Beatnik Beach

The song "Beatnik Beach" on the album "Vacation" threads the party as "Put on your paisleys...Put on your black beret too...Join all us beatniks...Nothing better could happen to you, yeah."

The lyrics liken "We'll lip sync a go-go...Like on The Lloyd Thaxton Show," which was similar to "American Bandstand" with musical performances and teens dancing to the latest records but had originated in Los Angeles, California in 1961 as opposed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1952. During the show, Thaxton would spontaneously perform skits, such as lip-synch the vocals, accompany the music on an instrument or improvise with props.

Can you dig it? Also in the lyrics, if you skip its refrain, which is "yeah" repeated seven times, the first letters of the first five lines spell "dig it." As a popular idiom in the '50s and '60s, to "dig it" means to understand, approve or enjoy something. Had I dug too far for Interesting Information? If you expand to the first seven lines: "dig it, JW [Jane Wiedlin]."