"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...

, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist

Charlotte Caffey Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist, best known for her work in the rock band the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat". Career Caffey began her musical career playing bass guitar in the ...

. The band first recorded the song in 1980 for a single on UK-based

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

, and later rerecorded it for their debut album '' Beauty and the Beat'' on I.R.S. Records. The initial single release brought the Go-Go's underground credibility during their first UK tour and in the band's hometown of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The first version reached No. 35 on the U.S.

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import, and the second version was a top 10 hit in both the United States and Canada. It is considered a new wave classic hit, as well as being the Go-Go's'

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

. The song was named one of "

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

Background, composition and release

"We Got the Beat" evolved in part out of the group covering the

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

song that served as the group's namesake:

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

' " Going to a Go Go" (1965). Taking inspiration from that, and from the opening theme of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'', lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey wrote "We Got the Beat" and offered it to the band with hesitation, afraid that it would not be

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

enough for the other members' tastes. When rest of the Go-Go's heard the song, they loved it, and its incorporation into their set marked a stylistic change for the group as they moved away from punk rock and toward a more pop sensibility that would put the Go-Go's in with what was being termed "new wave". Go-Go's manager

Ginger Canzoneri Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

secured a deal with British indie label

to release "We Got the Beat" as a single to support the band's UK tour with Madness and

The Specials The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English Two-tone (music genre), 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall (singer), Terr ...

. Stiff Records had also wanted to secure publishing rights for "We Got the Beat" and its B-side, "How Much More", but Canzoneri declined, thinking it was important for the band to hold the publishing rights to their own songs. After returning from a tumultuous UK tour, the Go-Go's returned to large crowds at clubs in Los Angeles, due to the single's popularity, leading them to a deal with newly established I.R.S. Records. The band headed to New York's Pennylane Studio to record their debut album where producer

Richard Gottehrer Richard Gottehrer (born 1940) is an American songwriter, record producer and record label executive. In 1997, he co-founded the Orchard with longtime business partner Scott Cohen, an independent music distribution company. His career began as ...

advised the group to slow their songs down. "We Got the Beat" remained an exception to this advice, though the band lengthened it slightly by added a few instrumental bars at the song's start. "We Got the Beat" led off the second side of the Go-Go's debut album, '' Beauty and the Beat'', released in July 1981, and served as the album's second single in January 1982, now with another album track, "Can't Stop The World", as its B-side. Clocking in at minutes, the second studio version song is recognizable by its drumming intro. The song's lyrics mention various early 1960s dances such as the Pony,

the Watusi ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, and

Go-Go dancing Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was take ...

. The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, filmed at a live performance at

Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...

on December 4, 1981, received heavy airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

at the time. It gained further exposure when it was used in the opening sequence of the

Amy Heckerling Amy Heckerling (born May 7, 1954) is an American filmmaker. An alumna of both New York University and the American Film Institute, she directed the commercially successful films ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''National Lampoon's Europ ...

-directed film ''

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story' ...

'', released in August 1982. The Go-Go's performed the song, along with "

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

" and "

Our Lips Are Sealed "Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album '' Beauty and the Beat'' ...

", during the 2021

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

Induction Ceremony.

Reception

Cash Box magazine ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "The Grammy Awards-nominated Go-Go's continue on their winning ways with this new recording of the cut that started it all for the girls in 1980 as an English single on stiff, punchy, to-the-point power-pop."

Chart performance

"We Got the Beat" became the Go-Go's biggest hit, spending three weeks at No. 2 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' " I Love Rock 'n Roll". It was during the song's time in the U.S. top 10 that ''Beauty and the Beat'' topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Track listing

;UK 7" Single (1980, Stiff Records) # "We Got the Beat" (Caffey) # "

How Much More "How Much More" is a song written by Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin that was first released as part of the Go-Go's debut single along with "We Got the Beat" in 1980. A re-recorded version was released on their 1981 debut album '' Beauty and ...

" (Caffey/Wiedlin) ;UK 7" Single (1981, I.R.S. Records) # "We Got the Beat" (Caffey) # "Skidmarks on My Heart" (Caffey/Carlisle) ;US 7" Single (1981, I.R.S. Records) # "We Got the Beat" (Caffey) - 2:30 # "Can't Stop the World" (Valentine) - 3:22

Debby Ryan version

A cover of "We Got the Beat" was recorded in 2012 by American singer-songwriter

Debby Ryan Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. Ryan's work for Disney Ch ...

. It was produced by

Matthew Gerrard Matthew Gerrard is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. Biography Gerrard grew up in Don Mills, a suburb of Toronto's north-east end. He attended George S. Henry Secondary School where he played trombone in band, later playing bass in a sc ...

Ali Dee Theodore ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

and

Matthew Tishler Matthew Tishler is an Emmy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and music producer who has written and produced songs for film, television, radio, stage, and theme parks. He is known for his work with teen pop artists such as Ashley Tisdale, Dove ...

. In an interview with ''Shine On Media'', Ryan commented on how she chose the song.

'We Got the Beat' has been one of my favorite songs for a long time. The song in itself and the vibe is all really really great. I kind of updated it a bit more, put it a little 2011. You hear some stutters and a couple things that are in pop music. We tried to stay really close, not only having old school live instrument grunge rock with a little bit of a 2012 dance beat.

, composer of "We Got the Beat", also wrote Ryan's debut single, "

We Ended Right "We Ended Right" is the second single by American singer-songwriter Debby Ryan, featuring rapper Chad Hively and Chase Ryan. It premiered on July 1, 2011 and was released as a digital download on July 3, 2011 as the first single of Debby Ryan's car ...

". Ryan's cover was released exclusively for radio premiere on February 11, 2012 on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

, premiered on February 18, 2012, and was released for digital download on February 21, 2012 as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

only in the United States and Canada by

Marvista Entertainment MarVista Entertainment is an American production company, based in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. The company mainly provides financing and some original content, mainly made-for-TV films and direct-to-SVOD titles, many of which are carried b ...

. The song was included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the movie ''

Radio Rebel ''Radio Rebel'' is a 2012 teen drama television film based on a novel titled ''Shrinking Violet''. The movie premiered on Disney Channel in the United States on February 17, 2012 and YTV in Canada on March 9, 2012. The movie was produced by ...

''.

Critical reception

This version of the song received mixed reviews from music critics. Anna Peel, speaking on''BSC Kids'', commented: "I loved the original “We Got The Beat” but I’m kind of lukewarm on Debby Ryan’s version. Debby’s got a lot of talent, but I just can’t get excited about this version".

Music video

The music video was directed and produced by Ryan and choreographed by

Alyson Stoner Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles i ...

. In the video, Ryan and her friends dance in locations that include a wall with graffiti that reads "Who is Radio Rebel?". The music video for the single premiered on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

on February 13, 2012.

Track listing

*;Digital download single #"We Got the Beat" – 2:22

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:We Got The Beat 1980 singles 1982 singles The Go-Go's songs 2012 singles Debby Ryan songs Songs written by Charlotte Caffey Song recordings produced by Richard Gottehrer 1980 songs I.R.S. Records singles Stiff Records singles A&M Records singles