The Go-Go’s came together in 1978, when members Belinda Carlisle, Elissa Bello, Margot Olavarria, and Jane Wiedlin formed a punk band and began performing around the Los Angeles club scene. Shortly after their inception, Bello left the group and was replaced by Gina Schock, Olavarria was replaced with Kathy Valentine, and Charlotte Caffey was added for guitar and keyboards, bringing the Go-Go’s to the lineup that would carry them through their greatest period of success and give them a more pop-oriented sound.

The Go-Go’s exploded onto the music scene in the early 1980’s, with the album Beauty and the Beat (1981) and a string of hit singles, such as “Head Over Heels,” “Our Lips are Sealed,” and the iconic “We Got the Beat.” The album Vacation hit the Top Ten and went gold, and Talk Show followed in 1984. The Go-Go’s disbanded shortly thereafter, although Belinda Carlisle would go on to enjoy a successful solo career. The girls reunited briefly in 1990, to perform at a benefit for the non-profit organization PETA, and then once again in 1994 to record new material for Return of the Valley of the Go-Go’s, a compilation album.

Each of the members of the Go-Go’s has gone on to enjoy a successful career as a solo artist in a variety of capacities. Belinda Carlisle enjoyed a string of hit singles in the 1980’s, including “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” She penned the book Lips Unsealed, a memoir which documents her experience as a member of the Go-Go’s, in 2010. Charlotte Caffey enjoyed work as a session musician and songwriter before forming The Graces in 1988 and releasing the album Perfect View. Jane Wiedlin released a number of solo albums and began an acting career, appearing in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. She began her own record label, Painful Discs, in 2000. Gina Schock also released a series of solo albums with her band house of Schock, and co-wrote material for Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. Kathy Valentine joined the Delphines and also released a solo album, Light Years, in 2005.

The Go-Go’s reunited once again at the dawn of the new millennium, to record material for God Bless the Go-Go’s. The single “Unforgiven” reached into the Top 40, and the album itself hit the Billboard 200. In 2001, the Go-Go’s also performed at the All Star Tribute to Brian Wilson at Radio City Music Hall, and the group recently resumed touring to celebrate the anniversary of Beauty and the Beat, released thirty years ago. They still record and perform together, and have plans to continue to do so into the future.