Go Go Music

[K-Bee]

For all you go go fans out there
check this site out
http://www.tmottgogo.com/mygogo2.html

It's an internet go go portal. Lots of Info

Enjoy

[Forrrce]

Just browsed...it's very disappointing how little there was to know about go-go. The only things to round off my picture of the genre would be the legendary drug problem which surrounded the scene and that Maxx Kidd was the entrepreneurial spirit who took full advantage of its short-lived media potential.

The first record I heard in this unusual style was Trouble Funk's 'So Early In The Morning' in 1982, which 'til this day remains my number one go-go track.

I would cite the following as 'honorary' go-go records:

Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers 'If It Ain't Funky' (1974)
Funkadelic 'Super Stupid' (maybe the first?) (1971)
Experience, Unlimited 'Funky Consciousness' (1977)
The Bar-Kays 'Holy Ghost' 12" (1978)
...and the Beyonce track before I get sick of it! :D

There's a book I bought from Amazon but mislaid before I read, called 'The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion Of Funk & Hip-Hop' which was first published in 2001. (I'm still looking for the tell-tale bulge in a record stack that could just be it...)

[markydefad]

Duh. When I hear the term "Go-Go" I think of the mid-60's TV shows like "Shindig" & "Hullabaloo" with dancers like Teri Garr & Lada Edmunds Jr. wearing mini shirts and frugging in cages to songs like Smokey Robinson's "Going To A Go-Go".

Then there was the new wavy group The Go-Go's.

I guess I missed this version of "Go-Go" that excited y'all soooo much. :oops:

[paul]

Nicky, Marky and some of the rest of you. I don't know if you really missed that much. It seemed more of a regional thing to me. I had a friend from Maryland who was all into it. I sense it was a mid-Atlantic thing. I didn't exactly get excited about it and I can rememeber only two songs in the genre. "Bustin' Loose" was nice and I think came out around '79 or maybe a little later. The other song was "Da Butt." This girl I used to date loved it but I really didn't get into that song.

[Leatherman]

The party-harty music from Washington still lives on. There are local websites selling new live CD's by Rare Essence, along with some other newer acts I've not heard of.

Faves that haven't been mentioned already are -

Rare Essence "Body Moves"
Jim Bennet "Bump and Roll"
EU "Sho Nuf Bumpin"
Trouble Funk "Get Down with the Get Down"

Julia and Co had another track out on a Go Go compilation in the late 80's called "Drug Free DC". It was pretty nice, but the lyrics obviously limited it's appeal.

It always annoyed me how in the early/mid 80's the UK soul mafia (Robbie Vincent, Jeff Young, Tond etc) hyped up GoGo as an alternitve to the electro they all hated. It gave the music over exposure it just couldn't sustain as there weren't any cross over hits in Go Go (unless you count Little Benny getting to 35).

[Outsider]

I also think of girls in short skirts dancing in cages when I hear the term "go-go". I don't know anything about the type of music you all are talking about. I take it the two aren't related.

:evil:

[paul]

Originally Posted by Outsider

I also think of girls in short skirts dancing in cages when I hear the term "go-go". I don't know anything about the type of music you all are talking about. I take it the two aren't related.

:evil:

Hmmm well, there were many girls in short skirts winding their hips to the music which is a very good thing. So I guess they are related though perhaps not in the way you meant :D

[QUINNY]

Nothing to do with Go-Go music, but just to say that I've listened to Thunderthumbs and The Toetsenman - Freedom A Go-Go a few times this week on a minidisc compilation of mine that I'm revisiting.
That should confuse the hell out of some of ya!!! :lol: :lol:

BTW: I am truly saddened by our U.S. posters lack of adventure when it comes to trying out some Go-Go, although at the same time, I can understand that it possibly wouldn't press any buttons for ya. Hell, I hate Eurodisco, but at least I've heard a fair chunk of it.

[efunk_adelic]

I'm still trying to understand why go go music style wasn't hip enough to have hit after hit.... I'm wondering how the dance movements were? If it were mostly popular in DC, maybe somebody will step forward and describe the moves.... :-?

[Forrrce]

I think go-go wasn't particulary big because it was too old-fashioned. Even my introduction to the style (the Trouble Funk track I mentioned earlier) sounded incredibly dated as a new record. The music's formula was old school and basic, to say the least - a brass ensemble, guitar, bass, some keys and as much percussion as could be gotten away with - not sweet to the ears of an emerging 'electronic' generation. The rather basic, call-and-response nature of the music wouldn't have appealed to everybody, either.

I would assume that this is why go-go was particularly big in Europe, which seems to house a lot of funk lovers. Maybe America was too busy looking ahead to be listening backwards? I noticed at the time that only one go-go record came from anywhere outside the DC/Maryland/Virginia area, which was a tune by Central Groove on Vanguard - this, I and many believed, was a New York cash-in.

In 1985, Island was the first major to see the potential in the music and signed Max Kidd's mighty D.E.T.T. empire, which mas the most prolific outlet for the genre at the time. Trouble Funk gained a certain notoriety out of the deal and went on to become media dahlings for a while, even managed some very well-attended, high profile gigs. And what about the go-go film, 'Good To Go' - did that stiff in the 'States too?

Unfortunately, the music seemed to disappear up its own behind, getting more synthesised and generally lamer by the minute - the raw edge had pretty much been blunted and so many records started to sound weak and samey. Quelle surprise - go-go then disappeared from view.

Go-go has an irresistable hip-swinging, booty shakin' vibe that is quite unique. The Beyonce track I raved about is a good example of what go-go probably sounds like now when made by the next generation. But if you're unfamiliar with the music itself, 'Crazy In Love' should give you a good idea of what it's about -musically and rhythmically.

By the way, I can think of two go-go dances - the much-lauded 'whop' and the mysterious process of 'getting small' - neither of which I had the privilege to witness. :-?

[ladyboygrimsby]

I think Forrrce is right, it was an old-fashioned sort of music, really, and as soon as they started incorporating modern technology into the sound, it lost a lot of its appeal (for me, at least), though Trouble Funk Express is a great track. Even if it is a rip-off of Soul Sonic Force.

The main reason why it flopped, I think, is because it was geared to live performance and long jams and they were never going to translate that to pop radio's three minute format. When Trouble Funk made an attempt to do this (on Trouble Over Trouble There) the album rightly flopped because they'd removed all of the things that had made them good in the first place. I saw Trouble Funk three times and they were - and still are - the best band I've ever seen live.

There are some great go go records, though, that I think still stand up to the test of time. If you wanna find out more, the man to get the information from is Snowboy, the Essex percussionist/DJ. He's mad into go go.

Anyhow, here's some of my favourites:
Donald Banks - Status Quo
Chuck Brown - Bustin' Loose/We Need Money/Game Seven
Trouble Funk - Say What/Let's Get Small/So Early In The Morning
Osiris - War On The Bullshit
Hot Cold Sweat - Meet Me At The Go Go
Davis Pinckney Project - You Can Dance (If You Want To)
Mac Attack - Art Of Drums
AM-FM - You Are The One
Rare Essence - Shoo Be De Wop/Body Moves
Little Benny - Who Comes To Boogie

[QUINNY]

I guess it was a little old hat, but that still doesn't explain why so many Americans never got to hear it at all. You do realize were saying that in European terms there could have been, for example, a London only dance music that was generally more appreciated by people in St. Olaf (Marky's home town) than say someone in Paris. O.K. that's probably not so far fetched an idea, or is it?
We've all said it's infectious, we've all shown fairly broad tastes in Disco music in other postings and yet we all agree it was bloody marvellous music to dance to. If it was so old hat, uncommercial etc, how come so many of us here from such diverse musical backgrounds and preferences all agree on its brilliance, when we'd be showing strong discord over other genres? It just doesn't add up at all.

[Forrrce]

I would hazard a guess and say that the fans on the forum are probably a very small minority. Not to say that a certain amount on tokenism wouldn't be involved if one of those questioning the genre were to hear a go-go track and like it, just for what it is.

I myself do not like Euro-disco or Hi-NRG by default, but that's not to say that I haven't liked a record out of either bag.

Go-go was evidently a regional phenomenon - why, we just don't know. If all the devotees on the board were to submit their favourite, say, 20 go-go tracks, I'd put my money on at least 16 titles spanning every list. Why does a genre that's at least 25 years old, hold so many secrets in terms of its recorded output? Those of us who think we're hardcore go-go fans probably have the same 10 records dated pre-1985. This alone is puzzling - there must have been a lot more 12s and LPs, but they didn't seem to make it out of Washington. Again, why?

I still think appeal was limited and it was just something quirky to the less dedicated. I can imagine that to commercial ears, if you heard one go-go track, you heard 'em all.

[Leatherman]

From being around at the time I got the impression that go go came over in very small quantities to the UK on import in the early 80's and gained a very minor cult following. Also, Trouble funk were signed to Sugarhill and Go Go got some profile out of that - but more with NME types than Blues and Soul readers. Out of the blue UK record companies (particularly Island) suddenly got onto go go and bought up large amounts of it. The hype then began - I remember Island flying a load of the top UK jouno's and DJ's (people like Tony Blackburn, Jeff Young etc) out to Washington to see go go in action and sweeten them up. All of a sudden you couldn't get away from go go in the press and on specialist radio. The UK funk/soul mafia (a powerful bunch of UK DJ's) really championed it, hoping it would kill the electro and hip hop they hated and was dividing their precious scene. Those guys could relate to go go as it was basically just funk, where as electro had all these silly voices and drum machines, which wasn't Maze/Luther enough for them. Go go was forced down punters throats for about a year before everybody realised it wasn't going to catch on. Trouble Funk and Chuck Brown did more live stuff and therefore probably sold a few LP's but it had pretty much dissapeared by the 90's. I'm not suprised the US cats on here aren't familiar with it, appart from "Bustin Loose" and "Da Butt", which were the only 2 breakout go go hits in the US.

[NickNack]

Was all of Trouble Funk's music go-go? Asking because I have a 12" or two by them that I could listen to and get a feel for what you guys are talking about.