Charlotte Caffey | |
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 Caffey in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charlotte Irene Caffey |
| Born | October 21, 1953 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist and pianist, best known for her work in the rock band the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat".
Caffey began her musical career playing bass guitar in the early Los Angeles punk band The Eyes before joining the Go-Go's in 1978 and switching to guitar. [1] She remained friends with fellow band member Belinda Carlisle after the initial breakup of the Go-Go's and wrote songs for Carlisle's solo albums.
From 1988 until 1992, she led her own band, The Graces, with Meredith Brooks and Gia Ciambotti, who released the album Perfect View in 1989. Caffey also co-wrote the theme song to the television series Clueless with Anna Waronker, and played piano on the album version of "Foolish Games" by Jewel, as well as co-writing the No. 1 U.S. country hit "But for the Grace of God" with Keith Urban. [1]
Caffey wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Lovelace: A Rock Musical with Anna Waronker. The rock musical debuted at the Hayworth Theatre in Los Angeles in 2008. A new production of Lovelace: A Rock Musical made its United Kingdom debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2010. A number of her songs were featured in the 2018 debut of the Broadway musical Head Over Heels , with a story suggested by Philip Sidney's Arcadia set to the songs of the Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle. [2]
The Go-Go's announced an 11-date reunion tour scheduled to begin in June 2020; however, in May 2020 the tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] In May 2021 it was announced that The Go-Go's would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [4] [5] The band confirmed plans for a 2022 UK tour with Billy Idol that would start in June 2022. [6] The band was forced to postpone a short West Coast tour scheduled for the first week of January 2022 due to a COVID-19 case involving someone on the tour. [7]
She grew up in Glendale, California, and graduated from Immaculate Heart College. She is also in Ze Malibu Kids with her husband, the Redd Kross singer and guitarist Jeff McDonald. Their only child, a daughter named Astrid McDonald, was born in 1995 and is a singer and model.
She was the fourth of twelve children born to Ann (née Gorey) and Michael Caffey (died 2017), an American network television series episode director from the mid-1960s on into the 1990s (The Virginian, Dukes of Hazzard, Barnaby Jones, MacGyver, CHiPs, T.J. Hooker).
Charlotte semi-retired from regular performances in the late 1980s because of crippling carpal tunnel syndrome. [2]
The Go-Go's are an American all-female 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, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Gina Schock on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar. They are widely considered the most successful all-female rock band of all time.
Beauty and the Beat is the debut album from California new wave band the Go-Go's. Released July 14, 1981 on the I.R.S. Records label, the album reached number one on Billboard's Top LPs & Tape chart in March 1982, bolstered by its two big Hot 100 hit singles: "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat", released in 1980, but in a different version. After a long and steady climb, Beauty and the Beat reached number one in the album chart dated March 6, 1982, the week before "We Got the Beat" entered the Top Ten of the Hot 100. The album stayed at the top for six consecutive weeks, and ranked second in Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1982. The album sold in excess of two million copies, and was RIAA-certified double platinum, qualifying it as one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Critically acclaimed, it has been described as one of the "cornerstone albums of American new wave".
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson Cowsill is an American rock musician and songwriter. She has been the lead guitarist for the Bangles since their founding in 1981. After their first disbandment in 1989, she has returned to the band for all subsequent reunions. In intervening years, she has performed with other artists, most extensively with the Continental Drifters.
Jane Wiedlin is an American musician, singer and actress, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band the Go-Go's. She also voices Dusk, the drummer and backup vocalist of the fictional rock band the Hex Girls. She also had a successful solo career.
Vacation is the second studio album by American rock band the Go-Go's, released on July 20, 1982, by I.R.S. Records. The album reached number eight on the Billboard 200, and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The title track reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.
Regina Ann Schock is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band The Go-Go's.
Kathryn Valentine is an American musician who is the bassist for the rock band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and creative pursuits. Valentine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October 2021 as a member of The Go-Go's.
Anna Jeanette Waronker is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the frontwoman of that dog.. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker and actress and musician Donna Loren, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker, and is married to Steve McDonald of Redd Kross and the Melvins.
"Mad About You" is the debut solo single by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was written by Paula Jean Brown, James Whelan and Mitchel Young Evans, and produced by Michael Lloyd for Carlisle's debut solo album Belinda. The single was released in 1986 as a CD single, 7-inch single and a 12-inch single. It was her first hit after leaving the Go-Go's, peaking at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart.
Heaven on Earth is the second solo studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on October 5, 1987, by MCA Records. Three singles reached the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100, including the number-one single and Carlisle's signature song "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". The album has been certified triple Platinum in the United Kingdom and Platinum in many countries, including the United States.
Belinda is the debut studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on May 19, 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Carlisle began work on the album in 1985 following the breakup of the Go-Go's, for whom she was the lead singer. The album was supported by four singles, with lead single "Mad About You" peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.
"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American rock band the Go-Go's, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey. The band first recorded the song in 1980 for a single on UK-based Stiff Records, 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. The first version reached No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play 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. The song was named one of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".
Real is the fifth studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle, released on September 29, 1993, by Virgin Records. The album has a genre of mainly pop songs written by Charlotte Caffey, Thomas Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and half co-written by Carlisle. It was the second Belinda Carlisle album where Rick Nowels had no writing or producing credits and was also Carlisle's first album where she contributed to the producing. The album cover was designed by Tom Dolan and is a departure for Carlisle, who presented a glamorous look on all her previous covers, choosing a "jeans and tee shirt" look instead this time without make-up. The album features a cover version of the Graces' song "Lay Down Your Arms". Former Germs guitarist Pat Smear, as well as Redd Kross members Jeff and Steve McDonald, and The Bangles' Vicki Peterson appear on the record.
Talk Show is the third studio album by the American rock band the Go-Go's, released on the I.R.S. label in 1984. Although some critics considered it an inspired return to form after their second album Vacation, other than the No. 11 hit single "Head over Heels", the album was a relative commercial disappointment, peaking at No. 18 and selling fewer than 500,000 copies. This would be the last all-original album by the group until 2001's God Bless The Go-Go's.
"Lay Down Your Arms" is a rock song which Charlotte Caffey, Ralph Schuckett, and Ellen Shipley wrote and composed, and which Shipley produced, for The Graces' album Perfect View (1989). Caffey was lead vocalist, and the song was released as the band's debut single. It charted at #56 in the Billboard charts.
"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 the Beat.
"Head over Heels" is a song by the all-female pop rock/new wave band the Go-Go's, released in 1984 as the first single from their third studio album, Talk Show. The song was written by band members Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine, and produced by English record producer Martin Rushent. The Go-Gos' rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin has cited "Head over Heels" as her favorite Go-Go's song, describing it as "just a classic. Like a little pop truffle of chocolate that's just completely delicious."
"Half the World" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle, released in 1991 as the third single from her fourth studio album, Live Your Life Be Free (1991). The song was written by Richard Feldman, Eric Pressly and Ellen Shipley, and produced by Feldman. It features backing vocals from Sheryl Crow.
Lovelace: A Rock Musical is a rock musical about the life of adult film star and women's liberation advocate, Linda Lovelace. The book, music, and lyrics are by Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey, with original concept and lyrics by Jeffery Leonard Bowman. The show debuted with a six-month run at the Hayworth Theatre in 2008. A new production of Lovelace: A Rock Musical made its United Kingdom debut at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2010.
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