You no doubt know their hit songs: "Our Lips Are Sealed," "We Got the Beat," "Vacation," "Head over Heels" and "Turn to You," among many others. But do you know the real story behind The Go-Go's? A music documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of the all-girl band is airing on TV tonight.
Directed by Alison Ellwood, the hour-and-a-half-long documentary will chronicle the quintet of lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle, lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey, drummer Gina Schock, bassist Kathy Valentine and rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin through the band's beginnings in the L.A. punk rock scene of the late 1970s, to their MTV music-video stardom of the '80s, to the ups and downs the group experienced from the 1990s to today.
Widely considered the most successful all-female rock band of all time, the pioneering group distinguished itself as one of the first all-women bands to write original material and play all of their own instruments. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
The Go-Go's will air tonight, March 16, on The CW from 8pm to 10pm Eastern. The documentary film is readily available for anyone with a traditional pay-TV subscription or TV antenna that receives local station signals, as well as live TV streaming subscribers to Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
Along with candid interviews from Carlisle, Caffey, Shock, Valentine and Wiedlin, the documentary will also feature testimonies from former members like bassist Margot Olavarria and drummer Elissa Bello, as well as fellow famed musicians including Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, Lynval Golding of the Specials, Lee Thompson of Madness, Stewart Copeland of the Police, and writer-musician Pleasant Gehman, among others.
Though Carlisle acknowledged that the rockers were initially hesitant about having a documentary film crew dig into their complicated history and complex dynamics, ultimately the musicians were pleased with the finished product. She told Entertainment Weekly: "Seeing them again and seeing it on the big screen, where everything was so loud, made us really very emotional. It was such a well-crafted story, and we were so happy with the results. We feel that it's a great way to bookend a career, and a lot of healing was done through that documentary...Now we can really watch this documentary and reflect on how much we've been through together and be proud of what we accomplished."
Check out the trailer for The Go-Go's before tuning in to the rock documentary tonight on The CW.
