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Go-Go History
It
all started in Washington D.C. more than 25 years
ago. The godfather, Chuck Brown started it all unknowingly,
playing Jazz music. His band was formed in 1966,67',68'. Af
ter about a year of performing he got an idea, why should
they stop playing after every song? So he had the percussion
section keep the beat after a groove was finished, While the
percussion continued to play he would rap to the crowd, say
whats up to people that he knew, take requests and put people on
"display".In 1973(?), he heard "Mr.Magic" by Grover
Washington. He immediately recognized the perfect dance
beat, and made that his transition beat. Thus the
"pocket" was born. Chuck Brown, has taken this sound
to Tokyo,Japan, California, Germany, London,Eng., and even
Holland !!! Trouble Funk, (another classic innovator/before
disbanding) had electified the nightclub circuits of New
York, California and London!
In the early seventies,younger bands were already starting to
pop up all over the city. Trouble Funk patterned themselves
after Parliament/Funkadelic; Experience Unlimited played top 40
and rock. Chuck took another young band under his wing known as
the Young Dynamos. When Chuck put them on, they changed their name
to "Rare Essence" With the guidance of Chuck Brown, Essence quickly
began to make a name for themselves as the hottest young band.
Although not quite as polished as E.U. and Trouble Funk, they
captured the crowd with a pure Go~Go sound. TF and EU soon began
to incorporate Go~Go beats in their repertoire.
By 1976 it was on! R.E.,T.F.,AND
E.U., began gigging throughout the city having classic battles
amongst each other. By 1979, The Peace Makers and Mass Extinction
joined the circuit as two more popular groups. Lawrence (Maniac)
sang backup for Essence from time to time starting in 1981 (the
1981 Potomac High School is one example. Right on for the P-girls
yall"). In 1982, he took over for LiL' Benny who missed several
shows from illness. In 1983 he became a full member of the group.
In 1986, Little Benny left Essence leaving Lawrence by himself
for a minute. Maniac later left too..money problems. Benny who
also rocked the lead vocals for the Ayre Rayde Band for a while too,
in 1986.
Big
John from Ayre Rayde also cranked the lead vocals for Rare
Essence for some time after Little Benny's departure.Did you
know that the Mighty Peacemakers played at the Washington
Monument in 1981 ? Heap Big Fun ! Everyone knows that would
be unimaginable today ! In 1983, Ayre Rayde took the Go~Go
world by storm as well as bands like Reality, Petworth,
Shady Groove, Prophecy,Hot,Cold Sweat and a host of others!
In fact it became a Friday, Saturday night ritual to go and
see the Go~Go bands perform for guess how
much?....1.00!
There would at times be 4-5-6 bands
playing on one card with Rare Essence headlining the
marquis. Just like the Greatful Dead following everyone was
allowed and encouraged to bring a tape recorder to the show
to record the bands !! These amateur recordings, would
promote the bands and sell more tickets ! In 1985 another
band finally started to get their due....Junkyard formed in
(1982)...with their local hits "Sardines" and the "Word".
Coming from very humble beginnings in S.E. Berry Farms, they
were known for their hypnotic percussion and world famous
Cavalier commercial.
In 1986, a new band appeared on the scene...the Junkyard
Band with there local hits Sardines and The Word. Coming
from very humble beginnings in S.E. Berry Farms, they were
known for their hypnotic percussion and world famous
Cavalier commercial. Around this time there were many bands
breaking up...Class, Prophecy, AM/FM...etc...but GO`GO was
finally leaving home with the
successes of 'Don't Touch That Stereo" by Iceburg Slim,
"Drop The Bomb"-Trouble Funk. Trouble Funk also collaborated
with Kurtis Blow on the Kingdom Blow album. Then Experience
Unlimited and Spike Lee collaborated on on the soundtrack
for School Daze. The national hit, "Doin' Da Butt" finally
propelled GO~GO to thetop in the national spotlight.
Unfortunately, their success also led to their breakup,
which is the case for most successful bands in sany music.
The early 90's also meant a lot to GO~GO with the growth of
cable television. Bolstered by their popularity on Rap City
and on B.E.T. and a musical collaboration with Salt & Pepper
on their first LP, Rare Essence reached umber 5 on the chart
in Jet Magazine a national publication !
Everyone compared
the successes of R.E.'s "Work The Walls" with E.U's, " Doin'
Da Butt" (a double platinum hit) of a few years before. It
also fueled the rivalry between the two bands, with Donnell
Floyd from Rare Essence saying in the song lyrics "Working
The Walls is our game our claim to fame "Doin' DA Butt, Hey
was just a phaze!! The mid 80's, and early 90's also saw a
resurgence of the godfather himself Chuck Brown! Producing
hits like "Sure Ya Right", We Need Money", and his infamous
boat ride go~go's and Hustler Balls. Chuck helped pave the
way for todays sound....Northeast Groovers (N.E.), The D.C. Metro Boys were the
first Go~Go band to ever play in Atlanta,
Georgia at Morehouse College and also at the Freaknick in 1992, Pleasure B.K.A. Precise the all girl
band...and from Baltimore, Maryland which is exactly what we
need to go national, like hip hop did....a grass roots
explosion!, Backyard (B.Y.B.) had finally brought Go-Go back to the Freaknick in
97' and had given us a memorable
encore in 98'! Despite our many successes there was a major
and significant tragedy that befell the Go~Go industry in
1998. The breakup of the Junkyard band. This is an
historical event, because it destroys the old and gives
birth to something new. Out of one band, we now may enjoy
two. The JMOBB and J.Y. Band! In 1998 and 1999 rumor has it
that this may also happen in two other bands, that for now
shall go nameless.
In closing, let us not forget about the Junkyard Band..in a
thirteen year span they had toured New York, Boston,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Petersburg, Va., and a host of
other cities!! These are the major players in go~go today.
Go~Go music is surprisingly, the only African American music
which highlights and focuses on traditional African drums in
every musical arrangement! So it's obviously..an
unforgettable cultural experience. Oh yea, I would like to
give an extra, extra special thanks to my man "Skip Howard"
for his collaborative (hopefully continual) effort in
chronicalling the history of Go~Go on this website!
More history, for every band is coming in 2008!
Please check each band's individual web pages.
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Go-Go Videos
Check out a few videos of some of the best Go-Go bands in history right here, post your own!
Go-Go News!
 Hmmm...wassup with the Go-Go?
Click here, for the latest news and gossip..add to the fray!
Go-Go Shows!
Where is the party? Here you can find information on about the bands, and venues,
and we will see you at the next Go-Go!
Broadband Only!
Preview the entire 1-18-08 A.B.M. CD from Choppa Black's B-Day before buying!
For the Windows Media Player - Click To Play!
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"Interested in Go-Go Cd's? Here is a free PDF downloadable catalogue! Just a
