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Chuck Brown, known as 'The God-Father of Go-Go,' talks about the music genre he created in the 1970s.
Go-Go music has long been a staple in DC culture. Amidst the rules, regulations and government scandals lies a hard-hitting, percussion driven sound that is the beat of the city. For over 30 years, Go-Go has thrived inside the nation’s capital and its surrounding metropolitan area. However, beyond its early days, it hasn’t had the commercial success outside of the Beltway that other genre’s like pop, hip-hop, rock and rhythm and blues have had.
Recently, it has taken big-name artists, like Beyoncé, sampling the Go-Go sound to help the music spread outside of Washington. So, what’s so special about this genre? “Take Me out to the Go-Go” answers that question and more as Stephen Chesley shines light on the Go-Go sound, why it hasn’t gone national and what it means for DC culture.
Stephen Chesley is the audio engineering intern for NPR.
Great story! So nice to see a story on DC culture instead of politics for a change
Great history of GoGo! Very nice music cuts and interviews. I read the Kip book and it is a good resource for this story. I think the only missing from the story is some of the negative aspects of GoGo. But overall this helped me to understand GoGo and the GoGo culture.
Bravo Stephen! congrats on your completed internship.
Stephen–this is so cool! Why didn’t you play a cow bell in the intern video?!
Excellent Stevie!! Really thorough story on our culture and history of go-go, and great interviews! (You sound amazing!!) Professional and classic- you betta work!!
Stephen I love this! Your voice is perfect! Why didn’t I know that EU stood for experience unlimited. I learned something!
Stephen, you completed an excellent analysis of the history and unique aspects of Go-Go music in the Washington DC Metro area. This is typically an underestimated genre of music but, I believe that your discussion effectively gave credibility and legitimized the important cultural aspects of this type of music. Also, excellent analysis into the factors that contribute to Go-Go’s lack of national exposure. Job well done!
Boss Man,
Excellent piece. You interviewed those in the know and obtained informative viewpoints. Great insights revealed. Solid background research. Your own personal touch highlighted what Go-Go means to so many and shows it is multigenerational. Outstanding work.
Great Job Stephen! I am thoroughly impressed. Your insight and depth of the Go-Go music makes an impressionable statement. Hopefully, this will be become nationwide in the near future.
AWESOME! Very informative and creative. Your use of clips and bytes and backgrounds is top notch! Keep up the good work!
WOW .. Great job Sir! And you will get even better as you produce more stories. I am proud of you.
Great job Stephen. Really informative piece about Go-Go. Interesting breakdown of the musical structure of the genre which I never considered having grown up with this music. Great perspective on how influential the music is ohough it’s a “DC thang.”