The Beat: Go-Go Music from Washington, DC
by Kip Lornell and Charles Stephenson, Jr.
University Press of Mississippi, 2009.
A history of the distinctive, capital sound that fuses hip-hop, funk, and soul The Beat! was the first book to explore the musical, social, and cultural phenomenon of go-go music. The Beat set the stage for how we understand Go-Go. The Beat was originally published by Billboard Music in 2001 and a new edition was published in 2009.
Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City
by Natalie Hopkinson
Duke University Press, 2012.
Go-Go Live explores the place of go-go within the development of Washington, D.C. since the 1970s. It is an important reference for teachers who are unfamiliar with go-go and for teachers who are seeking content on how go-go is part of a larger and international history of black music and culture. The book contains photographs and extensive excerpts from oral histories Hopkinson conducted.
ARTICLES
Go-Go Forever: The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Washington, D.C.'s Ultimate Rhythm by Ericka Blount Danois
MTV News, June 14, 2017
In Washington, D.C.'s 1980s go-go scene, The Black Hole was what CBGB was to punk rock, what The Paradise Garage was to dance music. You couldn't call yourself a true go-go head if you'd never stepped past its hefty bodyguards after wading through the mass of bodies stretching down Georgia Avenue whenever a show was happening.
Go-Go is D.C.’s Official Soundtrack. It Deserves Equitable Funding.
Washington Post, August 14, 2020
As protesters take to the streets across the country demanding equity and recognition for Black lives, an important symbolic battle is taking place in D.C., where I have spent most of my adult life as an arts advocate. Go-go artists are struggling to get the respect — and public investment — they deserve amid a deepening economic and racial crisis.
The Go-Go People’s Plan
February, 2021
Teaching for Change is pleased that our Teach the Beat program is included in the “The Go-GoPeople’s Plan.” Pursuant to Section 3 of the “Go-Go Official Music of the District of Columbia Designation Act of 2020,” D.C. Act 23-218, the plan outlines the city's strategy to support, preserve, and archive Go-Go music and its history.
It’s Time for Women in Go-Go to Grab the Mic and Get Their Flowers
Smithsonian Folklife Magazine, March 21, 2024
In go-go culture—like in most music and public life—men have dominated the mic and the instruments. It’s a theme I encountered again and again during my doctoral research on go-go, a percussive fusion of funk, blues, soul, and salsa that emerged in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s. In 2020, it was designated the official music of D.C. But as I was making final revisions on my dissertation, my advisor posed a question: what about women in go-go?
EXPERIENCES
The Uncle Devin Show® Live Music for Children
The Uncle Devin Show® is an interactive musical experience for children by renowned drummer Devin Walker. The show cultivates the minds of children through percussion instruments and is a dynamic cross between DC’s Trouble Funk and Schoolhouse Rock. Known as The Children's Drumcussionist, Uncle Devin is also a Teaching Artist with both the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts and Young Audiences/Arts for Learning - Maryland.
VIDEOS
Go-Go Sound of Summer
Learn more about the music, history, and influence of go-go music with this three-part virtual family series. Each episode explores a different facet of go-go music and culture, breaking down the foundations of the music, showcasing its history in D.C., and celebrating its broader influence on other music genres, popular culture, political movements, and more. Featured in the videos are Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller, William “JuJu” House, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot and Cherie “Sweet Cherie” Mitchell-Agurs.
Chuck Brown NPR Tiny Desk Concert
How Go-Go Inspired D.C.’s Beat Ya Feet Dance
Unsung: Chuck Brown and Go-Go
MTV News: Inside D.C.’s Most Popular Music Scene
FILMS
Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in Washington, DC
By Samuel George
For decades, Washington, DC has been a beacon for Black culture and community. Now, however, a wave of economic and cultural gentrification occurring at breakneck speed threatens to erase this history. The film interweaves scenes of protest as displaced communities take to the streets to rally around the city’s beloved Go-Go music.
Keeping Go-Go Going in a Gentrifying D.C.
The film chronicles how go-go legends like Anwan “Big G” Glover of Backyard Band, strive to attract a new generation of fans which includes new residents of the city. Keeping the history of the music alive while combating negative stereotypes are at the core of the effort. The episode includes interviews with Glover and Backyard Band members, Buggy, Sauce, Los, and Weensey. Length: 5:42. Aired: Nov. 28, 2015. Produced by The Atlantic.
Jazz in the Diamond District
A woman joins a go-go band in hopes of becoming a star. Derailed by pressure from her family and the music industry, the young woman is forced to redefine for herself the true meaning of success.
Chuck Brown: National Visionary
Oral history archive of enduring soul and jazz artist, known as the "Godfather of Go-Go" for pioneering this unique and popular urban dance music
Straight Up Go-Go
A 1992 documentary film directed by Shuaib Muhammed Kedar and Shuaib Mitchell. The film analyzes the roots and historical impacts that influenced the development of go-go music.