As reported earlier today, The Go-Go's will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, making them the first all-female band who play their own instruments to be recognized by the Rock Hall.
Four of the group's members — Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine — chatted via Zoom with ABC Audio after the big announcement.
"It's really, really, really exciting," Caffey said. "[W]hen it happened, we were just jumping up and down with joy."
Added Schock, "And we're just starting a party, and it won't end until the end of the year."
As for Wiedlin, she noted, "We've always felt kind of like outsiders…[R]ock 'n' roll was a boys club for so long, and we just always…had fun and did our own thing. And I kind of feel like the Rock Hall…if you get in that club, you're really in. And that feels really good."
The Go-Go's will be inducted alongside two other female artists, Tina Turner and Carole King, marking the first time three women or women-fronted acts will be honored in the Performer category in one year.
Valentine said of the milestone, "I think people see women being honored and being recognized for their roles [in] this whole big rock 'n' roll thing…and I think it represents something really, really good and positive for the future. Standard bearers!"
The Go-Go's have broken up multiple times, and have experienced plenty of intra-band drama, but the group's classic lineup remains intact.
As Wiedlin pointed out, "How many bands have been together 41 years and still have the original members? It's really unheard of, that we're still together and alive, still making music."
The Rock Hall Induction Ceremony takes place October 30 in Cleveland.
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