Vacation (The Go-Go's song)

"Vacation" is a 1982 single released by the all-female rock band, the Go-Go's. The song was the first single from the album, Vacation.

"Vacation"
Standard artwork
Single by The Go-Go's
from the album Vacation
B-side"Beatnik Beach"
ReleasedJune 26, 1982
Recorded1982
GenreNew wave
Length2:59
LabelI.R.S.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Richard Gottehrer
The Go-Go's singles chronology
"We Got the Beat"
(1982)		 "Vacation"
(1982)		 "Get Up and Go"
(1982)

The song became one of the Go-Go's highest charting singles, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1982. The song was released on 7" vinyl format, with the surf rock song "Beatnik Beach" as the single's B-side. "Vacation" carries the distinction of being released as the first known cassette single or "cassingle" as trademarked by I.R.S. Records.[1]

A previous version of Vacation written solely by Kathy Valentine was an EP and later 45 by the earlier band she was in, The Textones. Both the EP and 45 were on Chiswick Records in the United Kingdom. The Textones version as well as the Go-Go's recording are featured in the 2020 Go-Go's documentary. The Textones version of the song is the theme of the Starz series Hightown.

Music video

The video starts by showing the song's title on a photo in a travel brochure. It depicts the band first waiting on a pile of luggage at an airport after Belinda Carlisle arrives in a taxi. Gradually it changes to show them performing, then ends with a section in which they appear to be water-skiing in formation, as on the album cover. All the band members smile and mug for the camera in individual closeups. The photo then freezes and zooms out to be shown in another travel brochure on the floor, which an unseen janitor sweeps up, with other trash (most likely from the airport portion of the video).

It was shot in one very long day on a $50,000 budget, large for the time, and the band was coming off a debut album that had reached no. 1. "We still saw videos as an annoying waste of time," recalls Jane Wiedlin. "After seven or eight hours we sent out someone to sneak in booze." Kathy Valentine says they drank "lots of champagne. Lots." Wiedlin says the effects are evident during the closeups of the women at the end: "... if you look at our eyes, we're all so drunk. We didn't even try to make it look like we were really waterskiing."[2]

Track listing
  1. "Vacation" - 2:59
  2. "Beatnik Beach" - 2:53

Charts

References
  1. "Retail Test for Go-Go's Cassingle". Billboard. 94 (25): 4. June 26, 1982. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  2. Marks, Craig; Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York, NY: Dutton. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-525-95230-5.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6523." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Go-Go's – Vacation" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  6. "Notowanie nr18" (in Polish). LP3. August 21, 1982. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  7. "Swedishcharts.com – Go-Go's – Vacation". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  8. "Go-Gos Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  9. "Go-Gos Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  10. "Go-Gos Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  11. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 18, 1982
  12. American Top 40 - "The Top 100 Hits of 1982" (Part 2)
  13. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm
  14. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982
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