We Got the Beat

"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American all-female rock band the Go-Go's, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey. The band first recorded the song in early 1980 as a single on UK-based Stiff Records, and rerecorded it the next year for their debut album Beauty and the Beat on I.R.S. Records. "We Got the Beat" is considered a new wave classic and the Go-Go's' signature song. The song was named one of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".

The first version of the song was released as a single on May 9, 1980, in the UK, but it was criticized for being artificially sped up. Even so, the song brought the Go-Go's underground credibility during their first UK tour, and increased their visibility in the US. This first version reached No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import.

Invigorated by new members Gina Schock and Kathy Valentine on drums and bass, the band signed to I.R.S. Records in April 1981 and remade the song in New York City. This new version, driven by Schock's drumming, and recorded at a slower pace as directed by producer Richard Gottehrer, first appeared as an album track on Beauty and the Beat on July 8, 1981. Following the lead single "Our Lips Are Sealed", "We Got the Beat" was prepped to be the second single from the album. Both songs were performed by the band in November on Saturday Night Live. "We Got the Beat" entered the Billboard pop chart in February 1982, and a month later it peaked at number 2. It was also a top 10 hit in Canada.

The song was also used during the opening sequence in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.