Every city has a sound. DC has a beat that does not stop between songs. That is go-go, and it was born right here in the mid 1970s.
The Godfather
Go-go is most often credited to Chuck Brown, the guitarist and bandleader known as the Godfather of Go-Go. Brown moved to DC as a child, came up through jazz and Latin bands, and then led Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers. His idea was simple and brilliant: keep the party going by never letting the rhythm drop. The band would stitch songs together with a steady percussion groove so the dance floor never emptied.
Other DC bands helped lay the groundwork too. Groups like the Young Senators were experimenting with a similar style in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
What Makes It Go-Go
Listen for the pocket beat underneath everything: congas, timbales, cowbells, bass drum and snare, all locked in together. On top of that comes call and response. The lead talker shouts out neighborhoods, crews and people in the crowd, and the crowd shouts right back. A go-go show is a conversation between the band and the city.
From the Corner to the World
Brown's hit Bustin' Loose in the late 1970s carried the sound far beyond the District. Bands like Rare Essence, Trouble Funk and Experience Unlimited built on it, and E.U.'s Da Butt became a national hit after it appeared in a Spike Lee film in 1988. Through it all, go-go stayed rooted in DC: in rec centers, backyards, clubs and street corners across every quadrant.
Chuck Brown passed in 2012. Today a stretch of 7th Street NW near Florida Avenue carries the name Chuck Brown Way, and the beat he started still runs through the city.
Wear the Beat
Our Chocolate City Love Go-Go crest was made for the people who grew up on that pocket beat. Shop the Chocolate City Collection.
Sources: National Endowment for the Arts, Carnegie Hall Timeline of African American Music, DC History Center
