13
The list of advantages in having your own sitcom was long and luxurious. Most of them were openly visible, others were somewhat more subtle. Seeing your name in the credits at the end of the show was one of the more subtle ones.
“We Got the Beat”
Written by Charlotte Caffey
It absolutely gave her goosebumps. To accentuate the thrill, a montage of her making funny faces flashed across the screen at the exact same time that the credits were being shown.
She was immortalized.
Her face. Her song. Her credit.
In some kind of pathetic way, it was actually more exhilarating to see those credits than it was to play in front of 20,000 people. Sometimes, when she felt she needed a little pick-me-up, Charlotte would pop the cassette in the VCR and fast forward through the entire episode just to see that part.
Ahhh, vanity. What a malevolent bitch you are.
At the time the pilot episode came out, seeing her name in the credits like that was essentially the shining achievement in her life at the moment. Now, it was just another pebble in the sand. Charlotte had come a long way in the last three years. Many more episodes— many more experiences.
But, acknowledgement never gets old.
Because of her business accomplishments, Charlotte sometimes felt as if she were above the silliness of the show. But, then, reality would set in and she would realize everything that it did for the band.
As much as the girls ridiculed the absurdity of the show, the bounty of privileges it provided were overwhelmingly apparent. They all knew how lucky they were. Stardom can come from all kinds of avenues. The Go-Go’s were happy just to be a part of any of it.
Also, from a musical standpoint, there’s no way it could have worked out any better. The network provided a roomful of songwriters for them, many of whom gave them the songs they would become famously associated with. In many ways, it was too good to be true. On top of that, Epic Records, CBS’ top affiliate and the Go-Go’s personal label, did a magnificent job of promoting and producing albums. Their intent was to flood the market with everything Go-Go’s. They accomplished this goal, largely in part, by placing previously recorded songs on the new releases. It seemed like a dirty trick, but the American public didn’t seem to care. Anything the Go-Go’s were putting out, they were gobbling up. In 1983 alone, the Go-Go’s and Epic Records produced four albums by using that exact same ploy. One album in particular, had only ONE new song on the entire record. All Epic Records had to do was stuff the album with a bunch of new photos and a lyrics sheet or a poster, and off it would go.
It seemed rather unethical to Charlotte, but there was no point in getting involved as far as she was concerned. Normally, she would have poked her nose into the situation, but this time she decided not to jinx the whole process. No matter how it was getting done, some person or persons at CBS, or over at Epic Records, was making it all happen and probably laughing to themselves all the way to the bank.
Besides, it was exactly the same kind of chicanery she would pull herself if given the chance.
In fact, as she sat in her comfy chair on this casual, Tuesday evening, the whole idea became so amusing to her that she actually had to squirm in her seat and laugh to herself. Maybe it was the delightful, little drinky-poo or the Mary Jane that was doing the trick, but Charlotte suddenly experienced a momentary surge of giddiness that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She even felt her intestines gurgle and wondered if she might have to go visit the little-girl’s room again.
Fortunately, Binky jumped up in her lap and reminded her to calm down.