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"
ReleasedJuly 20, 1982
Recorded1982
Genre
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, being the band's second and final US top-10 hit. 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]

Billboard called it a "perfect summer record" saying it is "uptempo, optimistic and the aural companion for lazy days at the beach.[2] Cash Box called it "propulsive power pop."[3]

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.

Music video

The video, which was directed by Mick Haggery and C.D.Taylor, 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."[4]

Track listing

7-inch and cassette single[5][6]

A. "Vacation" – 2:59 (2:55 on cassette)
B. "Beatnik Beach" – 2:52 (2:45 on cassette)

The Go-Go's performed "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed", and "We Got the Beat" during the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.[7]

Vacation was used in two Klasky-Csupo animated series. Duckman in the episode “In The Nam of the Father” and Rugrats in the episode “Vacation”.

The song was played in 2005 on an episode of The Simpsons in the Season 16 episode Mobile Homer.

The song was also used in the trailer for the 2007 comedy film, Mr. Bean's Holiday.

The song was played during the end credits of the 2019 Marvel movie, Spider-Man: Far from Home .

Charts

References
  1. "Retail Test for Go-Go's Cassingle". Billboard. Vol. 94, no. 25. June 26, 1982. p. 4. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  2. "Top Single Picks". Billboard. July 3, 1982. p. 60. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  3. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 3, 1982. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. 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.
  5. Vacation (US 7-inch single vinyl disc). The Go-Go's. I.R.S. Records. 1982. IR-9907.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. Vacation (US cassette single sleeve). The Go-Go's. I.R.S. Records. 1982. CS70201.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Zaleski, Annie (October 30, 2021). "The Go-Go's Break Out Hits, 'Rock Star' Poses for Long Overdue Rock Hall Induction". Rolling Stone.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6523." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  10. "Go-Go's – Vacation" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  11. "Go-Go's – Vacation". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  12. "Go-Gos Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  13. "Go-Gos Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  14. "Go-Gos Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  15. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 18, 1982
  16. "Top 100 Songs of 1982".
  17. American Top 40 - "The Top 100 Hits of 1982" (Part 2)
  18. "Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982".
  19. Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982
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