Charlotte Caffey | |
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 Caffey in 2008 | |
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| Birth name | Charlotte Irene Caffey |
| Born | (1953-10-21)October 21, 1953 (age 71) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1977–present |
Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist and pianist, best known for her work in the rock bandthe Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat".
Caffey began her musical career playing bass guitar in the early Los Angelespunk band The Eyes before joiningthe Go-Go's in 1978 and switching to guitar.[1] She remained friends with fellow band memberBelinda Carlisle after the initial breakup of the Go-Go's and wrote songs for Carlisle's solo albums.
From 1988 until 1992, she led her own band,The Graces, withMeredith Brooks andGia Ciambotti, who released the albumPerfect View in 1989. Caffey also co-wrote thetheme song to the television seriesClueless withAnna Waronker, and played piano on the album version of "Foolish Games" byJewel, as well as co-writing the No. 1 U.S. country hit "But for the Grace of God" withKeith Urban.[1]
Caffey wrote the book, music, and lyrics forLovelace: A Rock Musical with Anna Waronker. The rock musical debuted at theHayworth Theatre in Los Angeles in 2008. A new production ofLovelace: A Rock Musical made its United Kingdom debut at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2010. A number of her songs were featured in the 2018 debut of theBroadway musicalHead Over Heels, with a story suggested byPhilip Sidney'sArcadia set to the songs of the Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle.[2]
The Go-Go's announced an 11-date reunion tour scheduled to begin in June 2020; however, in May 2020 the tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] In May 2021 it was announced that The Go-Go's would be inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[4][5]The band confirmed plans for a 2022 UK tour withBilly Idol that would start in June 2022.[6] The band was forced to postpone a short West Coast tour scheduled for the first week of January 2022 due to a COVID-19 case involving someone on the tour.[7]
She grew up inGlendale, California, and graduated fromImmaculate Heart College. She is also in Ze Malibu Kids with her husband, theRedd Kross singer and guitaristJeff McDonald. Their only child, a daughter named Astrid McDonald, was born in 1995 and is a singer and model.
She was the fourth of twelve children born to Ann (née Gorey) andMichael Caffey (died 2017), an American network television series episode director from the mid-1960s on into the 1990s (The Virginian, Dukes of Hazzard, Barnaby Jones, MacGyver, CHiPs, T.J. Hooker).
Charlotte semi-retired from regular performances in the late 1980s because of cripplingcarpal tunnel syndrome.[2]
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