Vacation (The Go-Go's song)

"Vacation"
Single by The Go-Go's
from the album Vacation
B-side	"Beatnik Beach"
Released	June 26, 1982
Format	7", cassette single
Recorded	1981
Length	2:59
Label	I.R.S.
Writer(s)	Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine, Jane Wiedlin
Producer(s)	Richard Gottehrer
The Go-Go's singles chronology
"We Got the Beat" (1982) "Vacation" (1982) "Get Up and Go" (1982)

"Vacation" is a 1982 single released by the all-female rock band the Go-Go's. The song was the first single from their album Vacation.

The song proved to be one of the Go-Go's highest charting singles, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1982. 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]

Music video

The video 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 via 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 per 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, along 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, since the band was coming off a debut album that had reached number one. "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."^[2]

Used in popular culture

• "Vacation" was featured in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, as footage was shown of President George W. Bush playing golf prior to the 9/11 attacks.
• The song is heard in episodes of the The Simpsons ("Mobile Homer"), Duckman ("In the Nam of the Father"), Scrubs ("My Conventional Wisdom"), and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ("The Gang Goes to The Jersey Shore").
• The song is used in the Rugrats Special Vacation.
• The song is also used in the A Fairly Odd Summer movie.
• The song has been used in 2013 commercials for Alamo Rent a Car.
• The Go-Go's version is used in the 2011 motion picture Jack and Jill.

Track listing

1. "Vacation" - 2:59
2. "Beatnik Beach" - 2:53

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1982) Peak position Canadian Singles Chart 23 US Billboard Hot 100 8 US Billboard Top Tracks 13 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 17

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Rank American Top 40 Year-End[3] 78 US Billboard Hot 100[4] 87

References

1. "Retail Test for Go-Go's Cassingle". Billboard. 94 (25): 4. June 26, 1982. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
2. 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.
3. American Top 40 - "The Top 100 Hits of 1982" (Part 2)
4. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics