"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American rock band the Go-Go's, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey. The band first recorded the song in 1980 for a single on UK-based Stiff Records, and later rerecorded it for their debut album Beauty and the Beat on I.R.S. Records. The initial single release brought the Go-Go's underground credibility during their first UK tour and in the band's hometown of Los Angeles. The first version reached No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import, and the second version was a top 10 hit in both the United States and Canada. It is considered a new wave classic hit, as well as being the Go-Go's' signature song. The song was named one of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Background, composition and release "We Got the Beat" evolved in part out of the group covering the Smokey Robinson song that served as the group's namesake: the Miracles' "Going to a Go Go" (1965). Taking inspiration from that, and from the opening theme of The Twilight Zone, lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey wrote "We Got the Beat" and offered it to the band with hesitation, afraid that it would not be punk enough for the other members' tastes. When rest of the Go-Go's heard the song, they loved it, and its incorporation into their set marked a stylistic change for the group as they moved away from punk rock and toward a more pop sensibility that would put the Go-Go's in with what was being termed "new wave". Go-Go's manager Ginger Canzoneri secured a deal with British indie label Stiff Records to release "We Got the Beat" as a single to support the band's UK tour with Madness and the Specials. Stiff Records had also wanted to secure publishing rights for "We Got the Beat" and its B-side, "How Much More", but Canzoneri declined, thinking it was important for the band to hold the publishing rights to their own songs. After returning from a tumultuous UK tour, the Go-Go's returned to large crowds at clubs in Los Angeles, due to the single's popularity, leading them to a deal with newly established I.R.S. Records. The band headed to New York's Pennylane Studio to record their debut album where producer Richard Gottehrer