TMS Muse of the Week: Jane Wiedlin

(via spotify.com)

Regarding female superstars in classic rock, Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos doesn’t come up as much as she probably should. Just as innovative and popular as peers Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde and Susanna Hoffs, yet has always been to the side a bit. I think this is for a couple of reasons. One is that compared to Joan and Chrissie, Jane’s band has always been considered more pop than rock, and—as is usually the case when there’s a ‘leader’ in a group—she and the other Go-Gos were often overshadowed by lead singer Belinda Carlisle in the press. Unlike Joan, who was able to pick up where Runaways frontwoman Cherie Currie left off, Jane has consistently done her own thing without much fanfare.

As I’ve highlighted on my blog in the past, some music fans might know the Go-Gos were rooted in the late 1970s punk-rock scene in Hollywood, where Jane and Belinda regularly frequented as teenagers just like Joan and Cherie at the time. Despite her wild child rep in her youth, Jane claims her upbringing was “extremely idyllic” and any dysfunctions in her personality as an adult are not reflective of her family relationships. Born in Oconomowoc, WI, but primarily raised in Los Angeles, CA, Jane was at a point in her childhood where she was beginning to feel like an outcast without any similar interests as her peers until she discovered rock music and the LA clubs in high school. Originally intending to use her new counterculture interest toward fashion design, the dark haired girl ultimately dropped out of college to form the Go-Gos with Belinda in 1978, featuring Jane on rhythm guitar. Even though their very early punk songs were ‘pretty terrible’ according to both Jane and Belinda, by the time Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine and Gina Schock rounded out the official line-up and the group was signed to IRS Records in 1980; punk was drying up publicly and new wave took over music. Although the bandmates’ bad girl reps continued off stage, the Go-Gos soared the charts with some of the best pop songs of the era, a lot of which were written or co-written by Jane.

(Jorgen Angel)

Take ‘Our Lips are Sealed,’ one of the GGs’ classic singles off their debut LP ‘Beauty and the Beat’ (1981), co-written by Jane and Terry Hall of the Specials. Initially penned after Jane abruptly ended a fling with bandmate Gina to get together with Terry, the catchy song encompasses what it’s like to secretly be in love and even has Jane herself singing the bridge. From there, Jane fully embraced songwriting and helped pen hit Go-Go tunes like ‘This Town,’ ‘How Much More,’ ‘Vacation’ and ‘Speeding.’ In 1983, Jane recorded a duet with the alt-pop band Sparks called ‘Cool Places’ for their 12th album ‘In Outer Space,’ and the song ended up becoming the band’s highest charting single. To return the favor, Sparks’ Russell and Ron Mael co-wrote the track ‘Yes or No’ with Jane for the third Go-Gos album ‘Talk Show’ (1984). While all this melodic creativity was taking place, Jane and Russell were also in a relationship, which was referenced with a steamy photo of the couple for the ‘Cool Places’ vinyl cover art. By the time the Go-Gos called it quits in 1985, Jane’s first solo LP was already out and three years later her biggest solo single, ‘Rush Hour,’ from her second record, ‘Fur’ (1988), would be released. The title track of her third LP, ‘Tangled’ (1990), was also featured in Garry Marshall’s Pretty Woman (1990).

What I love about Jane is how all over the place her career is. She’s a well accomplished pop-rock artist, but she also delved into film acting with parts in cult classics like Jonathan Lynn’s Clue (1985) and Stephen Herek’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989); had stints on TV with MTV’s “Spyder Games” (2001) and VH1’s “The Surreal Life” (2005-06); voiced characters on cartoons including Adult Swim’s “The Mission” (1999-2002) and WB’s “Scooby-Doo” (2002-2020); and appeared in Edgar Wright’s documentary The Sparks Brothers (2021). She’s a longtime animal rights activist and was even one of the songwriters on one of my favorite records of all time, the soundtrack to Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan’s Josie & the Pussycats (2001). It’s 2025, and to me, Jane is still one of the most overlooked ladies in popular music who I feel is on par with her contemporaries.