Go-Go Archive at DC Public Library

Contribute, Participate, Share and Learn

About the Go-Go Archive

Go-Go is a style of funk that originated in Washington in the 1970s. Known for heavy bass, driving percussion and call-and-response, the genre has become one of the most popular music forms in the city. In memory of music icon Chuck Brown, the DC Public Library established a Go-Go Archive in 2012 to honor, preserve, teach and enjoy DC's original music.

The Go-Go Archive captures both well-documented and lesser-known stories from groups like organizations, record labels, houses, venues, festivals, record shops, radio stations and artists. Currently, the Library has more than 20 linear feet of materials in various formats including photographs, books, magazines, records, cassettes, CDs, DVDs and video.

Highlights of the collection include:

Oral history interviews, notes, and other research materials that journalist, scholar, and Howard University professor Natalie Hopkinson used for her book Go-Go
Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City
Archived tweets related to the growing #dontmutedc movement. So far, 10,000 #dontmutedc tweets have been collected. The tweets are anonymized and viewable as a spreadsheet on DigDC, the Library's web portal for digitized and born-digital collections.

Chip Py Photo Collection

The Go-Go Archive has acquired and cataloged the photo collection of Chip Py. The 1,900-plus photo collection includes concert performances of Rare Essence, Backyard Band, Familiar Faces, Suttle Thoughts, Be'la Dona, and Da Mixx Band. The collection also includes photos of Chuck Brown for whom Py was one of Brown's official photographers in the final year of Brown's life. See the collection here.

Teach The Beat

DC Public Library is excited to partner with Teach the Beat to provide a three-part virtual series for families, Go-Go Sound of Summer. Each episode explores a different facet of Go-Go music and culture, breaking down the foundations of the music, showcasing its history in D.C. and celebrating its broader influence on other music genres, popular culture, political movements and more!

View Go-Go Sound of Summer Now!

Visit the Go-Go Archive

See updated information about visiting the People's Archive here. Images below are representative items of the full collection - check out show flyers, ticket stubs, cassette tape and cd sleeves and listen or watch recordings of produced go-go albums, documentaries and live shows.

Donate to the Go-Go Archive

The Go-Go Archive is created in part from the records and reflections of everyday Washingtonians. Help tell the story of Go-Go music and venues past and present. The Library is accepting materials including:

CDs and audio recordings of Chuck Brown and other Go-Go musicians
flyers and posters
photographs
concert-ticket stubs
videos or DVDs
letters that describe attending a Go-Go concert

If you would like to contribute to our archive, please contact us at peoples.archive@dc.gov or call 202-727-1213. Items donated to the archive will be reviewed by Library staff. Selected items will be organized, preserved and made accessible for generations to come. By sharing your Go-Go memories, students, researchers and historians will be able to access the rich history of the archive free of charge.

Read About Go-Go


The Beat: Go-Go Music in Washington, D.C.	Go-Go Live: the life and death of a chocolate city	Take Me Out To The Go-Go: the autobiography of Kato Hammond	Pump Me Up: DC subculture of the 1980's (reference copy only, email for appointment)