“Rush Hour” (Jane Wiedlin)

Your solo song from a member of the Go-Go’s of the day is “Rush Hour” by Jane Wiedlin. It was from her second solo album, Fur, and was her most successful solo single, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late July of 1988. It got lots of airplay on MTV, as you might imagine.

Jane Wieldin was and is the rhythm guitarist for the Go-Go’s and, in my opinion, their best songwriter. She wrote or co-wrote many of the Go-Go’s big hits, including “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” and “Turn to You.” She co-wrote “Rush Hour” with Peter Rafelson, who also co-wrote (with Gardner Cole) Madonna’s 1987 hit, “Open Your Heart.”

I always considered Jane the cute and pixyish one of the group, probably because of her diminutive size and kewpie-doll voice, but she was also apparently the most punkish. Even at her now advanced age of 64 she’s still out there kicking ass and living the rock-and-roll life. She’s also an avowed animal rights activist, which you could probably tell from that album title.

I remember hearing this song in a shopping mall in Birmingham while on a business trip to the UK, while riding the up escalator to do yet another bookstore visit. I think I bought the CD (along with many others) at the big HMV store in London before I flew back to the states. So, for that extremely unusual reason, “Rush Hour” always reminds of me of England. I’m sure no one else hears the song that same way.