Out in Music: Former Go-Go’s lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle talks about latest solo album

You never know what California-native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Belinda Carlisle is going to do next. Throughout her music career she has kept us guessing and entertained. From her punk origins in the Germs and later in the groundbreaking, all-female, platinum-certified band the Go-Go’s, and into her nearly 40-year stint as a Grammy-nominated solo artist, Carlisle is the very definition of a chanteuse. Her new album “Once Upon a Time in California” (Demon Music) is another fabulous chapter, one on which she covers 10 chestnuts from the golden age of AM radio, adding her distinctive, sun-kissed touch to songs by Nilsson, Bacharach and David, Leon Russell, Gordon Lightfoot and others.

Gregg Shapiro: Do you remember what was the first 45 single you ever bought as a child with your own money?
Belinda Carlisle: It was “Aquarius” by The 5th Dimension. I still love it.

GS: Yes, it’s a classic. What about the first LP you bought?
BC: I can tell you that I won it, I didn’t buy it. The first LP was “Pet Sounds” (by The Beach Boys) and I won that at a baseball tournament.

GS: When I initially saw the track listing for “Once Upon a Time in California,” I thought about the Go-Go’s 1982 rendition of “Cool Jerk” and your wonderful cover of Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold” on your 1986 solo debut album. Would it be fair to say that your interest in classic pop started long before “Once Upon a Time in California?”
BC: Yes. This album was inspired by all the songs that inspired me as a young girl to want to be a singer. California radio, and I love the transistor radio reference you made, because I lived for music growing up in California. 93 KHJ and KRLA were classic California radio. A good pop song is a good pop song, and a great one stands the test of time. I think that the songs on this album are timeless.

GS: The selection of songwriters covered on the album, including Gordon Lightfoot (“If You Could Read My Mind”), Harry Nilsson (writer of “One” and singer of Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’”), Leon Russell (“Superstar”) and Burt Bacharach (“Anyone Who Had A Heart”), is exceptional. Did you ever have the chance to meet any of these songwriters before they passed?
BC: I used to hang out with Harry Nilsson. My husband [Morgan Mason] had a restaurant in Brentwood called Mason’s. He [Nilsson] used to come every single night and hang out in the bar and hold court. He was such a kind man; just wonderful. I would like to think that he very much approved of my renditions that I did of his songs.

GS: I found it fascinating that while these songs were written by men, some of the most popular and cherished versions were recorded by women. Like Dionne Warwick and “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” the Carpenters’ and Bette Midler’s renditions of “Superstar” and Marilyn McCoo and the 5th Dimension’s cover of “Never My Love.” When you were selecting the songs, did you know they already had a history with female vocalists?
BC: No. I never even thought of that until you mentioned it. Lyrically, those are songs that could have been written by a woman because the lyrics are all very sensitive.

GS: During the period represented on the album, 1963-1972, there were also numerous female songwriters, including Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, who were also part of the Laurel Canyon scene, as well as Roberta Flack, Laura Nyro, Aretha Franklin and Dolly Parton. Could you foresee recording an album dedicated to female songwriters?
BC: Oh, my God, that’s such a great idea! I might have to steal that, and I’ll give you credit. That’s an amazing idea.

GS: Would you say that your inclusion of “Get Together,” which is often described as the “quintessential 1960s love-and-peace anthem,” is a political statement on your part?
BC: No, it’s not a political statement. It’s just an observation of how everything has become so fractured and polarized. With everything, not just politics. I remember when the Vietnam War was happening, and the Watts riots. There was a lot of chaos happening then, and I think even more chaos now. At least it seems so. I just think they’re really timely lyrics, but I didn’t think in terms of politics at all with that song. I thought in terms of polarization and what a fractured society and fractured world we live in.

GS: I think because I was one of those especially sensitive little gay boys, who somehow was aware of “All My Sorrow” and “Sad Tomorrows” at age 10, I personally want to thank you for your cover of Marmalade’s “Reflections of My Life,” a song that still makes me cry all these years later. Why did you include that tune?
BC: It’s funny that you’re mentioning that because I was about 10 when that came out, and I loved that song. I kind of understood what they were saying. But singing it as a 66-year-old woman who has had a ton of experience and lots of love and lots of loss, I can really relate to it. It still makes me cry. I thought about that song probably at the end of last year, because we just finished this album in January of this year. I thought, “Oh, my God, the Marmalade song would be a perfect way to end the album and the whole story. It fits in really well.

GS: Your version is beautiful. Now that I’m an especially sensitive gay man, I also want to express my gratitude to you, as the mother of a gay son, for being such an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ community.
BC: Since I was a teenager, all my friends have been gay or lesbian. I remember in the punk days, and the first AIDS case, they didn’t know it was AIDS then, in West Hollywood. [There] was a young man who worked at the deli on Santa Monica Boulevard. I just remember being in the thick of it because all my friends were gay men. I never even thought of it as…it was no effort, a no-brainer. I just wanted to get in there and do what I could for the community because they’ve always been a big part of my life. And then being the mother of a gay son, thank God, made me even more want to do what I can and to be a voice. My son [James Duke Mason] has been an activist since he was 14. I can’t imagine life without being supportive of that community.

GS: We are grateful. Finally, is there any chance that there might be a solo concert tour in the works?
BC: I know I’m doing some dates at the end of this year on the East Coast. I’m thinking about maybe doing a short tour in early 2026. I don’t know what that looks like, but I know it’ll be short and sweet, whatever it is.