Each night when I read my local newspaper, I love to peruse the “Today in History” section. I scan the celebrity birthdays to find some interesting topic of conversation. Yesterday, I found something that frightened me.

Charlotte Caffey turned 55. Yes, boys and girls, one of the Go-Go’s is now 55. I suddenly feel really, really old.

The first band I ever saw in concert was the Go-Go’s. On January 10, 1981 (thank God for the Internet and an exhaustive archive of Police concerts for the exact date), my brother Kevin took me to see The Police and the all-girl group, which at the time had the number one album in the country, opened the show. At 12, I could not have been more happy than to see five attractive women dancing across the stage and playing awesomely upbeat songs.

That’s why I love the Go-Go’s. I don’t care what anyone says – their music kicks ass. How can you not listen to their early songs without dancing in place at least a little bit? The drums of Gina Schock (a native Baltimorean by the way) just make it impossible to sit still. They represent fun and freedom and youth.

That’s why I have had such a hard time accepting the fact that Charlotte – she was the blonde guitar player for those of you not steeped in Go-Go’s trivia like me – can now qualify for the early bird special. I have started to get over the fact, however. I just scrolled to my Go’Go’s songs on my iPod and am rocking out like I’m a teenager again.