Ginger Canzoneri Explained

Ginger Canzoneri
Nationality:	American
Known For:	Original manager of The Go-Go's
Occupation:	Band manager
Years Active:	1978-present

Ginger Canzoneri was an American band manager. She was the original manager of 1980s power pop and female punk rock group The Go-Go's, starting in 1979.^[1] Canzoneri joined the band after its formation in 1978, and she pawned her jewelry and secured a loan on her car to fund the band's UK tour opening for The Specials and Madness in the summer of 1980.^{[2] [3]} She helped the Go-Go's sign their first major label record deal.^[4] She was associated with the women in punk rock movement.^[5] She went on to manage other bands.^[6]

Canzeroni notably called Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner on behalf of the band to complain about what they felt was a sexist depiction of them on one of the magazine's covers.^[7] She is featured prominently in a documentary about the band, The Go-Go's (2020), which mentions that she felt pushed aside when the band became more successful.^[8]

Once the band left Ginger's management, they acquired a corporate management team, including an accountant and lawyer.^[9] Ginger, like the members of the band, was female and promoted it as an all-girl group, but the management run by Irving Azoff that succeeded her was all-male.^{[10] [11]} Canzeroni was beaten with a nightstick by the LAPD at the so-called Elks Lodge massacre or police riot, or the St. Patrick's Day massacre, March 17, 1978, at what is today the Park Plaza Hotel.^{[12] [13]} She lived in Alphabet City.^[14]

Ginger and the Go-Go's members were sued for wrongful termination by Margot Olavarria, the band's original bassist, and the suit was settled in 1984.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Book: Valentine, Kathy . All I Ever Wanted: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir . April 9, 2020 . University of Texas Press . 978-1-4773-1233-9 . en.
2. News: Stuever . Hank . For too long, the story of the Go-Go's was a cautionary tale. A new documentary turns it into a triumph. . December 28, 2023 . Washington Post . July 30, 2020.
3. Elliott . Paul . May 2002 . The Go-Go's: The Fab Femme Five. . 2024-01-07 . Q (via Rock's Back Pages).
4. Book: Doe . John . More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk . DeSavia . Tom . June 4, 2019 . Hachette Books . 978-0-306-92211-4 . en.
5. Book: Goldman, Vivien . Revenge of the She-Punks: A Feminist Music History from Poly Styrene to Pussy Riot . May 7, 2019 . University of Texas Press . 978-1-4773-1654-2 . en.
6. Reviews. CMJ New Music Report . June 14, 1999 . CMJ Network, Inc. . en.
7. Book: Whittington-Hill, Lisa . The Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat . September 7, 2023 . Bloomsbury Publishing USA . 978-1-5013-9029-6 . en.
8. Web site: Rooney . David . January 24, 2020 . 'The Go-Go's': Film Review Sundance 2020 . December 27, 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
9. Book: Garrigós . Cristina . Women in Rock Memoirs: Music, History, and Life-Writing . Ahonen . Marika . 2023 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-765932-8 . en.
10. Web site: Pond . Steve . July 27, 2020 . The Go-Go's on Being Brats and Fighting Rock 'n' Roll's 'Gender Boxes' (Video) . December 27, 2023 . TheWrap . en-US.
11. Book: MacLeod, Sean . Leaders of the Pack: Girl Groups of the 1960s and Their Influence on Popular Culture in Britain and America . September 3, 2015 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-4422-5202-8 . en.
12. Ngô . Fiona I.B. . July 2012 . Punk in the Shadow of War . Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory . en . 22 . 2–3 . 203–232 . 10.1080/0740770X.2012.720826 . 143665330 . 0740-770X.
13. Book: Carlisle, Belinda . Lips Unsealed: A Memoir . April 5, 2011 . Crown . 978-0-307-46350-0 . en.
14. Book: Bailey, Fenton . ScreenAge: How TV shaped our reality, from Tammy Faye to RuPaul's Drag Race . November 17, 2022 . Random House . 978-1-4735-9786-0 . en.
15. News: Martin . Philip . Critical Mass: How the Go-Gos found themselves in L.A.'s punk scene . Arkansas Democrat Gazette . August 23, 2020 .