Margaret Moser Tribute: Kathy Valentine

Success is a funny thing. People are happy for you, but a lot of them, they have a little grain of, "Well, why did it happen to you? Why didn't it happen to me? Why did you get that?" I'm super perceptive, and I don't let it get in the way of anything, but I'm hesitant to say it because I don't want all my friends to think, "Oh, does she think I'm jealous?" That's not what I'm talking about. There's just a little bit of, "Well, where's mine? You got it. What's so special about you?"

I've always been the first to say that I'm the luckiest woman on the planet: right place, right time, right everything for me. And aside from my mother, Margaret Moser might be the only person in my life who, without reservation, without one single atom, iota, or ounce of reservation, supported and shared in the joy that I got to do the things I got to do. That's pretty amazing to me. When I would see her, her face would light up with sheer joy that I got to be in a huge all-girl band [the Go-Go's] because she saw me wanting to do that.

She's got the soul and the wonder and the gratitude of an artist. She has that ability to know what's important and what a musician needs, whether it's a lift or recognition. People just want to be appreciated and recognized. That's all somebody wants. They want their contributions to be recognized. Margaret has a way of doing that with every musician. She's just the champion, our champion, all of us – all of us who play music.