40-515: Lesley Gore (Born Lesley Sue Goldstein , May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party ", a US number one in 1963. She followed it up with ten further US Billboard top 40 hits including " Judy's Turn to Cry " and " You Don't Own Me ". Gore said she considered "You Don't Own Me" her signature song . Gore later worked as an actress and television personality. She composed songs with her brother Michael Gore for
80-481: A bus scene from the 1965 movie, Ski Party . In 1965, she also appeared in the beach party film The Girls on the Beach in which she performed three songs: "Leave Me Alone", "It's Gotta Be You", and "I Don't Want to Be a Loser". Gore was given first shot at recording " A Groovy Kind of Love " by songwriters Carole Bayer and Toni Wine with a melody borrowed from a sonatina by Muzio Clementi , but Shelby Singleton ,
120-418: A contract with Mercury Records with a five-year term that carried her obligations to the company through the spring of 1968. Her last big hit had been 12 months prior to this time, but Mercury still saw promise in her as an artist and believed that one of her singles would make it, as they had in the past. They offered a one-year extension on the initial contract, and Gore was formally contracted to Mercury for
160-494: A damn what her last name is?" Reviewing the song, Cash Box said that Gore "has a slick, wide-range voice aptly suited to the tune, a medium-paced, chorus-backed romancer with a potent teen-oriented multi-dance beat." Gore released a sequel to "It's My Party", which was titled " Judy's Turn to Cry ". In 1980, WCBN-FM , the University of Michigan freeform student radio station, played "It's My Party" for 18 hours straight
200-476: A much stronger version of the song with the Crystals and not wanting to lose Spector's good will, Schroeder attempted to convince Jones to suppress the track. Schroeder did not mention Spector's version to Jones, but Jones and Spector both happened to attend a concert with Charles Aznavour at Carnegie Hall on the evening of March 30, 1963, and when they met outside it came up in conversation that Spector had recorded
240-523: A producer for Mercury subsidiary Smash Records , refused to let Gore record a song with the word "groovy" in its lyrics. The Mindbenders went on to record it, and it reached number two on the Billboard charts. Gore recorded composer Marvin Hamlisch 's first hit composition, "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows", on May 21, 1963, while "It's My Party" was climbing the charts. Her record producer from 1963 to 1965
280-604: A sixth year. During this time, " He Gives Me Love (La La La) ", a single release based on a Eurovision Song Contest winner, rose to number 96 on the Music Business charts, while bubbling under the Hot 100 in Billboard . Mercury took out a full-page ad in the trades to support the single, but its airplay was spotty, becoming a hit in only a few major markets. She was then paired with the successful soul producers Kenny Gamble , Leon Huff , and Thom Bell for two singles that took her into
320-421: A tape of her singing that he forwarded to Irving Green , president of Mercury Records . Green gave the tape to Quincy Jones for evaluation and Jones, recognizing her talent, became her producer. She was 16 years old. When she recorded her version of " It's My Party " in 1963, she was a junior in high school. It became a number-one, nationwide hit . Gore's version was certified as a Gold record . It also marked
360-481: A version of "It's My Party" with the Crystals. Jones skipped the concert, instead spending that night – a Saturday – at Bell Sound Studios making a test pressing of the track, comprising one hundred copies. Over the next two days, Jones mailed these out to radio programmers in key markets across the US. Gore heard her record played on the radio for the first time that Friday; the official release of "It's My Party" came later in
400-425: Is a song recorded by American singer Lesley Gore on her debut studio album I'll Cry If I Want To (1963). It was released as a single on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records . The song was written by Herb Wiener, John Gluck Jr., and Wally Gold , and produced by Quincy Jones . The song lyrically portrays the discomfort of a teenage girl at her birthday party when her boyfriend Johnny disappears, only to return in
440-458: Is the second studio album by Lesley Gore . It was released in 1963 as the follow-up to her debut album I'll Cry If I Want To . Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger considers Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts to be better than I'll Cry If I Want To and an "above average" though not excellent 1963 pop/rock album. Unterberger cites as a reason for being preferable to I'll Cry If I Want To that Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts avoids
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#1732863150371480-632: The NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, New York City , at the age of 68. At the time of her death, Gore and Sasson had been together for 33 years. Her New York Times obituary stated, "with songs like 'It's My Party,' 'Judy's Turn to Cry', and the indelibly defiant 1964 single 'You Don't Own Me' — all recorded before she was 18 — Gore made herself the voice of teenaged girls aggrieved by fickle boyfriends, moving quickly from tearful self-pity to fierce self-assertion." In 1964, "It's My Party"
520-1149: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and became accessible to the public in 2022. Catalogued by the library and her partner Lois Sasson, it includes family photos, scrapbook pages, annotated music and lyrics, business files, an unfinished memoir, and sound and video recordings. Season 2, episode 5 – Show 56 – September 30, 1965 – other guests: Mickey Rooney (guest host), Major Lance, The Turtles Aired April 2, 1970 Season 4: episode 237 – aired 8/4/65, season 5: episode 47 – aired 11/9/65, season 5, episode 216 – aired 7/11/66, season 6: episode 16 – aired 9/26/66, season 6: episode 92 – aired 1/10/67, season 6: episode 176 – aired 5/8/67, season 7: episode 106 – aired 1/29/68, season 7: episode 201 – aired 6/10/68, season 8: episode 42 – aired 11/5/68, season 8: episode 150 – aired 4/4/69, season 9: episode 25 – – aired 10/3/69, season 9: episode 51 – aired 11/10/69, season 9: episode 136 – aired 3/9/70, season 10: episode 118 – aired 2/17/71 It%27s My Party " It's My Party "
560-467: The " soul " genre: "I'll Be Standing By" and "Take Good Care (Of My Heart)". These songs did not fit the image Mercury had crafted for her, and the singles were not played. Her contract with Mercury ended after the release of " 98.6 /Lazy Day" and " Wedding Bell Blues " failed to make headway on the charts. In 1970, she signed with Crewe Records and was reunited with producer Bob Crewe, who had produced her album California Nights. Her first release under
600-589: The 1980 film Fame , and received an Academy Award nomination for "Out Here On My Own". She hosted several editions of the LGBT -oriented public television show In the Life on American TV in the 2000s. Gore was born Lesley Sue Goldstein in Brooklyn , New York City , into a middle-class Jewish family. Her parents were Leo Goldstein and Ronny Gore. The family changed their surname to "Gore" soon after Leslie's birth. Her father
640-470: The 1980s and 1990s. Gore co-wrote a song, "My Secret Love", for the 1996 film Grace of My Heart . The film includes a subplot about a young singer named Kelly Porter, who is based in part on Gore and is played by Bridget Fonda . The character, who is a closeted lesbian, performs "My Secret Love" in the film. In 2005, Gore recorded Ever Since (her first album of new material since Love Me By Name in 1976), with producer/songwriter Blake Morgan , with
680-854: The January 19 episode "That Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to the Bob Crewe -produced "California Nights", and in the January 25 episode "Scat! Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to "Maybe Now". "California Nights", which Gore recorded for her 1967 album of the same name, returned her to the top twenty of the Hot 100 . The single peaked at number 16 in March 1967 (14 weeks on the chart). It was her first top-40 hit since "My Town, My Guy and Me" in late 1965 and her first top-20 since "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows". Gore also performed "It's My Party" and "We Know We're in Love" 10 months earlier on
720-783: The Way the Ball Bounces" was recorded September 21, 1963, at A&R Studios in New York; it was released as the B-side of "That's the Way Boys Are" and appeared on the LP Boys Boys Boys . "One by One" was an unreleased track recorded on July 31, 1969, in New York and produced by Paul Leka; it first appeared on the Bear Family five-CD anthology of Gore's Mercury work entitled It's My Party (1994). Gore
760-617: The beginning of a time when fans would show up on her front lawn. "It's My Party" was followed by many other hits for Gore, including the sequel, " Judy's Turn to Cry " (US number five); " She's a Fool " (US number five); the feminist -themed million-selling " You Don't Own Me ", which held at number two for three weeks behind the Beatles ' " I Want To Hold Your Hand "; " That's the Way Boys Are " (US No. 12); " Maybe I Know " (US No. 14/UK No. 20); "Look of Love" (US No. 27); and " Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows " (US number 13), which she sang during
800-412: The company of Judy, another girl, who is "wearing his ring", to indicate he has replaced the birthday girl as his love interest. "It's My Party" is in the key of A major . The song's effectiveness is enhanced by several musical touches that producer Quincy Jones incorporated, including Latin-sounding rhythms , double tracked vocals, and effective horn parts. Allmusic critic Jason Ankeny wrote of
840-430: The day after Ronald Reagan was elected. In 1999, the song was used as an advertising jingle to promote Burger King's 99-cent meal. In August 2021, a trend of using a remixed version of the song in videos on video-sharing app TikTok led to a resurgence of interest in the song. In 1981, a remake by British artists Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin was a UK number-one hit single for four weeks, becoming
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#1732863150371880-541: The demo of "It's My Party" while visiting Aaron Schroeder's office. Wally Gold later recalled: "He [Spector] said, 'Great, I love it. I'm gonna do it with the Crystals .' We [the song's writers] were really excited, because that would ensure that the record was #1!" Schroeder apparently only learned of the Lesley Gore recording of "It's My Party" when Quincy Jones invited him to hear the completed track, which Schroeder found formulaic; believing that Spector would be able to cut
920-522: The failure of the album's sole single, "She Said That", along with poor promotion, Someplace Else Now died on the shelf. Gore composed songs for the soundtrack of the 1980 film Fame , for which she received an Academy Award nomination for " Out Here on My Own ," written with her brother, Michael Gore . Michael won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the theme song of the same film. Gore played concerts and appeared on television throughout
960-469: The final episode of The Donna Reed Show , which aired on March 19, 1966. After high school, while continuing to make appearances as a singer, Gore attended Sarah Lawrence College , studying English and American literature. At college, folk music was popularly lauded as "chic", whereas pop music was often derided as "uncool". "Had I been tall with blonde hair, had I been Mary Travers , I would have gotten along fine." She graduated in 1968. Gore signed
1000-632: The firm. She also worked with Jimmy Radcliffe , serving as the firm's in-house demo singer. Radcliffe produced the demo, and, according to English, "tried to persuade Musicor [the label owned by Aaron Schroeder] to release it as a record, or to take me into a master studio and redo it, but they weren't interested". The song was also recorded by Helen Shapiro for her Helen in Nashville album in February 1963, with Shapiro's regular producer, Norrie Paramor , and also Al Kasha . Shapiro later recalled: "Right from
1040-449: The first time we heard the song on the rough demo back in London, we thought we were going to sock them between the eyes with that one"; however, Shapiro's version was not one of the cuts chosen as an advance single from the album and by the time of the album's release that October the "It's My Party" track was perceived as a cover of Lesley Gore's hit. Lesley Gore recalls that "It's My Party"
1080-685: The first version of the song to reach number one in the UK. The record also reached number one in Ireland and New Zealand and reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa, and Switzerland. The music video for the Stewart/Gaskin version contained a cameo by Thomas Dolby as Johnny, Judy being played by Gaskin in a blond wig. Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts , also known as Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts ,
1120-498: The label Engine Company Records . The album received favorable reviews from The New York Times , Rolling Stone , Billboard , and other national press. The album also included a revised version of " You Don't Own Me ", about which the New York Daily News wrote: "In Lesley Gore's new version of 'You Don't Own Me'—cut more than 40 years after its initial recording—she lends a pop classic new life." Gore commented: "Without
1160-615: The label, "Why Doesn't Love Make Me Happy", was a moderate hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, but none of her other singles would prove to be successful. She left Crewe Records in 1971 when the label went bankrupt. In 1972, Gore signed with MoWest Records, a subsidiary of Motown , and in July of that year released her first studio album in five years, Someplace Else Now . All of the songs were either written or co-written by Gore, with collaborators Ellen Weston and her brother Michael. Due to
1200-518: The loud backing track, I could wring more meaning from the lyric". And: "It's a song that takes on new meaning every time you sing it." Beginning in 2003, Gore hosted several editions of the PBS television series In the Life , which focused on LGBT issues. In a 2005 interview with AfterEllen , she stated she was a lesbian and had been in a relationship with luxury jewelry designer Lois Sasson since 1982. She had known about her attraction to women from
1240-504: The lyrics to Herb Weiner, with whom he partnered in writing songs, to peddle. It was based on actual events relating to Gottlieb's daughter Judy's "sweet sixteen" party , before which she cried over the prospect of her grandparents being invited. The demo for the song was cut by Barbara Jean English, a girl group veteran (the Clickettes, the Fashions), who was then working as a receptionist at
Lesley Gore - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-431: The month, with the disc ascending to number one nationally in four weeks. Jones was abroad at the time of "It's My Party"'s release. On his return, he expressed dismay when Aaron Schroeder advised him that the rush release of "It's My Party" had precluded coining a more pleasant name for the singer than "Lesley Gore", to which Schroeder replied: "Didn't anybody tell you?... Quince, the record's number one. Do you really give
1320-512: The self-pity theme of the debut album. Unterberger also praises the album's three big hits, " She's a Fool ", " You Don't Own Me " and " Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows ". "She's a Fool" and "You Don't Own Me" both reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows", released as a single two years later, reached #13. Unterberger also praised the songs "If That's
1360-481: The song, " 'It's My Party' remains one of the most vivid evocations of adolescent heartbreak ever waxed – Quincy Jones produced the record, although you'd swear it was Aaron Spelling instead." "It's My Party" was credited to John Gluck, Wally Gold and Herb Weiner, staff writers at the Aaron Schroeder Music firm in 1962. The lyrics were actually written by Seymour Gottlieb, a freelance songwriter. He gave
1400-417: The time she was 20 and stated that although the music business was "totally homophobic ", she never felt she had to pretend she was straight. "I just kind of lived my life naturally and did what I wanted to do," she said. "I didn't avoid anything, I didn't put it in anybody's face." Gore had been working on a memoir and a Broadway show based on her life when she died of lung cancer on February 16, 2015, at
1440-473: Was Quincy Jones. Jones's dentist was Marvin Hamlisch's uncle, and Hamlisch asked his uncle to convey several songs to Jones. "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" was released on the LP Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts , but did not surface as a single until June 1965. Hamlisch composed three other Gore associated songs: " California Nights ", "That's the Way the Ball Bounces" and "One by One". "That's
1480-527: Was among some two hundred demos producer Quincy Jones brought to review with her in the den of her family home in February 1963. On hearing the song, Gore told Jones: "That's not half bad. I like it. Good melody. Let's put it on the maybe pile." The song proved to be the only demo Gore and Jones found agreeable. With Jones producing and Claus Ogerman handling arranging and conducting duties, Gore recorded "It's My Party" at Bell Sound Studios in Manhattan on March 30, 1963. In March 1963, Phil Spector heard
1520-450: Was nominated for a Grammy Award for rock-and-roll recording. National Public Radio named Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts , Gore's second album, as forebearer of one of the top 150 albums recorded by women. The album missed the official list (1964–present) because it was released in 1963. "She is a forebearer for her assertion of feminine power in pop, and her validation of a female perspective." Lesley Gore's papers were donated to
1560-635: Was one of the featured performers in the T.A.M.I. Show concert film, which was recorded and released in 1964 by American International Pictures , and placed in the National Film Registry in 2006. Gore had one of the longest sets in the film, performing six songs, including "It's My Party", "You Don't Own Me", and "Judy's Turn to Cry". Gore performed on two consecutive episodes of the Batman television series (January 19 and 25, 1967), in which she guest-starred as Pussycat, one of Catwoman 's minions. In
1600-563: Was the owner of Peter Pan, a children's swimwear and underwear manufacturer, and later became a leading brand licensing agent in the apparel industry. She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey , and attended the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood . She also attended Sarah Lawrence College , graduating with a degree in American literature. Gore was discovered after her uncle gave Joe Glaser
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