Lesley Gore | |
|---|---|
 Gore in 1963 | |
| Born | Lesley Sue Goldstein (1946-05-02)May 2, 1946 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 16, 2015(2015-02-16) (aged 68) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Sarah Lawrence College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1963–2015 |
| Partner(s) | Lois Sasson (1982–2015; Gore’s death) |
| Relatives |
|
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
| Archives at | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| How to use archival material |
Lesley Gore (bornLesley Sue Goldstein,[1] May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. 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 USBillboard top 40 hits including "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me". Gore said she considered "You Don't Own Me" hersignature song.[2]
Gore later worked as an actress and television personality. She composed songs with her brotherMichael Gore for the 1980 filmFame, which received anAcademy Award Best Song nomination for "Out Here On My Own". She hosted several editions of theLGBT-oriented public television showIn the Life on American TV in the 2000s.
Gore was born Lesley Sue Goldstein[3] inBrooklyn, New York City,[4] into a middle-classJewish family.[5] Her parents were Leo Goldstein and Ronny Gore. The family changed their surname to "Gore" soon after Lesley's birth.[1] Her father was the owner of Peter Pan, a children's swimwear and underwear manufacturer,[5] and later became a leadingbrand licensing agent in the apparel industry.[6] She was raised inTenafly, New Jersey,[7] and attended theDwight School for Girls in nearbyEnglewood. She also attendedSarah Lawrence College, graduating with a degree in American literature.[8]
Gore was discovered after her uncle gaveJoe Glaser a tape of her singing that he forwarded toIrving Green, president ofMercury Records. Green gave the tape toQuincy Jones for evaluation and Jones, recognizing her talent, became her producer. She was 16 years old.[8][9] When she recorded her version of "It's My Party" in 1963, she was a junior in high school. It became a number-one, nationwidehit. Gore's version was certified as aGold record.[10] It also marked the beginning of a time when fans would show up on her front lawn.[4]
"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); thefeminist-themed million-selling "You Don't Own Me",[10] which held at number two for three weeks behindthe 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 a bus scene from the 1965 movie,Ski Party.[11] In 1965, she also appeared in thebeach party filmThe 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 songwritersCarole Bayer andToni Wine with a melody borrowed from a sonatina byMuzio Clementi,[12] butShelby Singleton, a producer for Mercury subsidiarySmash Records, refused to let Gore record a song with the word "groovy" in its lyrics.[11]The Mindbenders went on to record it, and it reached number two on theBillboard charts.[13]
Gore recorded composerMarvin Hamlisch's first hit composition, "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows", on May 21, 1963, while "It's My Party" was climbing the charts.[11] Her record producer from 1963 to 1965 wasQuincy Jones. Jones's dentist was Marvin Hamlisch's uncle, and Hamlisch asked his uncle to convey several songs to Jones.[11] "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" was released on the LPLesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts, but did not surface as a single until June 1965.[11] Hamlisch composed three other Gore associated songs: "California Nights",[14] "That's the Way the Ball Bounces" and "One by One". "That's the Way the Ball Bounces" was recorded September 21, 1963, atA&R Studios in New York; it was released as the B-side of "That's the Way Boys Are" and appeared on the LPBoys 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 entitledIt's My Party (1994).[4][11]
Gore was one of the featured performers in theT.A.M.I. Show concert film, which was recorded and released in 1964 byAmerican International Pictures, and placed in theNational 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".[15]
Gore performed on two consecutive episodes of theBatman television series (January 19 and 25, 1967), in which she guest-starred as Pussycat, one ofCatwoman's minions.[4] In the January 19 episode "That Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to theBob Crewe-produced "California Nights", and in the January 25 episode "Scat! Darn Catwoman", she lip-synched to "Maybe Now".[13] "California Nights", which Gore recorded for her 1967 album of the same name, returned her to the top twenty of theHot 100.[11] 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".[4] Gore also performed "It's My Party" and "We Know We're in Love" 10 months earlier on the final episode ofThe Donna Reed Show, which aired on March 19, 1966.[11]
After high school, while continuing to make appearances as a singer, Gore attendedSarah Lawrence College, studying English and American literature. At college,folk music was popularly lauded as "chic", whereaspop music was often derided as "uncool".[4] "Had I been tall with blonde hair, had I beenMary Travers, I would have gotten along fine."[16] She graduated in 1968.[17][18]
Gore signed a contract withMercury 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 a sixth year. During this time, "He Gives Me Love (La La La)", a single release based on aEurovision Song Contest winner, rose to number 96 on the Music Business charts, while bubbling under the Hot 100 inBillboard. 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.[19] She was then paired with the successful soul producersKenny Gamble,Leon Huff, andThom Bell for two singles that took her into 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.[20]
In 1970, she signed with Crewe Records and was reunited with producer Bob Crewe, who had produced her albumCalifornia Nights. Her first release under 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 ofMotown, 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 collaboratorsEllen Weston and her brother Michael. Due to 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 thesoundtrack of the 1980 filmFame, for which she received anAcademy Award nomination for "Out Here on My Own," written with her brother,Michael Gore.[21] Michael won theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for the theme song of the same film. Gore played concerts and appeared on television throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[11]
Gore co-wrote a song, "My Secret Love", for the 1996 filmGrace 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 byBridget Fonda. The character, who is a closeted lesbian, performs "My Secret Love" in the film.[22][23]
In 2005, Gore recordedEver Since (her first album of new material sinceLove Me By Name in 1976), with producer/songwriterBlake Morgan, with the labelEngine Company Records. The album received favorable reviews fromThe New York Times,Rolling Stone,Billboard, and other national press.[11] The album also included a revised version of "You Don't Own Me", about which theNew 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."[24] Gore commented: "Without 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."[24]
Beginning in 2003, Gore hosted several editions of thePBS television seriesIn the Life, which focused onLGBT issues.[25] In a 2005 interview withAfterEllen, she stated she was alesbian and had been in a relationship with luxury jewelry designerLois Sasson since 1982.[25] She had realized she was attracted to women by the time she was 20 and stated that although the music business was "totallyhomophobic", 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."[4]
Gore had been working on a memoir and aBroadway show based on her life[26] when she died oflung cancer on February 16, 2015, at theNYU Langone Medical Center inManhattan, New York City, at the age of 68.[27][28] At the time of her death, Gore and Sasson had been together for 33 years.[29]
HerNew 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".[26]
In 1964, "It's My Party" was nominated for aGrammy Award for rock-and-roll recording.[30]
National Public Radio namedLesley 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."[31]
Gore's papers were donated to theNew 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.[32]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The T.A.M.I Show | Herself | Documentary |
| 1965 | The Girls on the Beach | Herself | Sings "Leave Me Alone", "It's Gotta Be You" and "I Don't Wanna Be A Loser" |
| 1965 | Ski Party | Herself | Sings "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" |
| 1968 | The Pied Piper of Astroworld | Bo Peep | Television film |
| 1977 | Good Old Days | Herself | Television film |
| 1985 | Good Time Rock 'n' Roll | Herself | Television documentary |
| 1986 | Deja View | Herself | |
| 1988 | Legendary Ladies of Rock & Roll | Herself | Television special |
| 1990 | Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones | Herself | Documentary |
| 1991 | Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll | Herself | Television documentary |
| 1992 | In the Life | Herself | Television documentary |
| 1998 | Quincy Jones... The First 50 Years | Herself | Television documentary |
| 2000 | Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955–1970) | Herself | Television documentary |
| 2003 | Rock at Fifty | Herself | Television documentary |
| 2008 | An Evening with Quincy Jones | Herself | Television documentary |
| 2008 | Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio | Herself | Documentary |
| Year | Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Club 1270 | Herself | A teen-oriented dance-party television show onWXYZ-TV inDetroit ("1270" was a reference to the frequency of WXYZ-AM radio, a leadingTop 40 station in the Detroit area at the time, nowWXYT).[35] |
| 1963 | The Keefe Brasselle Show | Herself | |
| 1963 | American Bandstand | Herself | Season 6, episode 194, AB-1528: Lesley Gore – aired 5/30/63.[36] |
| 1963– 64 | Thank Your Lucky Stars | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes |
| 1963– 70 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Herself | Recurring guest; 4 episodes: season 16, episode 3 – Other guests: Tony Bennett, Frank Gorshin, Bob & Ray – aired 10/13/63; season 17, episode 18 – Other guests: Burt Lancaster, Mickey Rooney, Miriam Makeba, Shelley Berman – aired 1/31/65; season 21, episode 32 – Other guests: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Gwen Verdon; season 22, episode 30 – Other guests: Richie Havens, Moms Mabley, Stiller & Meara – aired 4/26/70.[36] |
| 1963– 75 | New American Bandstand 1965 | Herself | Recurring guest; 3 episodes: season 10, episode 31 – Other guest: The Music Machine – aired 4/8/67; season 10, episode 4 – Other guest: ? (Question Mark) and the Mysterians – aired 10/1/66; season 19, episode 4 – aired 9/27/75.[36] |
| 1964 | The Beat Room | Herself | |
| 1964 | The Lloyd Thaxton Show | Herself | Season 4, episode 10 – aired September 28, 1964[36] |
| 1965 | Fanfare | Herself | Season 1, episode 7 – other guests: Tom Jones, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass – aired July 31, 1965[36] |
| 1965 | Shindig! | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes: season 1, episode 30 – Show 30 – April 7, 1965 – other guests: Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Larry Hovis,Martha and the Vandellas, Righteous Brothers Season 2, episode 5 – Show 56 – September 30, 1965 – other guests: Mickey Rooney (guest host), Major Lance, The Turtles[36] |
| 1965 | Hollywood A Go-Go | Herself | |
| 1965– 66 | Hullabaloo | Herself | Recurring guest; 3 episodes: season 1, episode 8 – Show 8 – Host: Trini Lopez – aired 3/2/65; season 2, episode 7 – Show 25 – Host: Peter Noone (ofHerman's Hermits) – aired 11/1/65; season 2, episode 16 – Show 34 – Host: Roger Smith – aired 1/3/66; season 2, episode 30 – Show 48 – Host: Paul Anka – aired 4/11/66.[36] |
| 1965– 70 | Merv Griffin Show | Herself | Recurring guest: 8 episodes: season 2, episode 76 – aired 8/23/65; season 5, episode 104 – aired 1/25/68; Season 5, episode 157 – aired 4/9/68; season 6, episode 96 – aired 1/13/69; season 6, episode 154 – aired 4/3/69; season 7, episode 162 – aired 4/2/70; season 7, episode 239 – aired 7/16/70; season 7, episode 243 – aired 7/22/70.[36] Aired April 2, 1970[37] |
| 1965– 71 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself | Recurring guest; 13 episodes: The Mike Douglas Show Herself 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[36] |
| 1965 | Shivaree | Herself | Season 2, episode 16 – Show 48 aired 12/25/65.[36] |
| 1966 | The Andy Williams Show | Herself | Season 5, episode 10 – aired November 13, 1966.[36] |
| 1966 | The Donna Reed Show | Herself | Season 8, episode 27: "By-Line—Jeff Stone" – aired 3/19/66[38] |
| 1966 | Where the Action Is | Herself | Season 6, episode 237 – aired 9/10/66, other guests: theFour Tops[36] |
| 1967 | The Match Game | Herself | Season 6, episode 6 – Lesley Gore & Soupy Sales – aired 10/9/67[36] |
| 1967 | Batman | Pussycat | Recurring role; 2 episodes: season 2 episodes 40 – That Darn Catwoman – aired 1/19/67; season 2, episode 41 – Scat! Darn Catwoman – aired 1/25/67.[36] |
| 1967 | Dream Girl of '67 | Herself | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 1967 | Malibu U | Herself | Season 1, episode 4 – aired 8/11/67 – Other guests include The Turtles and Lou Rawls[36] |
| 1967 | Binnen en Buiten | Herself | |
| 1967– 68 | The Joey Bishop Show | Herself | Recurring guest; 3 episodes: season 1, episode 78 – aired 8/2/67; season 2, episode 122 – aired 3/8/68; season 2, episode 128 – aired 3/18/68.[36] |
| 1968 | Happening '68 | Herself | Rock music series on the ABC network. It aired Saturday afternoons followingAmerican Bandstand.Happening aired Mon through Fri from 7/15/68-10/25/68.[39] |
| 1968 | What's My Line? | Herself | Mystery guest; season 1, episode 131 – aired 1/31/1968 |
| 1969– 70 | Della | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes: season 1, episode 14 – aired 6/26/69; season 1, episode 154 – aired 1/13/70.[36] |
| 1970 | Playboy After Dark | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes – season 2, episode 11 – Other guests: Don Adams, Fleetwood Mac, Arte Johnson – aired 1/8/70.[36] |
| 1970 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Herself | Season 8, episode 41 700701 – aired 7/1/70.[36] |
| 1970– 71 | The Rolf Harris Show | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes |
| 1970 | The David Frost Show | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes – season 2, episode 104 – aired January 22, 1970; season 3, episode 59 – aired December 17, 1970.[36] |
| 1970 | The Dick Cavett Show | Herself | Season 5, episode 55 – aired January 22, 1970.[36] |
| 1971 | The Virginia Graham Show | Herself | |
| 1975 | American Bandstand | Herself | Sept. 27, 1975: Performing 2 songs, "Immortality" and "Give It To Me, Sweet Thing" from her latest record "Love Me By Name" |
| 1975–76 | The Midnight Special | Herself | Guest host – season 5, episode 2 – aired 9/24/76. Guest on 2 episodes: season 3, episode 34 – Host: Chubby Checker; season 4, episode 21 – Host: David Brenner, Other guest: Fleetwood Mac[36] |
| 1976 | Dinah! | Herself | Season 2, episode 167 – aired May 24, 1976[36] |
| 1977 | Sha Na Na | Herself | |
| 1977 | $20,000 Pyramid | Herself | $20,000 Pyramid – season 6, episode 6 – Soupy Sales & 5 female stars – aired 10/10/77[36] |
| 1970 | Our Time | Herself | |
| 1982–83 | All My Children | June Gordan | A music publicist for 6 episodes; performed the song "Easy to Say, Hard to Do" which was written for the show |
| 1998 | Murphy Brown | Herself | Episode: season 10 episode 16: "Opus One"[40] Frank recreatesAmerican Bandstand for Murphy's 50th birthday; guests Dick Clark; Fabian; Lesley Gore; Chubby Checker; Sally Field. |
| 1998 | A Capitol Fourth | Herself | Lesley performed in concert for the annual "A Capitol Fourth" July 4 celebration in Washington. The show was nationally televised by PBS on the evening of July 4, 1998. (Frank Dixon original source on this).[41] |
| 2001 | Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song | Herself | Episode: "Producer Pop" |
| 2001 | Biography | Herself | Episode: "Lesley Gore: 'It's Her Party'" |
| 2002 | Hollywood Squares | Herself | Recurring guest; 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Party Planner with David Tutera | Herself | Episode: "Broadway Legend's Soiree" |
| 2006 | In the Life | Herself | Season 1, episode 116 on Logo Borders – aired 1/1/06[36] |
| 2007 | TV Land Confidential | Herself | Episode: "Music" |
| 2024 | My Music: New Rock, Pop & Doo Wop | Herself | PBS fund-raising special in the My Music series; singingYou Don’t Own Me; Volume Two: Doo Wop 51 and Rock At 50.[42][43] |
| Unknown | Days of Our Lives | Unknown | |
| Unknown | Gay USA | Unknown |
| Archives at | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| How to use archival material |
