Lesley Gore (Born Lesley Goldstein)
May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015
Born in New York City, Lesley Gore was just 16 years old when she recorded her first, and biggest hit, “It’s My Party,” a song that helped define her generation. Several major hits followed including, “You Don’t Own Me,” “Judy’s Turn To Cry,” and “She’s A Fool.” In 1965, Gore received a Grammy nomination for “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,” and another nominations came 1981, but this time as a co-writer for “Out Here On My Own,” from the immensely popular Fame soundtrack. Gore acted in several television shows throughout her career as well, most notably, portraying Pussycat, one of Catwoman’s cohorts, in two episodes of Batman. Gore continued to tour well into the ’90s and released what would become her final album, the critically acclaimed Ever Since, in 2005. Lesley Gore lost her battle with cancer on February 16, 2015. She was 68.
What You Should Own
I use to hangout at her school up in Westchester called Sarah Lawrence College and on Friday night the school would have “mixers” and we use to kid her into singing to her record – It’s My Party… we make believed we were all into her and her music, but she knew we were all playing with her.