In honor of Leslie Gore

[ismnotwasm]

Why Lesley Gore Mattered
Singer Lesley Gore, who died on Monday at 68, is best remembered for her hit single of 1963, "It's My Party." But don't make the mistake of dismissing her as a one-hit wonder. First, she scored several other top ten hits in the 1960s; true, none hit the heights of that first song, which reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts. Still, Gore did well enough to lip-synch to her single "California Nights" on the Batman TV show in 1967.

And "You Don't Own Me" was an important message to hear in a pop song at a time when feminism was gaining steam but not yet a current in the musical mainstream.

But what makes Lesley Gore important isn't a couple of hit pop tunes from 40 years ago. It's the connections, and unexpected consequences of her songs. "It's My Party" was produced by Quincy Jones. It was in fact his first hit song. I'm not suggesting that we would not know who this hugely influential man is today without her -- he was already a hot topic in the jazz world by then. But his astonishing career in pop music, including the record-breaking albums he made with Michael Jackson, had to begin somewhere -- and it began with the 16-year old high school student who took the name Lesley Gore.

And that song she sang on national television? That was one of several songs she recorded that were written by a young Marvin Hamlisch. Gore, Jones, and Hamlisch began working together in 1963, when she sang and Jones produced a song called "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows."

http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/why-lesley-gore-mattered/

[niyad]

1. k and r and thank you

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. I'll cry if I want to. ( And I want to.) But....

she had a great life.

Too bad it wasn't longer.

K and R

[mountain grammy]

3. In other words, she was an artist..

and a damn good one. Rest in peace, gone too soon.

Thanks for posting.

[Mister Ed]

4. I've long admired her because...

...despite her youth, she never went all Britney / Bieber, but instead maintained a sane, modest, and perhaps even humorous perspective on her status as a teen idol.

At the height of her celebrity status, she was quietly toiling away at her studies in the background, first graduating from high school and then from Sarah Lawrence College.

Just two weeks ago, I watched her entire set from the landmark 1964 T.A.M.I. television special, and came away filled with renewed respect for her. At a time when many of the pop stars being marketed to teenagers were mere cardboard cutouts, she was a genuine talent.

And then, of course, there's "You Don't Own Me". There it was. At a time when the top 40 was flooded with young female vocalists exalting and worshiping the boy they adored, Lesley just laid it all down, in two minutes four seconds. If I could pick a single song to find a place in my teenage daughter's head and heart, I guess this one would be it.

[ismnotwasm]

5. Nice

I love this

[MineralMan]

6. "You Don't Own Me" came out in my senior

year of high school, sharing a spot on the Top Ten list with the Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand." I remember thinking at the time that the Beatles were singing just yet another teen love ditty, while Lesley Gore was singing something real and important. 1963 was a year when many of my female classmates were questioning traditional roles expected of them. Lesley Gore's song spoke for them.

I liked Lesley Gore a lot.