Lesley Gore: It's Always Her Party
September 2009
It has become a popular phrase in mainstream culture, an oft-used excuse or rationale for anyone whose birthday, bat mitzvah, or celebration has not pleased for one reason or another. Thanks to the pioneering attitude of a 16-year-old girl from Tenafly, NJ, we’ve since been allowed to cry at our own party – if only just because we want to.
In 1963, Lesley Gore had an even sweeter 16 than most. Within a mere week of recording a demo called “It’s My Party,” the teen heard her song on the radio for the first time while driving home from school. A month later, Gore had the number one hit in the country.
Now at age 63, Gore continues to tour, her matured, raspy voice delivering the classics fans have grown to cherish over the last four decades, including, “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “You Don’t Own Me,” “Maybe I Know,” and “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.”
In an exclusive retrospective, Ms. Gore candidly details her success as a teen idol, performance anxiety, and…get ready for it…her dislike for parties!
As the story tends to vary in detail, how exactly were you discovered?
I really loved singing, but I wasn’t a showy person, so my friends never knew I sang. My family barely knew I sang. I decided when I was about 15-years-old that I wanted to take vocal lessons. I called this wonderful man, Myron Earnhart, whom all the students called Pappy, and I started studying with him. One day, we did some demo records. Unbeknownst to me, my cousin Howie, who was a manager for a fighter, got my demos to Joe Glaser, the head of a very prominent agency at the time. Joe sent my demos to Irving Green who was president of Mercury. Quincy Jones was head of A&R at the time…liked what he heard, called me up, found “It’s My Party,” and the rest is history. Kind of a long story, I’m afraid. (Laughs)
You debuted on the music scene and topped the charts with your first single…before even graduating high school. Since you achieved the height of success so early, did you ever wonder ‘where can I go from here’?
Well, sure. I graduated from college…my recording career was virtually over by then. All of my friends were graduating and starting a new life, and I was sort of ending a life. It was a very tumultuous time for me. It was a lot of figuring out what I do from there, how do I do it…it was not easy.
How did your peers react to your sudden fame?
It was frankly a tremendous intrusion. People treated me like an idol as opposed to a person. There was a lot of head-turning going on. At 16, it deeply impresses you, and you sort of tend to think that you’re as good as everyone says you are. Certainly when it’s all over, you get your comeuppance, and you realize you’re walking through life just the way everyone else is. I had to learn to be a regular person again.
Given the choice, if you could record back then as you did in the ‘60s, or enter the present day music industry, which would you prefer?
I wouldn’t like to be starting out today. Probably the best way to get fame and fortune today is throw yourself on “American Idol,” and I simply couldn’t have put up with that kind of competition. I did not have the self confidence to do that, so if I had to start today, I frankly would probably be just a teacher or psychiatrist or maybe go into medicine or architecture, but I wouldn’t be singing.
Many of your songs are double-tracked - your vocals are doubled in order to enhance the sound. How did you feel about the decision to record this way?
Quincy was a very innovative guy, and he was basically the master in the studio. When he said double-voice, I double-voiced. I was learning from the best. It was kind of my signature…when we started to do it, I couldn’t immediately hear from the result how unique it was. I thought it was a brilliant idea.
In past interviews, you have described some of your songs as “outdated,” and “You Don’t Own Me” as the only one having achieved timelessness. I, among countless others, tend to disagree.
“It’s My Party” is a dated song. A great record, but I don’t even think that kids know what “going steady” was. Today, God only knows what they call it, and how they do it. They’re hookin’ up. They’re not going steady. (Laughs) In that sense, it is a little out of time and place. “You Don’t Own Me,” every time I sing it, it’s imbued with something new, so I think that’s the difference between a good song and a great song.
“You Don’t Own Me” has been called a feminist anthem. Was this interpretation born with the song?
Frankly, no. At 16, it’s such a joy to be able to stand up in front of an audience and shake your finger and say, “You don’t own me.” From my point of view, it was more humanist. I was probably talking to my parents and my teachers, as well as my boyfriends. So, it wasn’t coming from a feminist place in my heart at the time. I can see where it has grown into that.
Why have you decided to keep touring?
When I was a kid, I was very, very anxious about performing. I was nervous about it for days, sometimes weeks before I had to perform. The show was always going through my mind, almost like a hamster on crack. It was just constantly going over lyrics, and if I forgot a lyric, I would panic and start thinking about what would happen if I forgot it on stage. Finally, somewhere about maybe 10…15 years ago, I discovered that if I can control the anxiety, that I could actually go out there and have a great time. Now I’m having the best time of my life. I’m so happy to be there, and I look forward to it so much that it’s completely 180 degrees difference for me now.
Your last album, Ever Since, was released in 2005. Do you have any future recording plans?
I’m always looking for reasons to get back in the studio. There’ll be another one.
What would you like fans to think of when they hear the name Lesley Gore?
The only thing I might like to change is sometimes when people talk about “It’s My Party,” they don’t think of me as a serious artist. I’m singing better now than I’ve ever sung in my entire life, and that’s not bragging, that’s coming from a truly honest place. So, I would like somehow to change that perception so people don’t just think of me as a Top 40 person from the ‘60s. I’d like them to think of me as a relevant singer today.
And now, the ultimate question: has Lesley Gore ever cried at her own party?
No. Unless I’ve fallen (sic) down the steps. (Laughs) I’m not much of a partygoer, to be honest with you. Absolutely not. It’s kind of funny, in that people invite me to parties all the time, but I’ve never loved parties. My ideal situation is just going to a lovely restaurant with a few people that I know and love. I’m actually quite a simple human being. As I get older, I find that’s the best way to live, and I’m happiest. The less drama in my life, the more I like it.
You heard her, Judy. It’s your turn to cry.
In 1963, Lesley Gore had an even sweeter 16 than most. Within a mere week of recording a demo called “It’s My Party,” the teen heard her song on the radio for the first time while driving home from school. A month later, Gore had the number one hit in the country.
Now at age 63, Gore continues to tour, her matured, raspy voice delivering the classics fans have grown to cherish over the last four decades, including, “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “You Don’t Own Me,” “Maybe I Know,” and “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.”
In an exclusive retrospective, Ms. Gore candidly details her success as a teen idol, performance anxiety, and…get ready for it…her dislike for parties!
As the story tends to vary in detail, how exactly were you discovered?
I really loved singing, but I wasn’t a showy person, so my friends never knew I sang. My family barely knew I sang. I decided when I was about 15-years-old that I wanted to take vocal lessons. I called this wonderful man, Myron Earnhart, whom all the students called Pappy, and I started studying with him. One day, we did some demo records. Unbeknownst to me, my cousin Howie, who was a manager for a fighter, got my demos to Joe Glaser, the head of a very prominent agency at the time. Joe sent my demos to Irving Green who was president of Mercury. Quincy Jones was head of A&R at the time…liked what he heard, called me up, found “It’s My Party,” and the rest is history. Kind of a long story, I’m afraid. (Laughs)
You debuted on the music scene and topped the charts with your first single…before even graduating high school. Since you achieved the height of success so early, did you ever wonder ‘where can I go from here’?
Well, sure. I graduated from college…my recording career was virtually over by then. All of my friends were graduating and starting a new life, and I was sort of ending a life. It was a very tumultuous time for me. It was a lot of figuring out what I do from there, how do I do it…it was not easy.
How did your peers react to your sudden fame?
It was frankly a tremendous intrusion. People treated me like an idol as opposed to a person. There was a lot of head-turning going on. At 16, it deeply impresses you, and you sort of tend to think that you’re as good as everyone says you are. Certainly when it’s all over, you get your comeuppance, and you realize you’re walking through life just the way everyone else is. I had to learn to be a regular person again.
Given the choice, if you could record back then as you did in the ‘60s, or enter the present day music industry, which would you prefer?
I wouldn’t like to be starting out today. Probably the best way to get fame and fortune today is throw yourself on “American Idol,” and I simply couldn’t have put up with that kind of competition. I did not have the self confidence to do that, so if I had to start today, I frankly would probably be just a teacher or psychiatrist or maybe go into medicine or architecture, but I wouldn’t be singing.
Many of your songs are double-tracked - your vocals are doubled in order to enhance the sound. How did you feel about the decision to record this way?
Quincy was a very innovative guy, and he was basically the master in the studio. When he said double-voice, I double-voiced. I was learning from the best. It was kind of my signature…when we started to do it, I couldn’t immediately hear from the result how unique it was. I thought it was a brilliant idea.
In past interviews, you have described some of your songs as “outdated,” and “You Don’t Own Me” as the only one having achieved timelessness. I, among countless others, tend to disagree.
“It’s My Party” is a dated song. A great record, but I don’t even think that kids know what “going steady” was. Today, God only knows what they call it, and how they do it. They’re hookin’ up. They’re not going steady. (Laughs) In that sense, it is a little out of time and place. “You Don’t Own Me,” every time I sing it, it’s imbued with something new, so I think that’s the difference between a good song and a great song.
“You Don’t Own Me” has been called a feminist anthem. Was this interpretation born with the song?
Frankly, no. At 16, it’s such a joy to be able to stand up in front of an audience and shake your finger and say, “You don’t own me.” From my point of view, it was more humanist. I was probably talking to my parents and my teachers, as well as my boyfriends. So, it wasn’t coming from a feminist place in my heart at the time. I can see where it has grown into that.
Why have you decided to keep touring?
When I was a kid, I was very, very anxious about performing. I was nervous about it for days, sometimes weeks before I had to perform. The show was always going through my mind, almost like a hamster on crack. It was just constantly going over lyrics, and if I forgot a lyric, I would panic and start thinking about what would happen if I forgot it on stage. Finally, somewhere about maybe 10…15 years ago, I discovered that if I can control the anxiety, that I could actually go out there and have a great time. Now I’m having the best time of my life. I’m so happy to be there, and I look forward to it so much that it’s completely 180 degrees difference for me now.
Your last album, Ever Since, was released in 2005. Do you have any future recording plans?
I’m always looking for reasons to get back in the studio. There’ll be another one.
What would you like fans to think of when they hear the name Lesley Gore?
The only thing I might like to change is sometimes when people talk about “It’s My Party,” they don’t think of me as a serious artist. I’m singing better now than I’ve ever sung in my entire life, and that’s not bragging, that’s coming from a truly honest place. So, I would like somehow to change that perception so people don’t just think of me as a Top 40 person from the ‘60s. I’d like them to think of me as a relevant singer today.
And now, the ultimate question: has Lesley Gore ever cried at her own party?
No. Unless I’ve fallen (sic) down the steps. (Laughs) I’m not much of a partygoer, to be honest with you. Absolutely not. It’s kind of funny, in that people invite me to parties all the time, but I’ve never loved parties. My ideal situation is just going to a lovely restaurant with a few people that I know and love. I’m actually quite a simple human being. As I get older, I find that’s the best way to live, and I’m happiest. The less drama in my life, the more I like it.
You heard her, Judy. It’s your turn to cry.
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