'It's my party' singer Lesley Gore dead at 68

[RandySF]

Lesley Gore, the singer and songwriter whose hits included "It's My Party" and "You Don't Own Me" has died at 68.

The Associated Press reports that Gore died Monday of cancer in New York City.

http://www.caller.com/news/national/its-my-party-singer-lesley-gore-dead-at-68

[GeorgeGist]

1. RIP

[blueknight]

2. all the singers from my generation

are leaving us. real talented people. not like the phony's of today. R.I.P. ms. Gore. You did good....

[3catwoman3]

3. 68 is much too young. That song is one of the first ones...

...I remember being aware of in my early teens. I turned 12 the year that song came out.


RIP, Miss Gore.

[Roy Rolling]

23. Same here

This was the first 45 I owned.

[loyalsister]

25. It was one of the first from that era that I became aware of

My mom had some 60s compilations that I listened to when I was a kid. That one, along with Leader of The Pack, and Sloopy were my favorites.

[joeybee12]

4. Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows...

She sang that in one of the awful Frankie and Annette movies (I loved those movies though)..ridiculously catchy and fun. RIP.

[Paladin]

20. Marvin Hamlich wrote that one, when he was a teenager. (nt)

[joeybee12]

24. Interesting..thanks...

It's going through my head right now.

[tblue37]

32. Here is a video of her singing that song on the bus taking the kids to the beach.

The movie was Beach Party. I actually saw it in the theater!

ON EDIT:
Forgot to addd the video URL.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="

?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[joeybee12]

38. Thanks...

I always thought Dwayne Hickman was a pretty good actor..his reactions here are great,

[tblue37]

39. Dwayne Hickman--"The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis!" Boy are we revealing our age.

I am so old I remember when the Appalachian Mountains were still pointy!

[joeybee12]

40. Actually, that was a little before my time...

I saw them on dvd recently, a couple episodes...in the movies Dwayne looks tall, but he was actually very short...Frankie and Annette must have been midgets!

[KMOD]

5. oh, I'm sorry to hear this

RIP

[youtube]

[/youtube]

my favorite.

[Chiyo-chichi]

7. I took my family to see a They Might be Giants concert in St. Louis a few years ago...

My kids were teens at the time & we were at the edge of the stage in the center.
The band often has a "dance contest" during the show. After they played the uptempo song, during which everyone was encouraged to dance their butts off, John Flansburgh handed a prize to my daughter. It was an LP of The Greatest Hits of Lesley Gore.
After the show, Jonathan Coulton, who had opened the show, was in the lobby selling his new CD, which we bought... but my daughter went up to him and asked "would you sign my copy of Lesley Gore's Greatest Hits?"... which made him laugh. That signed LP... and the memory of making JoCo bust a gut are among her treasured possessions.

Incidentally, They Might Be Giants also occasionally cover Lesley Gore's "Maybe I Know." This is from the early days of MTV.

R.I.P., Lesley Gore.

[hfojvt]

8. it boggles my mind that she is so "young"

I mean, 68, and I am 53 so we are only 15 years apart, and yet there she is singing a hit song in 1965 when I was only 3. Another teenager with a hit song, kinda like Leann Rimes, Tiffany, etc.

I just expected her to be at least 10 years older than 68.

[marym625]

10. Me too

Though I am 51. Had the same thought

[marym625]

9. awe.

How sad. That's not old anymore.

[hollysmom]

11. how sad Ab Fab will miss her if they ever have another reunion show

I know I should think of her by her song, but I always think of her at the only client.

[shenmue]

12. Nooooooooooo!

I love her.

[TBF]

13. A huge loss. A quote from her partner -

"She was a wonderful human being — caring, giving, a great feminist, great woman, great human being, great humanitarian," Sasson, a jewelry designer, told The Associated Press.

She officially came out to the public when she hosted several episodes of the PBS series, "In The Life," which dealt with gay and lesbian issues. During the 2012 presidential campaign, Gore turned "You Don't Own Me" into an online video public service announcement demanding reproductive rights which starred Lena Dunham and Tavi Gevinson, among others.

[daredtowork]

22. This is one of my favorite songs ever!

Also I'm proud to have gone to the same college as Leslie Gore.

"You don't own me" could be the anthem for so many issues today - not just women's issue. We need to say this to the NSA. We need to say this to corporations who acquire too much data about us. We need to say this about de facto debt slavery. We need to say this about inhumane working conditions dictated by artificially created "competitive" labor markets. We need to use this song to demand dignity and worth of the individual.

[Little Star]

14. Makes me sad. RIP Lesley.

[chelsea0011]

15. I was just online yesterday to check out her upcoming tour schedule

She will be missed and was truly a great singer

[Waiting For Everyman]

16. Oh no, very sad.

"You Don't Own Me" was way ahead of its time. Loved her sound. And she's only 3 years older than me, it's getting to be a little scarey with so many of my generation passing already. Goodbye, Leslie.

[RoccoR5955]

17. The world just got

to be a bit more of a dark place.
RIP

[edhopper]

18. Very sad

She was from a more innocent time for popular music.

[hifiguy]

19. Well, that is a downer.

Loved her songs, especially "Maybe I Know" and "California Nights."

[daredtowork]

21. So young! D: nt

[riversedge]

26. She had a long term partner for 33 years-may she find peace.

[m-lekktor]

29. yup. I didn't realize she was a lesbian. I love "you don't own me".

RIP Leslie Gore.

[Samantha]

35. That is a classic and I loved it as well

I heard the news I think last night, and I felt just too sad. We are losing so many great people at such young ages. 68 is just too young to go....

Sam

[m-lekktor]

36. yes. very sad. nt

[Lithos]

27. Such a great person

So strong...

I am sad for her partner and her family, yet grateful I got to experience some of her talents in my lifetime.

RIP

L-

[Manifestor_of_Light]

28. An excellent singer.

I was a little kid when "It's My Party" came out. It's indelibly burned into the brains of Baby Boomers. Great songs. May she be at peace.

[3catwoman3]

30. As is the sequel...

...Judy's Turn To Cry.

[tblue37]

31. I have to say, though--those back-up dancers in that video crack me up. nt

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

33. She was good

I liked her tunes. I can't say that about too many artists of today. If there's a heaven I hope she enjoys a reward for being a positive influence as an artist.

[ND-Dem]

34. weird. things i didn't know about lesley gore:

1. she's young. I always imagined she was older; she had her first hit at age 16 (hearing her on the radio made me imagine she must be older).

2. she and her brother wrote the songs for the film "fame".

3. she was gay.

4. she came from a pretty wealthy family and went to the Dwight School and Sarah Lawrence.

[TBF]

37. I read that staying in school probably hurt her career -

but she was from a wealthy family (Leo Gore - fashion licensing) and likely the royalties from the early work would've been enough for her to live on as she pursued creative projects as an adult. She came out in 2005 when she was doing some sort of film project in the midwest on LGBT. It's great she was able to remain pretty anonymous and lived with her partner Lois for over 30 years. Sad to see her go so young.

[Spirochete]

41. She'll be back...