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You are here: Home / Absent Friends / Rest in Peace, Lesley Gore

Rest in Peace, Lesley Gore

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She was so young. Too young to die today, of course, but when she wrote her first giant pop hit she was a high school junior. Keeping that in mind puts the “adolescent angst” thing in perspective… she was an adolescent!

From the AP, via ABC:

Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, who topped the charts in 1963 at age 16 with her epic song of teenage angst, “It’s My Party,” and followed it up with the hits “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” and the feminist anthem “You Don’t Own Me,” died Monday. She was 68.

Gore, a nonsmoker, died of lung cancer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, according to her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson.

“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.

Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised, Gore was discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and signed to Mercury Records. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in English/American literature…

“She was a serious artist that was way ahead of her time,” said Ronnie Spector in a statement. “She had a certain sound. But you want to be able to do new things too, and it can be hard on an artist that is so identified with a specific sound. Although she wasn’t in a girl group, Lesley was definitely a huge part of that era. But she continued to be creative, and kept looking ahead, and that’s how I will remember her.”…

In the 1990s, Gore co-wrote “My Secret Love” for Allison Anders’ film “Grace of My Heart,” released in 1996. A couple of years later, she appeared in “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” on Broadway. Gore had been working on a stage version of her life with playwright Mark Hampton when she died…

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…

Read what she wrote to go with the video at the top:

… Women, let’s rise up. Our vote alone can win this election. A vote for Obama is a vote for your health and your right to choose. It is a vote for equal pay and equal rights. A vote for Obama is a vote for our families. It is a vote to marry who you choose. It’s a vote to start a family when you choose. A vote for Obama says that we won’t stand for violence against women and that rape is rape. Our vote ensures that our daughters will grow up with the same rights that we’ve had. A vote for Obama sends a message: This war on women must end. We will not go backwards…

And here’s an earlier, happy, silly performance that commentor Raven found for us:

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  1. 1.

    Tree With Water

    Gore was on the charts when my older sister was in her transistor radio blasting days. I posted the following comment elsewhere a minute before this tribute post began:

    Have you ever seen TAMI 1964? When Leslie Gore closes the show(!), Smokey Robinson is seen with a big grin and a WTF? look on his face. It’s pretty funny. She may have been the dimmest star on the bill that night, but she belted out some memorable songs. Unlike Smokey, she ranked among the fallen whose careers were over the day after the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show.

  2. 2.

    jl

    Thanks raven and AL. This music is before my time, and not sure I remember hearing the name “Lesley Gore”. But I like it. Too bad she is gone.

  4. 4.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @Tree With Water:

    she ranked among the fallen whose careers were over the day after the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show.

    But she, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector, the Shangri-Las and the rest of the girls and girl groups kept rock’n’roll alive after Buddy Holly died and Elvis went into the army. Think of them as the transition team.

  5. 5.

    Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)

    For those who haven’t seen it, “Grace of My Heart” is a pretty good movie (with a few flaws). The main character is a fictionalized version of Carole King surrounded by fictionalized versions of other songwriters and musicians of that era. Bridget Fonda plays the “Lesley Gore” character.

  7. 7.

    Mike J

    @jharp:

    It does not matter if she smoked or not. No need to mention in my opinion.

    Perhaps not here, but in many places on the internet people would be saying that she deserved to die if she died of lung cancer. By spelling out that she wasn’t culpable, perhaps some of the stupids will shut up.

  8. 8.

    Emerald

    @Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason: Well, except that the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan in February of 1964, and this concert (one of the best in history, btw, look at the list of stars) was in October.

    She was a massive talent. Notice in that clip that she isn’t lip-syncing. She’s singing live into a live mic. And all while she just stands on the stage in her two-piece skirt suit. No frills.

    (I had a hairstyle like that, and used that frosted lip gloss. Fortunately the white eyeliner didn’t come in till a year or so later.)

    RIP dear lady. Too soon.

  9. 9.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): It’s not actually all that uncommon:

    Staying away from tobacco is the most important thing any of us can do to avoid getting lung cancer. But it’s not a guarantee. Every year, about 16,000 to 24,000 Americans die of lung cancer, even though they have never smoked. In fact, if lung cancer in non-smokers had its own separate category, it would rank among the top 10 fatal cancers in the United States.

    American Cancer Society

    There is lots of stigma:

    According to Lee Westmaas, PhD, American Cancer Society director of tobacco control research, people with lung cancer often face an additional burden – the fear that they’ll be judged negatively because smoking is so strongly linked to lung cancer. In an Expert Voices blog, he says even people with lung cancer who never smoked feel this stigma.

    Same ACS link

    Dana Reeve (widow of Christopher) is another non smoker who died, young, of lung cancer.

  10. 10.

    Steeplejack

    Glad she turned out to be a progressive, forward-thinking person.

    I looked on Wikipedia earlier and was surprised to find that “Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows” was less of a hit than I remembered. (It reached 13 on the charts in 1965. And it was the first hit song written by Marvin Hamlisch. Didn’t see that coming.) I just remember it being an irresistibly bouncy tune with lyrics that I thought were ridiculous even as a 13-year-old. Here she is doing it in Ski Party (1965). “Get this, C.B.: it’s a beach movie—but skiing! It’s gold, I tell you—pure gold!” And that’s Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis) she’s fondling on the bus.

    Gore was one of the dinosaurs whose doom was foretold by the meteor strike that was the Beatles in late ’63-early ’64 (and the subsequent British invasion). Like the Four Seasons, she made great, catchy records, and she coexisted with the newcomers for quite a while, but when you think about the music of that period now Lesley Gore is definitely before the deluge rather than after.

    Another Marvin Hamlisch song, which got to #17 in early 1967: “California Nights.”
    And the early part of that video is her doing the song on Batman as Catwoman’s assistant Pussycat. (The episode was called “That Darn Catwoman,” so you can’t say they didn’t have some self-awareness.)

  11. 11.

    Steeplejack

    Help! I’m being oppressed. I’m in moderation!

    ETA: Think I fixed the offending post, which follows.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    Glad she turned out to be a progressive, forward-thinking person.

    I looked on Wikipedia earlier and was surprised to find that “Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows” was less of a hit than I remembered. (It reached 13 on the charts in 1965. And it was the first hit song written by Marvin Hamlisch. Didn’t see that coming.) I just remember it being an irresistibly bouncy tune with lyrics that I thought were ridiculous even as a 13-year-old. Here she is doing it in Ski Party (1965). “Get this, C.B.: it’s a beach movie—but skiing! It’s gold, I tell you—pure gold!” And that’s Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis) she’s fondling on the bus.

    Another lesser hit I posted earlier: “Maybe I Know.”

    Gore was one of the dinosaurs whose doom was foretold by the meteor strike that was the Beatles in late ’63-early ’64 (and the subsequent British invasion). Like the Four Seasons, she made great, catchy records, and she coexisted with the newcomers for quite a while, but when you think about the music of that period now Lesley Gore is definitely before the deluge rather than after.

    Another Marvin Hamlisch song, which got to #17 in early 1967: “California Nights.”
    And the early part of that video is her doing the song on Batman as Catwoman’s assistant Pussycat. (The episode was called “That Darn Catwoman,” so you can’t say they didn’t have some self-awareness.)

  14. 14.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Steeplejack: And the early part of that video is her doing the song on Batman as Catwoman’s assistant Pussycat. (The episode was called “That Darn Catwoman,” so you can’t say they didn’t have some self-awareness.)

    God, everybody appeared on that show. I swear some day they’re gonna find the lost episodes with Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogard, The Who and Gore Vidal

  24. 24.

    mainmati

    I was a big fan of Lesley Gore as a kid. Her voice and expression were exquisite. I had no idea she was so young and not so far from my age when she made it big. Good for her. She will always be with me because of her music and that’s a suitable testament.

  34. 34.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    The full Hot 100 for March 18, 1967. Notable:

    #5: “Ruby Tuesday,” the Rolling Stones.

    #12: “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield.

    #20: “Gimme Some Lovin’,” the Spencer Davis Group.

    #25: I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You),” Aretha Franklin.

    #33: “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” Cannonball Adderley. Eek! Jazz!

    #34: “The Beat Goes On,” Sonny and Cher.

  41. 41.

    Anne Laurie

    @Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): Let’s not forget air pollution, including leaded gasoline. Gore grew up in New Jersey, which IIRC had some of the worst air quality outside Los Angeles in the 1950s-1980s. Scientists for many generations (assuming humanity survives that long) will be taking tissue samples from our corpses to demonstrate the many & various bad effects of ‘toxin interactivity’.

  43. 43.

    jl

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    ” Radon gas is a big issue as well as second hand smoke and air quality, when polluted. ”

    Lung cancer was never a rare disease. It was however, mostly a disease of very old people who had spent years in very polluted indoor air, back when people cooked and heated using wood, charcoal, coal, etc., in poorly ventilated rooms. Then there was the debut of indoor tobacco smoke, that added a quite a bit of extra carcinogen oomph to that which was already in indoor air pollution.

    The lung cancer epidemic that occurred after the invention of the manufactured cigarette, and the ability of people to engage in truly obsessively addicted nonstop smoking obscured that long history of the disease. Glad there is some push back against the stigma. Which probably should not be there even for smokers, since nicotine is so very addictive.

    Edit: and the overwhelming dominance of cigarette smoking as cause of lung cancer from 30s and 40s onward, obscured the fact that air pollution in general can cause lung cancer. In fact, traffic exhaust was the first suspect epidemiologists and docs had fingered as a cause of the epidemic when they started looking into it in 50s. That cigarettes were the cause was kind of an unwelcome surprise, since tobacco industry was not amused.

  52. 52.

    Steeplejack

    @Little Boots:

    Well played at #43. (Song 43, not comment 43.)

    That song was written by Neil Diamond—the good, pre-Streisand, pre-Vegas Neil Diamond—and he’s in there that week at #48 with “You Got to Me.”

    The dude could rock but he could not dance.

    ETA: He looks like a stockbroker at karaoke night. LOL.

  75. 75.

    lamh36

    Since I’m up so early, just wanted to say Happy Mardi Gras!

    https://twitter.com/psddluva4evah/status/567574080178495488

    Hey AL, if ya decide to post anything about it, please check out the Zulu Social and Pleasure Club website here:

    IMHO, Zulu is the BEST of the parades to see on Mardi Gras! The Zulu club is easy going and seem to be having the most fun of all two big Mardi Gras parade. Rex is the “King of Carnival”, but are still a bunch of stuffy ole money types…blah.

    Zulu is King of Parades!

    http://www.kreweofzulu.com/

  77. 77.

    cmorenc

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    @Steeplejack:
    The #1 song that week? “Penny Lane” by those Liverpudlian lads.
    One hit wonder, those guys.

    Yep, just another boy guitar band. I wonder what record label was stupid enough to sign these one-hit wonders.

  78. 78.

    Little Boots

    i DUNNO. sometimes I ‘m pissed, but mstly I love the people here. nodody is that easily upset. and sometimes on other sites, they are.

  87. 87.

    cmorenc

    At least Lesley Gore was smart enough at the T.A.M.I. show to not let them schedule her immediately after James Brown was on stage, a mistake the Rolling Stones fell into.

  88. 88.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl:

    That cigarettes were the cause was kind of an unwelcome surprise, since tobacco industry was not amused.

    Fuck the tobacco industry.

    Unrestrained greed is going to destroy this civilization. We’re well on the path to do so. Blind, short term individual greed…the sort of thing that Adam Smith criticized in The Wealth of Nations.

  90. 90.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Indeed. Do not appreciate that Kirschner asshat. His solution to the problems he had with Mike, Mickey, Davey, and Peter was to simply dispose of humans and do animated shows, with the music provided by session people.

    The result was diabetes inducing pablum like “The Archies”.

  95. 95.

    John Revolta

    I wish my life was a nonstop Hollywood movie show
    A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
    Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
    And celluloid heroes never really die

  103. 103.

    gene108

    Correction: Boyd Thomas’ contained an error in the headline. He does not believe Obama is the Antichrist, who who will come after seven kings according to revelation. He thinks Obama could be the Seventh King.

    Bit disappointed Obama is not the anti-Christ. I feel like I wasted my three votes for him, between 2008 and 2012.

    Though some believe he is the AntChirst

    I am glad Obama has given ants a pathway to forgiveness and redemption. I feel better now, when I stomp on them that they have found salvation in Obama.

  116. 116.

    Montarvillois

    Born the same year as Lesley Gore and I sported the same flip hairstyle in high school year book. Lesley was great. Long time ago but the memories are cherished.

  118. 118.

    raven

    And, of course, I was in bed. I have the Blu Ray of the TAMI show and she was wonderful but she didn’t close it, the Stones did.

  119. 119.

    Nicole

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Do not appreciate that Kirschner asshat. His solution to the problems he had with Mike, Mickey, Davey, and Peter was to simply dispose of humans and do animated shows, with the music provided by session people.

    In all fairness to Don Kirschner, when you read or watch later interviews with the Monkees, their opinions mellowed quite a bit and they grasped what a hit maker he was. In the 1980s, when the young me discovered them, I saw an interview with either Mickey or Peter talking about the drop in sales between “More of the Monkees” (Kirschner) and “Headquarters” (first post-Kirschner). Though I fully admit Headquarters was my favorite Monkees album. ;)

    In the mid or late 1990s the NY Times Sunday Magazine had a great article about how the enormous success of the Beatles led to the decline of the standard and the great American songwriter, because they wrote (almost) all of their own material and soon it became expected that all pop artists write their own stuff. But very few artists have a “Yesterday” in them (irony, that the band who pushed the decline of the standard wrote one of the most covered songs of all time).

    So props to Lesley Gore, ahead of her time! She’ll always make me think of “Dirty Dancing,” because I remember “You Don’t Own Me” being on the soundtrack album. Even if it wasn’t, that’s how I remember it.

  120. 120.

    gogol's wife

    I adored Lesley Gore. I didn’t know anything about her later life, so this is very interesting. There’s something about that voice that just touched me to the heart, esp. in “It’s My Party.” Still does.

  121. 121.

    PurpleGirl

    RIP Lesley Gore. Damn! I’m tearing up at this news.

    I’m a few years younger than she was and I remember most of these songs on the radio. (At the time I didn’t have the money to buy records.) The song I liked most then, and still like today, is You Don’t Own Me. I guess it was came out around the time I was learning about feminism and realizing a lot about the relationships around me. I remember seeing the PSA on-line and thinking how powerful it was. It still is.

  122. 122.

    Slugger

    I saw her perform long after her peak at a corporate convention thingy. Her performance was full of joy, energy, humor, and fun. She got 500 stuffed shirt corporate types on their feet dancing, laughing, and cheering.
    The memory brings me a big smile. Thanks, Leslie. Rest in Peace.

  125. 125.

    serge

    Jesus Christ does that bring back memories… In the fourth grade, seeing it at the Veirs Mill Theater in Silver Spring, MD down the road from my home in Rockville. Packed with kids whose first exposure to James Brown occurred that Saturday afternoon. Fucking magic.

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