'It's My Party': Five things you didn't know about Lesley Gore's 1963 hit
Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore passed away on Monday, more than five decades after topping the music charts when she was just a teen.
The 68-year-old singer leaves behind a rich musical legacy, including “You Don’t Own Me” and the 1963 hit “It’s My Party,” which launched her to fame at the tender age of 16.
Though all of us have heard the tune that made her famous, Gore’s first smash was actually memorable for a number of other reasons. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about the tune (and you can cry about that if you want to):
It was recorded by Helen Shapiro first
Lesley Gore was not the first female singer to record the song penned in 1962 by Aaron Schroeder, John Gluck, Wally Gold and Herb Weiner. “You Don’t Know” singer Helen Shapiro recorded the track in February 1963 for her album “Helen in Nashville.” Unfortunately, it was not chosen as a single and by the time the album was released, the song was already associated with Gore.
Lesley Gore wasn’t entirely sold on the song
In February 1963, music producer Quincy Jones reportedly brought around two hundred songs over to Gore’s house for her to consider recording. After hearing a demo of “It’s My Party,” she said, “Let’s put it on the maybe pile.” It ended up being the only demo they actually agreed on and Gore recorded it a month later.
It almost became a hit for The Crystals
In March 1963, producer Phil Spector heard the “It’s My Party” demo and decided to give it to The Crystals to record. Aaron Schroder (whose firm was the source of the song) thought the producer could make a stronger version than Jones’s Gore track. When the latter producer found out Spector had recorded a Crystals version, he rushed out Gore’s version to U.S. radio stations and it shot to number one.
A radio station played it for 18 hours in 1980
According to WCBN, University of Michigan’s radio station, “It’s My Party” was played for 18 hours straight the day after Ronald Reagan was elected President on Nov. 4, 1980.
There’s a sequel!
When “It’s My Party” became a hit, Lesley Gore’s label, Mercury Records, quickly recorded a sequel, which also appeared on the album I’ll Cry If I Want To. In the original song, the singer’s boyfriend had left her for her best friend Judy. In the sequel, the boyfriend returns to the singer. The track reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963.
