Obituaries

"It's My Party" Singer Lesley Gore Dies at 68

The 1960s pop sensation performed on Broadway in ”Smokey Joe’s Café”.

Pop singer and social activist Lesley Gore has died at age 68.
Pop singer and social activist Lesley Gore has died at age 68.

Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, best known for her 1960s pop hits, died on Monday, February 16, from lung cancer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. She was 68 years old.

Gore was born Lesley Sue Goldstein on May 2, 1946. She signed to Mercury Records after being discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and went on to graduate from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in English/American literature.

Her greatest hit single came in 1963 at age 16 with her song of teenage turmoil, "It's My Party," with its sequel "Judy's Turn to Cry" reaching No. 5 on the pop charts. Her other popular recordings include "She's A Fool" and ''Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," cowritten by Tony Award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, along with "That's the Way Boys Are," "Maybe I Know," and the popular feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me," which became the centerpiece of her 2012 campaign for reproductive rights.

Gore also composed songs for the 1980 film Fame and received an Academy Award nomination for the song "Out Here on My Own," which she cowrote with her Brother Michael. In 1995 she made her Broadway debut in the Leiber and Stoller musical revue Smokey Joe's Café. She had reportedly been working on a stage version of her life with playwright Mark Hampton when she died.

She is survived by Lois Sasson, her partner of 33 years, as well as her brother, Michael, and mother, Ronny. Services will be held on Thursday, February 19, at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home on Madison Avenue.