Goodbye to Lesley Gore (1946 - 2015)

American singer Lesley Gore has passed away. She's probably most known for her hits It's My Party and You Don't Own Me but she also recorded an English version of the 1968 Eurovision winner La La La by Massiel.

Lesley Gore had 19 US top 100 hits and will have her place in music history forever, at least for those two songs.
In 2009 the singer was featured in a Eurocovers post, which you can read again below.

1968: La La La And I'll Cry If I Want To

La La La, the Spanish Eurovision winner by Massiel from 1968 is a well covered song.
Last year or so 'news' came out that it had won because the Generalo, Franco, bribed some juries because he wanted Spain to win.
All Allegedly of course, and I have a hard time believing the story. Cliff Richard didn't win, get over it.

La La La was a song of controversy all along. First the original singer Joan Manuel Serrat was sent packing because he insisted on singing the song in Catalan, later Massiel was critisized over her way too short dress which disgraced the Spanish people in Europe. Today the song is still ridiculed for the amount of La's that are in it, but somewhere deep inside there's a message, of freedom even...

Eurovision singer Massiel recorded the song in Spanish, French, German and English. Original singer Serrat recorded Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Serrat's Catalan version was recorded for a radio show many years later, but it has never been released on record.

La La La is written by Ramón Arcusa and Manuel De La Calva, also known as Dúo Dinámico. Coverversions were recorded in at least 20 languages and the list includes version by Eurovision stars Gitte, Kirsti Sparboe with Arne Bendiksen and Oddvar, Edina Pop and Heidi Brühl.
With over 140 coverversions the song sits neatly inside the top 20 of most covered Eurovision songs. Youtube Eurovision Version.

It's My Party
Lesley Gore shot to fame with her first single It's My Party. A classic and a #1 hit in the US and a top 10 hit in many European countries. She followed it up with three more top 10 hits of which the feminist You Don't Own Me is probably the best known. Lesley Gore also recorded You Don't Own Me in French, German and Italian and Eurocovers loves that.
You Don't Own Me features heavily in the Bette Midler / Diane Keaton / Goldie Hawn movie The First Wives Club.

The song was the last Lesley Gore single to reach the US top 10 but she continued to score 16 more top 100 hits.

In 1968 she recorded the Eurovision winner as He Gives Me Love (La La La) and after two singles that failed to chart in the Billboard top 100, He Gives Me Love went to #91. It was her last top 100 hit. (Mercury 78219)

Lesley Gore continued recording in the 70's but after her 1982 cover album The Canvas Can Do Miracles it took over 20 years for her to get back in the studio.
In 2005 she recorded the album Ever Since which includes a stunning new version of You Don't Own Me and several new songs from Lesley Gore's own pen. Ever Since is available at Amazon and iTunes

Several Lesley Gore compilations are also available including a splendid 5CD box It's My Party! (Bear family) with all her 60's recordings, including several foreign language versions of her early hits.


links and sources
Lesley Gore Homepage - Fanclub.(since 1965, remarkable!)
Youtubes: It's My Party - You Don't Own Me
Lesley Gore - La La La Discogs page