Lesley Gore, Jewish ‘It’s My Party’ Singer, Dies at 68
Image by getty images
Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, who shot to stardom as a New Jersey teenager with the 1960s pop hit “It’s My Party” and co-wrote music for the 1980 film “Fame,” died on Monday in New York, a longtime associate confirmed. She was 68.
Gore, who died at a New York hospital, had cancer, said Blake Morgan, chief executive officer of ECR Music Group, who produced Gore’s 2005 album “Ever Since.”
“Everyone here is very sad today but also very proud of our work with her and this record,” said Morgan. “It is bold and courageous and beautiful, just like her.”
Gore broke into the music scene in 1963 with “It’s My Party,” which hit No. 1 on the record charts and sold more than 1 million copies.
She followed that with such hits as “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “That’s the Way Boys Are” and “You Don’t Own Me,” which became a feminist anthem.
Gore also performed as a sidekick to Catwoman on the 1960s “Batman” TV series starring Adam West.
Gore co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated song “Out Here on My Own” with her brother Michael Gore for “Fame.”
Besides her mother and brother, Lesley Gore is survived by her partner of more than three decades, Lois Sasson, Morgan said.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
