On May 30, 1963, Lesley Gore made her “American Bandstand” debut, performing her single “It’s My Party.” Soon after her “American Bandstand” performance, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over one million copies. Throughout the 1960s, Gore had a string of pop hits, all while attending high school and college. She later wrote an Oscar-nominated song for “Fame” and became an advocate for gay rights after she came out as a lesbian in 2005.
Born Lesley Sue Goldstein in Brooklyn, NY on May 2, 1946, she was raised in Tenafly, NJ. Legendary music producer Quincy Jones discovered her when she was a junior in high school. Gore recorded “It’s My Party” on March 30, 1963. Seven days later, Gore was driving to high school and heard her song on the radio. In June 1963, she released her first album, “I’ll Cry If I Want To.” She continued to release a series of pop hits including “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.” Among her pop hits, she released the unapologetically assertive track, “You Don’t Own Me” in 1963 that quickly hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Millions of teen girls related to the relatable and often proto-feminist messages in Gore’s songs.
After high school, Gore continued to juggle her academic pursuits and her music career. She attended Sarah Lawrence College while releasing singles, such as “Treat Me Like A Lady.” As Gore became more immersed in her literature and drama classes, she clocked in less time at the recording studio. While pursuing her studies at Sarah Lawrence, Gore also realized that she was a lesbian. However, she chose to not share her sexual orientation while still famous.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Gore worked as a songwriter as well as recording several of her own albums. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her “Out Here On My Own,” which she co-wrote with her younger brother for the movie “Fame.”
Between 1982 and 2005, Gore stayed out of the spotlight. Then, in 2004, she started hosting the PBS documentary, “In The Life,” that focused on LGBTQ issues. Although she had kept her sexual identity private for most of her life, she came out publically as a lesbian in 2005. By that time, Gore had been living with her partner, Lois Sasson, since the early 1980s. That same year, she released her comeback album, “Ever Since,” to critical acclaim. She had been working on a memoir and a Broadway musical based on her life, when she died of lung cancer on February 16, 2015.