Al Brady will never forget the final time he saw Lesley Gore. It was last year when she was performing on the Rocky and the Rollers “Rockin the Caribbean Cruise.”
Gore, 68, died this week from lung cancer.
“I went up to Lesley and I told her, ‘when I was growing up I had a crush on you,’” said Brady, a DJ who also acts as master of ceremonies on the cruise.
“Lesley,” Brady told Gore, “I just wanted you to know I love your music.”
Brady said the diminutive Gore, who stood barely 5 feet tall, asked him to bend down and then “she gave me a bear hug. She told me, ‘thanks Al, tonight I needed that.’”
Gerry “Rocky” Seader, leader of Rocky and the Rollers, performed with Gore countless times over the past three decades and was a personal friend.
“She loved playing here in the Villages,” Seader said. “We were her favorite band. Did shows all over the country with her for over 35 years. She was getting ready to do our ‘Rockin’ The Caribbean Cruise’ next year again and I was working on bringing her back to the Villages.
“We were very close and I will miss performing on stage with her and having conversations about life. This was so sudden and I am in shock and in disbelief that she is gone. We did a tribute last night at our Sock Hop at Katie Belle’s. We played ‘It’s My Party’ with a mike standing by itself and asked the audience to sing the words. It was very touching and all of the band was sobbing while playing the song. Leslie will be truly missed.”
Lesley Gore was just 16 when she hit the top of the record charts in 1963 with “It’s My Party.” It was produced by Quincy Jones, who also produced Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album and countless other best sellers.
“People know her for that song and it was a big hit but Lesley Gore had a lot more talent than that,” Brady said. He added that Jones wanted to get the song out in a hurry and it was “a typical, kind of pop-female bubble gum sound.”
The follow-up, “Judy’s Turn To Cry,” was more of the same but then Lesley Gore forever changed the image of female singers early in 1964 when she hit the top ten with “You Don’t Own Me.”
To see a video of the song go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmOrWG2FTbg
“This song can be considered one of the many artistic works that helped begin the Women’s Liberation Movement, despite the fact that the movement did not really take off until a decade later,” states the Web site songfacts.com. “This song is one of the very first in which a woman demands her independence from her man.”
Billie Thatcher, the popular Villages’ singer and performer, loved the song.
“Wherever I sing ‘You Don’t Own Me,’ all the women in the audience know the song and like to sing-a-long,” Thatcher said. “The men know ‘It’s My Party,’ but ‘You Don’t Own Me’ will always be a special song for women.”
The song held a special place for Gore.
“After some 40 years, I still close my show with that song because I can’t find anything stronger, to be honest with you,” she once told Digital Interviews. “It’s a song that just kind of grows every time you do it. It might mean one thing one year and boom, two years later, boy, it can mean something else.”
Thatcher said she has been a fan of Gore since the early ‘60s.
“What I liked about her is that Leslie seemed like a regular person, the kind of person who could be your friend,” Thatcher said. “I saw her perform many times and she was very dynamic but also very personable. I’m so sad she’s gone.”
Gore’s talent went far beyond pop songs. She was an actress who appeared on the old “Batman” TV series as part of Catwoman’s gang.
She was also a talented pianist and composer. She teamed with her brother, Michael, writing the song “Out Here On My Own” for the movie “Fame.” The song was nominated for an Academy Award.
About a decade ago, Gore came out as gay and hosted some episodes of “In the Life,” and LGBT news show on PBS.
She would often play piano and many times would team with fellow singer Lou Christie on duet of “Since I Don’t Have You.”
All you had to do was listen to her sing that song to realize that Leslie Gore was far more than just another bubble-gum teen queen.
Lesley Gore’s ten biggest hits, in order of popularity: “It’s My Party,” “You Don’t Own Me,” “She’s A Fool,” “Judy’s Turn to Cry” “California Nights,” “That’s the Way Boys Are,” “Sunshine, Lollipops and Roses,” “Maybe I Know,” “Look of Love” and “My Town, My Guy, And Me.”