“It’s My Party” Singer Lesley Gore Dies at 68

Lesley Gore, the out pop star who gave us hits like “It’s My Party,” and “You Don’t Own Me,” died yesterday after a battle with lung cancer. She was 68.

At the age of 16, Lesley signed with Mercury Records and produced the cult classic, “It’s My Party,” which became her first number one. She then went on to releases hits like “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows,” and “You Don’t Own Me.” She also made an appearance on TV’s “Batman” as one of Catwoman’s gang members. It wasn’t until 2005, when Gore officially came out as a lesbian, and hosted several episodes of the LGBT newsmagazine series “In the Life.”

“I didn’t avoid anything [but] I didn’t put it in anybody’s face. Times were very different then, so, you know, I just tried to live as normally as humanly possible. But as truthfully as humanly possible.”

RIP Lesley Gore (1946 – 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYJyVEUaC4