Lesley Gore Albums Ranked

Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop hit “It’s My Party”, a US number one in 1963. She followed it up with ten further Billboard top 40 hits including “Judy’s Turn to Cry” and “You Don’t Own Me”. Gore later worked as an actress and television personality. She composed songs with her brother Michael Gore for the 1980 film Fame, for which he won an Academy Award. She hosted several editions of the LGBT-oriented public television show, In the Life, on American TV in the 2000s. Gore was born Lesley Sue Goldstein in Brooklyn, New York City, into a middle-class Jewish family. The daughter of Leo Goldstein and Ronny Gore, her father was the owner of Peter Pan, a children’s swimwear and underwear manufacturer, and later became a leading brand licensing agent in the apparel industry. She was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey, and attended the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood. She also attended Sarah Lawrence College. Here are all of Lesley Gore albums ranked.

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9. The Golden Hits Of Lesley Gore 

“It’s odd because Lesley really has mastered that girl group sound being a solo artist. She actually has a really good voice and the material she chooses for the most part is very radio friendly and adorable. Sure, I’ve always liked “It’s My Party” (which was surprisingly her first single I believe), it’s an adorable little pop tune, but “You Don’t Own Me” is my favorite from Lesley. I love it’s darker tone and well it’s just a more serious tune that really made me want to investigate her further.”

8. California Nights 

“She takes a definite stance on her move into adulthood (treat me like a lady), and her voice has never sounded better. This album came out at the same time as Lesley appeared as one of the Cat-woman’s henchmen on the ‘Batman’ tv series (if i recall correctly she sang the title track on the show). High energy songs ‘The Bubble Broke’ and ‘Off and Running’ are the definite stand-outs, while ‘Love Goes on Forever’ stays in your head long after.”

7. Boys, Boys, Boys 

“Pretty strong effort here though it falls short of the sheer greatness of both “Sings Of Mixed Up Hearts” and “Girl Talk”. I’m Coolin’ No Foolin’ is a terrifically underrated song with a strange, almost hypnotic beat. I Don’t Wanna Be A Loser Is purely classic Gore and almost emo.”

6. Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows: The Best Of Lesley Gore 

“Lesley Gore was pure bubblegum pop of the times. The production with the likes of a Mr. Quincy Jones, combined with excellent song talent date stamp most of this period perfectly. The collection is great, and the packaging makes the voyage back to this time more special. If you want a greatest hits comp that is done well, remastered perfectly, and packaged in a mature, sophisticated way. This is it.”

5. My Town, My Guy & Me 

“Lesley Gore’s sound had matured by the time she released this wonderful collection of material in September 1965. It kicks off with the uplifting title track, where she sings the praises of “My Town, My Guy and Me”. It’s like the flipside of Petula Clark’s “Downtown” because our Lesley doesn’t need to venture out to find happiness, love or companionship. “I’m happy right here” she declares amidst a glorious arrangement featuring twangy guitars, gorgeous strings and subtle horn section.”

See more: Cyndi Lauper Albums Ranked

4. Someplace Else Now 

“Lesley took the full plunge into singer/songwriter land with this album, which was unfortunately somewhat ignored (other than by critics and a few fans). Signed to the West coast arm of Motown records, they seemingly didn’t know what to do with the grown up “It’s My Party” girl. Lesley showed a maturity and vocal intensity that was a bit before it’s time for the ‘industry’. The recording was much sparser than her Mercury hit days, in keeping with her growth as an individual and artist.”

3. Girl Talk 

“This is a pretty swingin’ album even though she really didn’t have any major hits from it and it’s less than a half hour long! This actually has a few of my favorite Gore songs including “Hey Now” and “Maybe I know” both are absolutely loveable and catchy as heck. “I Died Inside”, and “Little Girl Go Home” seem to be a bit darker and adult in topic and I really liked them too, Lesley is not just a fluffy pop artist. Now that being said, this does have a couple of cute little fluffy numbers like “Look Of Love”, “Sometimes I Wish I Were A Boy”, “Say Goodbye” and “Wonder Boy” but I still like ’em a bunch anyhow.”

2. Sings Of Mixed Up Hearts 

“Now this, on the other hand, is an album from 1963 that holds together really well! It flows great, and there’s almost no filler (“I Struck a Match”, maybe, comes close). “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows”, “She’s a Fool”, and the breathtaking “You Don’t Own Me” were mega-hits, and deservedly so, but I’d like to direct your attention to “The Old Crowd”. That one’s a Goffin/King composition, and it’s one of they songs that manages to capture the way that teenagers can be nostalgic for things that happened, like, three days ago.”

1. I’ll Cry If I Want To 

“Concept album on a female at a party. Like others said, this kind aged bad sonically. But I think with some albums I prefer some albums to sound a bit dated to depict the time period they were release in. Regardless, this is a concept album at the best. If you look at the credits, the legendary wizard Quincy Jones is there, with him and gore working on the various emotions that a female may encounter in a project, with there being a lot of crying.”