"It's My Party" | ||||
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Single by Lesley Gore | ||||
from the album I'll Cry If I Want To | ||||
B-side | "Danny" | |||
Released | April 5, 1963 | |||
Recorded | March 30, 1963 | |||
Studio | Bell Sound (New York City) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:19 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Quincy Jones | |||
Lesley Gore singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Music video | ||||
"It's My Party &She's A Fool" on The Ed Sullivan Show on YouTube |
"It's My Party" is a song recorded by American singer Lesley Gore on her debut studio album I'll Cry If I Want To (1963). It was released as a single on April 5,1963,by Mercury Records. The song was written by Herb Wiener,John Gluck Jr.,and Wally Gold,and produced by Quincy Jones.
The song lyrically portrays the discomfort of a teenage girl at her birthday party when her boyfriend Johnny disappears,only to return in the company of Judy,another girl,who is "wearing his ring",to indicate he has replaced the birthday girl as his love interest. [2]
"It's My Party" is in the key of A major. [3] The song's effectiveness is enhanced by several musical touches that producer Quincy Jones incorporated,including Latin-sounding rhythms,double tracked vocals,and effective horn parts. [2] Allmusic critic Jason Ankeny wrote of the song,"'It's My Party' remains one of the most vivid evocations of adolescent heartbreak ever waxed –Quincy Jones produced the record,although you'd swear it was Aaron Spelling instead." [2]
"It's My Party" was credited to John Gluck,Wally Gold and Herb Weiner,staff writers at the Aaron Schroeder Music firm in 1962. The lyrics were actually written by Seymour Gottlieb,a freelance songwriter. He gave the lyrics to Herb Weiner,with whom he partnered in writing songs,to peddle. It was based on actual events relating to Gottlieb's daughter Judy's "sweet sixteen" party,before which she cried over the prospect of her grandparents being invited. [4] The demo for the song was cut by Barbara Jean English,a girl group veteran (the Clickettes,the Fashions),who was then working as a receptionist at the firm. She also worked with Jimmy Radcliffe,serving as the firm's in-house demo singer. Radcliffe produced the demo,and,according to English,"tried to persuade Musicor [the label owned by Aaron Schroeder] to release it as a record,or to take me into a master studio and redo it,but they weren't interested". [5]
The song was also recorded by Helen Shapiro for her Helen in Nashville album in February 1963,with Shapiro's regular producer,Norrie Paramor,and also Al Kasha. Shapiro later recalled:"Right from the first time we heard the song on the rough demo back in London,we thought we were going to sock them between the eyes with that one"; [5] however,Shapiro's version was not one of the cuts chosen as an advance single from the album and by the time of the album's release that October the "It's My Party" track was perceived as a cover of Lesley Gore's hit.
Lesley Gore recalls that "It's My Party" was among some two hundred demos producer Quincy Jones brought to review with her in the den of her family home in February 1963. On hearing the song,Gore told Jones:"That's not half bad. I like it. Good melody. Let's put it on the maybe pile." The song proved to be the only demo Gore and Jones found agreeable. With Jones producing and Claus Ogerman handling arranging and conducting duties,Gore recorded "It's My Party" at Bell Sound Studios in Manhattan on March 30,1963. [5] [6]
In March 1963,Phil Spector heard the demo of "It's My Party" while visiting Aaron Schroeder's office. Wally Gold later recalled:"He [Spector] said,'Great,I love it. I'm gonna do it with the Crystals.' We [the song's writers] were really excited,because that would ensure that the record was #1!" [7] Schroeder apparently only learned of the Lesley Gore recording of "It's My Party" when Quincy Jones invited him to hear the completed track,which Schroeder found formulaic;believing that Spector would be able to cut a much stronger version of the song with the Crystals and not wanting to lose Spector's good will,Schroeder attempted to convince Jones to suppress the track. Schroeder did not mention Spector's version to Jones,but Jones and Spector both happened to attend a concert with Charles Aznavour at Carnegie Hall on the evening of March 30,1963,and when they met outside it came up in conversation that Spector had recorded a version of "It's My Party" with the Crystals. [note 1] Jones skipped the concert,instead spending that night –a Saturday –at Bell Sound Studios making a test pressing of the track,comprising one hundred copies.
Over the next two days,Jones mailed these out to radio programmers in key markets across the US. Gore heard her record played on the radio for the first time that Friday;the official release of "It's My Party" came later in the month,with the disc ascending to number one nationally in four weeks. [5] [7] Jones was abroad at the time of "It's My Party"'s release. On his return,he expressed dismay when Aaron Schroeder advised him that the rush release of "It's My Party" had precluded coining a more pleasant name for the singer than "Lesley Gore",to which Schroeder replied:"Didn't anybody tell you?... Quince,the record's number one. Do you really give a damn what her last name is?" [5] [ failed verification ]
Reviewing the song, Cash Box said that Gore "has a slick,wide-range voice aptly suited to the tune,a medium-paced,chorus-backed romancer with a potent teen-oriented multi-dance beat." [8]
Gore released a sequel to "It's My Party",which was titled "Judy's Turn to Cry". [2]
In 1980,WCBN-FM,the University of Michigan freeform student radio station,played "It's My Party" for 18 hours straight the day after Ronald Reagan was elected. [9]
In 1999,the song was used as an advertising jingle to promote Burger King's 99-cent meal. [10]
In August 2021,a trend of using a remixed version of the song in videos on video-sharing app TikTok led to a resurgence of interest in the song. [11] [12]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"It's My Party" | ||||
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Single by Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin | ||||
B-side | "Waiting in the Wings" | |||
Released | September 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:47 | |||
Label | Stiff | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Dave Stewart | |||
Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"It's My Party" (TopPop, 1981) on YouTube |
In 1981, a remake by British artists Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin was a UK number-one hit single for four weeks, becoming the first version of the song to reach number one in the UK. [6] The record also reached number one in Ireland and New Zealand and reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa, and Switzerland. The music video for the Stewart/Gaskin version contained a cameo by Thomas Dolby as Johnny, Judy being played by Gaskin in a blond wig.
Chart (1981–1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [21] | 4 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [22] | 3 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [23] | 17 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [24] | 13 |
Ireland (IRMA) [25] | 1 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [26] | 20 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [27] | 26 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [28] | 1 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [29] | 3 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [30] | 6 |
UK Singles (OCC) [31] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [32] | 72 |
West Germany (GfK) [33] | 3 |
Chart (1981) | Position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [34] | 12 |
Chart (1982) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [35] | 46 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [36] | 47 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [37] | 29 |
It's My Party may refer to:
Lesley Sue Goldstein, better known with her maternal surname as Lesley Gore, was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song "It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She followed it up with ten further US Billboard top 40 hits including "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me". Gore said she considered "You Don't Own Me" her signature song.
Barbara Gaskin is an English singer formerly associated with the UK Canterbury scene.
"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall, released on April 1, 1980. In 2004, the song appeared in The Ultimate Collection. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time any solo artist had ever achieved four Top 10 hits from one album. In America, it earned a million-selling Platinum certification.
"Be My Baby" is a song by the American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in the U.S. and Canada, and number 4 in the UK. It was kept out of number 1 in Canada by Sugar Shack's 6 week run at number 1. It is often ranked as among the best songs of the 1960s, and has been regarded by various publications as one of the greatest songs of all time.
"Baby, I Love You" is a song originally recorded by the Ronettes in 1963 and released on their debut album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes (1964). The song was written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, and produced by Spector.
Eleanor Louise Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
"A Groovy Kind of Love" is a song written by Toni Wine and Carole Bayer Sager based on a melody by the classical composer Muzio Clementi.
"Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song tells of the happiness and excitement the narrator feels on her wedding day, for she and her love are going to the "chapel of love", and "[they'll] never be lonely anymore." Many other artists have recorded the song.
"Young Love" is a popular song, written by Ric Cartey and Carole Joyner, and published in 1956. The original version was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones on November 24, 1956. Joyner was a high school student when she co-wrote the song with Cartey, her boyfriend at the time. It was released in 1956 by Stars Records as catalog number 539 and one month later by RCA Records as catalog number 47-6751. Cartey's version never charted.
"Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group the Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy recorded the song in 1977 and his version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, including one by the songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich themselves, performing as the Raindrops.
"Judy's Turn to Cry" is a song written by Beverly Ross and Edna Lewis that was originally released by Lesley Gore in 1963. The song is the sequel to Gore's prior hit "It's My Party", and both songs were produced by Quincy Jones. It was released on Gore's first album I'll Cry If I Want To and also as a single which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. The single earned a gold record.
"You Don't Own Me" is a pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when she was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most successful recording and her last top-ten single. Gore herself considered it to be her signature song claiming “I just can’t find anything stronger to be honest with you, it’s a song that just grows every time you do it.”
"Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" is a popular song sung by Lesley Gore. It was originally released on Gore's 1963 album Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts. It was composed by Marvin Hamlisch, arranged by Claus Ogerman, and produced by Quincy Jones.
"She's a Fool" is a song written by Mark Barkan and Ben Raleigh that was originally recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963; it appeared as a single and on the album Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts. Quincy Jones was the producer.
"That's the Way Boys Are" is a song written by Mark Barkan and Ben Raleigh, first recorded by Lesley Gore and released in March 1964 – her fifth hit single, following four consecutive top five hits on Billboard's Hot 100. In late April 1964, with the British Invasion in full swing, "That's the Way Boys Are" peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100; hits by UK acts The Beatles and The Dave Clark Five accounted for five of the singles in the Top Ten. The track was produced by Quincy Jones and arranged by Claus Ogerman and features on Gore's third album, Boys, Boys, Boys.
"Look of Love" is a song written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, which was a 1964 Top 40 hit for Lesley Gore. The song was one in a long line of successful "Brill Building Sound" hits created by composers and arrangers working in New York City's Brill Building at 1619 Broadway. Pop songwriting stars Barry and Greenwich had previously scored hits with songs such as "Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You", and "Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" . In the U.S., "Look of Love" peaked at #27 on the Billboard charts.
Beverly Ross was an American singer-songwriter and musician who co-wrote several successful pop songs in the 1950s and 1960s, including "Dim, Dim The Lights", "Lollipop", "The Girl of My Best Friend", "Remember Then", and "Judy's Turn to Cry".
"Maybe I Know" is an early 1960s pop song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and performed by Lesley Gore. The song was produced by Quincy Jones and arranged by Claus Ogerman. It was featured on her 1964 album, Girl Talk.
Grace Sewell, known professionally as Saygrace, is an Australian singer. She is best known for "You Don't Own Me", a cover version of the 1963 Lesley Gore song, produced by Quincy Jones, Parker Ighile and featuring G-Eazy. The song, a single from her debut album with Regime Music Societe and RCA Records, was a number-one hit in Australia.
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