BARRY LEVINE: Gore’s biggest hit was a race to the charts

Lesley Gore, who was one of the most successful solo female recording artists during the 1960s and made a career of songs about love, heartbreak and resilience, died Monday of lung cancer at age 68.

Gore, who had 10 Top 40 hits, had her only No. 1 smash, “It’s My Party,” in June 1963. But the Tenafly, N.J., teen almost didn’t have the song.

Quincy Jones, the artists and repertoire head for Mercury records, heard Gore sing at a Manhattan hotel and signed her to a contract. Jones became her producer and mentor. Jones later became the producer for Michael Jackson.

In February 1963, Jones visited the Gore home in Tenafly armed with more than 200 demos so they could select songs for her to record.

The first demo was “It’s My Party.”

It was one of four she recorded one month later.

Six days following the March 20 recording session, Gore, a 16-year-old junior was driving home from Dwight School for Girls in Englewood, N.J., when she heard it on the radio.

The reason for the unusually quick release was that Jones learned that the Crystals, of “He’s a Rebel” fame, were planning to release “It’s My Party” later that spring.

Four weeks after “It’s My Party” charted, it was No. 1.

Called by New York DJ’s “The Sweetie Pie from Tenafly, ”Gore is the fourth-youngest solo female to have a No. 1 hit, trailing Little Peggy March’s “I will Follow Him” in 1963 , Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry” in 1960 and Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1981.

Before leaving the Mercury label in 1969, Gore recorded 29 songs, 10 of which reached the Top 40.

She had three other Top 10 hits — “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” No. 5 in 1963, and “She’s A Fool,” No. 5 in 1963 and “You Don’t Own Me” No. 2 in 1964. “Judy’s Turn to Cry” was the sequel to “It’s My Party.”

“You Don’t Own Me” was No. 2 for three weeks and was thwarted from reaching the top by The Beatles’ first chart topper “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It has been covered by such stars as Dusty Springfield and Joan Jett and the cast of the 1996 film “The First Wives Club” which starred Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker.

The song became a declaration of independence for young girls who were trapped in a male-dominated relationship.

She had moderate hits with two Marvin Hamlisch songs – “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” in 1965 and “California Nights” in 1967.

Born Lesley Sue Goldstein in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 2, 1946, she was reared in Tenafly.

At the apex of her singing career, Gore enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., considered one of the nation’s premier women’s colleges. She majored in English and American literature.

When her singing career waned, Gore turned to writing music. She penned “Out Here on My Own” for the soundtrack of the 1980 film “Fame” and it became a Top 20 hit for Irene Cara. The song also was nominated for an Academy Award.

She also began to make appearances on the oldies circuit and appeared in the Broadway show “Smokey Joe’s Caf