Lesley Gore

Playwright

Lesley Gore was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. She was discovered at age 17 by Quincy Jones and was signed to Mercury Records. She soon released her first single "It's My Party", which reached Number One on the US charts. With Mercury Records, she also released hit songs "You Don't Own Me", "She's A Fool", "Maybe I Know", "That's the Way Boys Are", and "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows". In addition, she acted in several theatre productions and television shows including "Batman".  During this time, she also attended Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 1968 with a degree in English and American Literature.

In 1969, Gore was dropped from Mercury Records, which prompted her to explore songwriting. She released two albums of her original work with label MoWest, "Someplace Else Now" and Love Me By Name", released in 1972 and 1975, respectively. In 1979, she was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "Out Here On My Own" which she cowrote with her brother Michael Gore. That same year, her musical play "Sweet Main Street", was produced at Playwrights Horizons.

In the 1980's and 90's, Gore mostly performed in nightclubs and wrote songs for film. In 1995, she made a brief appearence on Broadway in Smokey Joe's Cafe. 

In 2005, Gore released her first album in thirty years, "Ever Since". Songs from the album have been featured on tv progams including "CSI" and "The L Word".

Gore passed away on February 16, 2015 from lung cancer. She is survived by her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson. 

Appears in
Sweet Main Street