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# you don't own me
Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows singer Lesley Gore has died, aged 68
She had been working on a stage version of her life when she died.
SINGER-SONGWRITER LESLEY GORE has died, aged 68.
She topped the charts in 1963 at age 16 with her song of teenage angst, It’s My Party, followed it up with the hits Judy’s Turn to Cry, and the feminist anthem You Don’t Own Me.
Gore died of lung cancer at New York University Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, according to her partner of 33 years, Lois Sasson.
“She was a wonderful human being — caring, giving, a great feminist, great woman, great human being, great humanitarian,” Sasson, a jewelry designer, told The Associated Press.
Brooklyn-born and New Jersey-raised, Gore was discovered by Quincy Jones as a teenager and signed to Mercury Records. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in English/American literature.
Gore’s other hits include She’s A Fool, ‘Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows, ‘That’s the Way Boys Are and Maybe I Know. She co-wrote with her brother, Michael, the Academy Award-nominated Out Here On My Own from the film Fame.
She also played Catwoman’s sidekick in the cult TV comedy Batman.
In the 1990s, Gore co-wrote My Secret Love for Allison Anders’ film Grace of My Heart, released in 1996. A couple of years later, she appeared in Smokey Joe’s Cafe on Broadway.
Gore had been working on a stage version of her life with playwright Mark Hampton when she died.
