Brooklyn woman recalls origins of Lesley Gore’s ‘It’s My Party’ from teen outburst

NY Daily News ^ | 2/18/15 | Ellen Tumposky

[bigbob]

A Brooklyn teenager planning her Sweet 16 celebration unwittingly gave her songwriter dad the line that became singer Lesley Gore's musical catchphrase.

[bigbob]

I'm posting this story from February because the subject, Judy Solash (then Judy Gottlieb), died Oct. 2 from a brain tumor, and few people have heard the story about how she is the "Judy" who inspired Lesley Gore's signature song and #1 hit. (It was also the first hit single for producer Quincy Jones).

[afraidfortherepublic]

Thanks for re-posting. I must have missed it the first time.

[cicero2k]

Interesting story.

A restaurant owner dad in the garment district likes to write song lyrics for fun, knows a guy who knows a guy.

The rest is history.

So much for longevity, these women died young, my sister born in the same era / location also died.

[JoeProBono]

[justlurking]

An interesting follow-up at the end of the article:

She and her family never anticipated the longevity of "It's My Party." They're still collecting royalties.

"I have a $1,000 check on my dining-room table right now," said Solash's brother Steve. "It's not enough to retire on."

The payments include royalties from modern-day singers who have sampled the famous line—like Robin Thicke, whose "Sex Therapy" includes the lines "It's your body/We'll go hard if you want to" and the movie "Casper" which features the line "It's my party and I'll die if I want to."

[Albion Wilde]

using the Donroy pen name, he did write another Gore song, "Sometimes I Wish I Were a Boy"—and Solash said she fed him that line too. "The reason I said it was we were the transitional group of women where men could go to law school and become doctors, but we were expected to be teachers and nurses," said Solash. "It wasn't that I wanted to be a boy - I wanted their rights and privileges."

Transgenders: you're doing it wrong.

[MUDDOG]

“California Nights” was another good one.

[clive bitterman]

Leslie Gore - born in Brooklyn, raised in New Jersey, the best of both worlds! Also a Yale graduate. It broke my heart when I learned that all along she was pitching for the other team but her songs are the essence of the ‘60’s before the British Invasion changed everything.

[clive bitterman]

Correction: Lesley

[JohnnyP]

I know how you feel. Now we are supposed to embrace it.

She was a year older than me.

[MUDDOG]

You bet. “Don’t ask don’t tell.”