Single:
It’s My Party entered the Australian singles chart* on 1 June 1963 and peaked at #1. It was #29 on the Top 100 of 1963.
Album:
The song is on Lesley’s 1963 debut album I’ll Cry If I Want To.
Songwriters:
Walter Gold, John Gluck Jr, Herb Weiner, Seymour Gottlieb
Producer:
Quincy Jones
Record label of Australian release:
Philips
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, CBS, 13 October 1963:
BONUS VIDEO BELOW – also from The Ed Sullivan Show, Lesley Gore sings Cry Me a River and Hey Jude
Wikipedia – It’s My Party:
The writing of 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.
Lesley Gore recalls that It’s My Party was among some 200 demos producer Quincy Jones brought to review. 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 that both Gore and Jones agreed on.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It’s_My_Party
Wikipedia – Quincy Jones:
Quincy Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore in the early 1960s (including It’s My Party) and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between Frank Sinatra and the jazz artist Count Basie.
He later went on to produce three of the most successful albums by Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity song We Are the World, which raised funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia. He also composed numerous film scores.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Jones
Wikipedia – Lesley Gore:
Lesley recorded her first hit, It’s My Party, at age 16. She followed it up with more hits, including Judy’s Turn to Cry and You Don’t Own Me – all recorded before she was 18. Gore later worked as an actress and television personality.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_Gore
Lyrics:
It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to
Cry if I want to
You would cry too, if it happened to you
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS VIDEO
Lesley Gore combines Cry Me a River and Hey Jude
Performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, CBS, 26 June 1970:
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