Lesley Gore, of 'It's My Party' fame, is dead at 68

Lesley Gore, singer of "It's My Party," is dead at 68

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last updated 17 February 2015

Singer-songwriter Lesley Gore died Monday at age 68. Gore, who scored a No. 1 hit with "It's My Party" at age 16, died of cancer in New York City, her partner of 33 year, Lois Sasson, told The Associated Press. "She was a wonderful human being — caring, giving, a great feminist, great woman, great human being, great humanitarian," Sasson told AP.

Along with a string of pop hits, Gore wrote some original songs for the 1980 film Fame, one of which, "Out Here on My Own," earned her an Oscar nomination. She was also Catwoman's sidekick Pussycat for two seasons of the original TV version of Batman. "It's My Party" was her biggest hit — also the first hit for producer Quincy Jones — but to remember Gore, here's her great follow-up single "You Don't Own Me." —Peter Weber