Lesley Gore (born
May 2,
1946) was an American singer, one of the best known performers of the
girl group era. Her first single was the #1 hit "It's My Party", still perhaps her best known recording. It was followed by others, including "That's the Way Boys Are", "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "She's a Fool". Her
record producer was
Quincy Jones, who would later become one of the most famous producers in American music. By the late
1960s, though, her fame was rapidly deterioriating as popular tastes evolved towards a harder-edged,
psychedelic sound. Her last hit was "California Nights" (
1967), after which she spent the remainder of her career performing in
cabarets and achieving some success as a professional
songwriter.