Lesley Gore’s Archive, Open to All, Arrives at the New York Public Library

[PeaceNHarmony]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/a...c-library.html

[Motown Eddie]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/a...c-library.html

Hit the paywall right away so I couldn't view this. Anyway, it's good news that Leslie Gore's Archive is on display at the NY Library. Thanks for sharing PNH.

[DWSheffer]

Same here Eddie.....
I was wondering what would become of Lesley's archives after her death, glad to hear they went to a public library for posterity.
Darin

[PeaceNHarmony]

Lesley Gore’s Archive, Open to All, Arrives at the New York Public Library

The collection, which includes family photos, scrapbook pages and annotated music, traces the singer’s arc from releasing bubble gum hits to creating a powerful feminist statement.


By Kalia Richardson



July 6, 2022
As a teenage singer in the 1960s who fit the all-American girl mold, Lesley Gore may have seemed like an unlikely figure to carve out a lasting legacy of feminist resilience and independence. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has now made the musician’s archive available for anyone interested in her artistic evolution, giving fans a chance to browse through notated music sheets and an unfinished memoir.
Lois Sasson, Gore’s partner for more than 30 years, began working with the library in February 2016, sifting through storage boxes and cataloging each object with help from the singer’s family and friends. Sasson emphasized that the collection should remain free to the public and housed in New York, where Gore lived, said Jessica Wood, the assistant curator of music and recorded sound at the Library for the Performing Arts. Gore died of lung cancer in 2015. Sasson, a fierce defender of women’s and gay rights, died of Covid-19 in 2020.


The archive, which contains scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, fan club files, music theory books, a birthday invitation, family photographs and album covers, was first made available on May 31, and all printed and written works can be examined on request. The library is still working to digitize the audio and movie image recordings that document Gore’s rehearsals, performances and television appearances, as well as visual works like a 1968 Robert F. Kennedy ad campaign.

“By studying her archive, it elevates all of the women performers who sang other people’s materials but really brought a lot of genius to the way they animated those songs,” Wood said.Gore, known for bubble gum classics like “It’s My Party,” the No. 1 hit from 1963 recorded by Quincy Jones, and “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” focused largely on love and heartbreak until the 1963 release of “You Don’t Own Me.” The song, written by John Madara and David White, became an early feminist anthem, rebuking the idea that the singer should bend to the whims of a man. “I’m free and I love to be free,” Gore sang, “to live my life the way I want/To say and do whatever I please.” All three songs were recorded before she turned 18.

Brad Schreiber, an author who chronicles social change through music, said that while Gore lacked power as a young female recording artist, “You Don’t Own Me” echoed a strong statement about reclaiming respect and dignity.
“She didn’t have to dedicate her entire career to do socially conscious music,” Schreiber said. “She did one very important song that has had a far-reaching effect.”



The archive includes music scores of “You Don’t Own Me” that were used for performances to promote Gore’s 2005 “Ever Since” LP [[her 11th and final studio album), along with musical arrangements of the release by Claus Ogerman, Joe Glandro and Mariano Longo.

Susan Kahaner, Sasson's sister, said Gore admired the activism of the pioneering feminist Betty Friedan and was particularly drawn to the civil rights advocate and politician Bella Abzug, who chanted, “This woman’s place is in the House, the House of Representatives!” as she ran and won a seat in the House in 1970.
“Bella and that whole group of feminists opened up Lesley’s eyes to what is possible,” Kahaner said.
Gore was devoted to her education, majoring in English and American literature at Sarah Lawrence College during the peak of her pop career. Kahaner said that as an avid reader of fiction and nonfiction as well as a lover of jazz and pop music, Gore would be proud to share her work with researchers and students at the library:
“We couldn’t be happier that this is the home that will keep Lesley’s legacy alive.”

[kenneth]

@Peace, thanks for the reprint!

Was anyone a fan of the unreleased album that came out a while back? I don't think it was recorded for Motown though. I bought it but think I only played it once.

I love her Mercury recordings. I think her early hits were produced by Quincy Jones, which surprised the hell outta me when I found that out!

I think of her kind of in the same way I think of Lou Christie. They both had great voices, and a number of hits, but never seemed to really break out of their "teenage" images which limited them in many ways.

[DWSheffer]

Thanks for posting the story. I have all of Lesley's Mercury albums, the MoWest album, as well as the 5 CD box set that came out in 1994. I've loved her since I was around 10 years old when I discovered my Mom's copy of "It's My Party", so this would've been around 1986. When I met Lesley in my late teens, I told her I'd loved her since I was a young boy. She laughed and said, "That doesn't look like it was very long ago!". She was very nice, signed my LP of "It's My Party" and an 8X10 photo, and fulfilled my dream to meet her!
I always figured her brother Michael might end up with her personal effects, so again, glad to hear they will be available to the public.

[Motown Eddie]

Thanks to PNH for reprinting the article about Leslie Gore's Archive!

[PeaceNHarmony]

@Peace, thanks for the reprint!

Was anyone a fan of the unreleased album that came out a while back? I don't think it was recorded for Motown though. I bought it but think I only played it once.

I love her Mercury recordings. I think her early hits were produced by Quincy Jones, which surprised the hell outta me when I found that out!

I think of her kind of in the same way I think of Lou Christie. They both had great voices, and a number of hits, but never seemed to really break out of their "teenage" images which limited them in many ways.

Certainly, Kenneth - glad it was of interest to you. Are you asking about the Mowest lp 'Someplace Else Now', which was issued on CD a while back? I bought a copy and though I admired the effort I regret I found it quite ... dull. It's my opinion that in the wake of Carole King's 'Tapestry' there were a lot [[I mean ... a lot) of lps influenced by the personal/stripped down ethic of that LP, and SEN was one of them. I see on The Wikipedia that there's also 'Magic Colors', which I have not heard - I do like the Lou Christie comparison, but a major difference for Leslie is that of the early empowerment ethic and her later contribution to her/my LGBTQ+ community at a time when it was not quite so trendy!

[PeaceNHarmony]

Thanks for posting the story. I have all of Lesley's Mercury albums, the MoWest album, as well as the 5 CD box set that came out in 1994. I've loved her since I was around 10 years old when I discovered my Mom's copy of "It's My Party", so this would've been around 1986. When I met Lesley in my late teens, I told her I'd loved her since I was a young boy. She laughed and said, "That doesn't look like it was very long ago!". She was very nice, signed my LP of "It's My Party" and an 8X10 photo, and fulfilled my dream to meet her!
I always figured her brother Michael might end up with her personal effects, so again, glad to hear they will be available to the public.

That's a really nice story to hear. Gore was a 'homegirl' of sorts [[we are both Jersey-ans) and she's the rare celeb about whom no one seems to have anything bad to say. So nice for you to have the signatures! Will you go to see the archive?

[PeaceNHarmony]

Thanks to PNH for reprinting the article about Leslie Gore's Archive!

Certainly, Eddie - Leslie is a tad out of our range, though she did record for Mowest, and there has been interest in the lady's career here -

[DWSheffer]

That's a really nice story to hear. Gore was a 'homegirl' of sorts [[we are both Jersey-ans) and she's the rare celeb about whom no one seems to have anything bad to say. So nice for you to have the signatures! Will you go to see the archive?

If I ever got out NY way I would like to say it would be on my list of things to do. Miss Lesley Gore of Tenafly NJ. When Lesley got famous [[which truly was almost overnight) the family phone number was still listed so all you had to do was call the operator and ask for Lesley Gore and quite often you actually got her! The book that came out shortly after her death "You Don't Own Me The Life and Times of Lesley Gore" is worth a read, nothing earth shattering, but I was pleased someone finally put out a book about her. It's too bad she didn't finish her own autobiography, which it sounds like she was in process of. Damned cancer anyways.....

[kenneth]

@D[[arin)WSheffer,

Great autographed piece of an iconic album!

[Circa 1824]

Leslie had a distinctive and magnificent voice with wonderful phrasing. Her diction was perfect. Her voice is one of my all time favorites. It thrills me to hear her sing.

I think what held her back from being a bigger star was her rather bland upper-class style and appearance. She lacked an edge. She was a bit like Cathy Lane from The Patty Duke Show.

May she RIP.

[kenneth]

Certainly, Kenneth - glad it was of interest to you. Are you asking about the Mowest lp 'Someplace Else Now', which was issued on CD a while back? I bought a copy and though I admired the effort I regret I found it quite ... dull. It's my opinion that in the wake of Carole King's 'Tapestry' there were a lot [[I mean ... a lot) of lps influenced by the personal/stripped down ethic of that LP, and SEN was one of them. I see on The Wikipedia that there's also 'Magic Colors', which I have not heard - I do like the Lou Christie comparison, but a major difference for Leslie is that of the early empowerment ethic and her later contribution to her/my LGBTQ+ community at a time when it was not quite so trendy!

Thanks for the information. Yes actually it was the ”Magic Colors” LP which I was thinking of. I’ll have to get it out and listen to it again. I believe I have the MoWest album on LP but I’m not sure I’ve ever even played it. I think I got it not all that long ago, maybe before it was available on CD.

I guess you’re right about the “Tapestry” influence. Even Honey Cone co-opted the title if not the aesthetic of King’s LP!