By Denise Penn

It's still Her Party:An Interview with

Sixties LegendLesley uore

M More than four decades have passedsince sixteen-year-old Lesley Gorewowed legendary producer QuincyJones and recorded the song, "It'sMy Party" which became thenumber one hit in the nation within

two months, catapulting her to overnight stardom.Those were the days when all teenage girls thoughtabout was boys, boys, boys. Gore became their voiceand sang their anthems.

The same year, 1963, she followed up with"Judy's Turn To Cry" which was written for her andit too became a hit, followed by "She's A Fool." In1964 she recorded "You Don't Own Me," which mayhave foreshadowed her blossoming feminism andindependent spirit. Gore recorded a total of elevenTop 40 hits before her 21st birthday. She appearedon the legendary T.A.M.I. Show, the Ed SullivanShow, Hullabaloo, the Donna Reed Show and theLate Night Show Starring Johnny Carson. She alsoplayed "Pussycat," an accomplice to Batwoman inthe Batman Television series.

Last year she hosted two episodes of "In theLife," an LGBT newsmagazine produced for PBS,which is carried hy public broadcasting stationsthroughout the country. Though most people whoknew her were aware of her sexual orientation, it wasa public acknowledgement of her commitment tohelping others in the community. She is committedto helping women take charge of their own lives andhopes that her matter-of-fact self-acceptance and self-confidence will make a difference to others.

At sixty, she is vibrant, sharp and enthusiasticabout her latest recording, her upcoming tour, andher family. Lesbian News Contributor Denise Penncaught up with her between rehearsals to chat abouther history, her career, her plans and her dreams forthe future.

Denise: Tell me about the process of coming tounderstand your sexual orientation and what that waslike for you.

Lesley; It has been a very long, a very tedious and avery soul searching experience. It's not somethingthat I decided one day. It's been a process that's takenmany years. I turned sixty years old recently andthere's a lot that goes into just putting in alt that time.1 felt that after 25 years in a relationship which hasclearly not been a hidden relationship - 1 am secureabout who I am. I never really tried to hide it. I justlived my life naturally and did what I wanted to dobut I didn't put it in anybody's face.

Denise: I understand that your involvement with thePBS program, "In the Life" really was a positivevehicle for coming out to many. Can you elaborate?

Lesley: I began working with the "In the Life" peopleand hosted for them. And I am in touch with a lot of

young people in the Midwest when I am travelingin that area and so many young gay people comeup to me and tell me that "In the Life" is virtuallytheir only connection to another gay human being.I saw the importance of the show and after being ahost on the show a couple of times, I began to feelcomfortable about just coming out and revealingmyself - not in a huge way with trumpets andeverything else - just in a matter of fact way: HereI am; this is where I am and this is what I have beendoing and - oh, by the way....

Denise: Tell me what the significance of the PBSseries, "In the Life" is and what you see as theimportance of public television.

Lesley: It is such a wonderful program; what I seeis that being gay now for young people is not asdifficult as it was for me back in high school and incollege years. I think programs like "In the Life" helpgreatly and I am sure that The Lesbian News does thesame. Funding has been cancelled everywhere andit is really up to us to keep all of the public TV andradio going and it's a travesty that they need help butthey do.

Denise: So you have been in a relationship for 25years. To what do you attribute the longevity of yourrelationship?

Lesley: Deep down, there is a tremendous amount oflove. But I feel as though I look at life as a challengeeveryday. I live in New York, so physically; I wakeup ready to conquer the world every moming becausethat's sort of the way you need to face New York.And 1 feel as though I have a partner in that; it is likeLois and myself against the world. I feel as though Ihave a connection with another human being whomI can call on a daily basis as often as twelve timesduring the day and say" You are not going to believethis last phone call." And she will call me and tellme when something outrageous has happened andthat's just nice to go through life with that kind ofcompanionship.

Denise: How did you and Lois meet?

Lesley: She's a jewelry designer and I came backfrom Australia many many many years ago - backin the late sixties. I came back with a huge opal anda friend of mine brought me to her so that she coulddesign a ring for me. We had a brief affair then andthen I moved out to Los Angeles. In the summer of1979 I came back to New York to work on "Fame"(the film) with my brother. That's when Lois and Igot together again, for good.

Denise: So Lois is a jewelry designer - do you haverings?

Lesley: You bet I do. (laughs) I've got rings, andI've got watches... I've got everything. She is veryesthetic. It's kind of an interesting combinationbecause I'm very auditory: I do most of my thingswith my ears. And she is very visual, so it's a nicecombination.

Denise: Have you had a commitment ceremony ofanything like that?

Lesley: No, we haven't. Right now President Bush isactually spending time going against gay marriage. Ithink it is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heardbut so typical of his strategy and his thinking. Butpersonally, for me, it isn't important to be able to getmarried. But I do understand that it is for others and Iwould fight for that right for anybody.

Denise: That was a question I had - about marriage.You were brought up in an era where young peoplescrutinized and challenged the institution of marriagein this country, in general. Did that influence you?

Lesley: Well, they were beginning to challenge it.You have to remember what was on television: itwas "Ozzie and Harriet" and "The Donna ReedShow" and Lucy and Desi were sleeping in separatebeds even though they were married. That's whatcommunities were supposed to look like then. I grewup in a little town called Tenafiy, New Jersey and thatis exactly what it was - "Ozzie and Harriet."

Denise: In 25 years, you and Lois must have hadproblems just as any other couple does. How do youmake it work?

Lesley: Because I sometimes live in a dream world,one of the things that Lois has made me do is actuallyface the problems. That's half the battle right there;if you face a problem, or acknowledge it, then youmust do something about it. So she is a little bitmore pragmatic than I am. We are both Taums's sosometimes we have face-offs but she does keep megrounded. It can get rowdy but it certainly isn't dull.

Denise: So are you saying that communication is thekey? You don't just go into the comer and clam upabout an issue?

Lesley: Well, to tell you the truth, I have a tendencyto do that. So Lois is good for me because she likesto talk everything through from the color of the toiletpaper to the kind of soap we use. It's good for me tohave that balance in my life because I can easily gooff and not be communicative.

Lesbian News July 2006

Denise: But even though marriage may not be in yourfuture, you expect to be together forever?

Lesley: That's right.

Denise: How does religion affect your decisionsabout your life? Do you consider yourself religious?

Lesley: I would say I am spiritual. I was broughtup in the Jewish religion and I do observe certainholidays when I can. There are times when I amworking and I don't let my work interfere with areligious occasion. But I think of myself more as aspiritual person. I believe that I have a higher powerand that the higher power is in myself I believe thatif you do good in this world, that comes back to you.

Denise: Tell me about your family - are theysupportive?

Lesley: Yes. My brother and I are very close. He is aproducer and has a terrific career in films, televisionand recording. We speak to each other once a day andstill do a fair amount of writing together. My momis still alive, God bless her; she is in her eighties andshe lives down in Florida but comes up to the NewYork area for the summer so I get a chance to spendsome time with her. I lost my dad eight years ago andI miss him but my mom has another boyfriend, soshe's rocking, God bless her.

Denise: You were so young - a teenager - when youstarted your career. Did you know that you were gaywhen you were a teenager?

Lesley: Not really. I didn't really know I was gayuntil I was in my twenties. I just experimented withboys and girls and had reason to adore them both. Ithink my first really serious relationship was a gayone so that began to tell me things about myself

Denise: Were you encouraged by managers andpublicists to date men for appearances in the samemanner that film stars were when you were a youngrecording artist?

Lesley: Well, I would go out to L.A. and I wasvery friendly with some of my PR people and theywould, in fact, fix me up with a date for an opening.That was very, very common. I don't think that itwas necessarily to cover up anything. There werecases where that happened with others, but that wasnot true in my case. But there were many occasionswhere I was fixed up with an actor or a director togo off to some occasion and some of them weredelightful encounters and some weren't -just likereal life.

Denise: But was it designed to set up a certain image?

Lesley: Well, for some I suppose but not for me. IfRogers and Cowan were doing a film opening outin Palm Springs, they would get a hundred of theirclients to come out and be a part of the opening. Sothey flew everybody out and they put you up for aweekend and it became the way that everybody gotpublicity. But for me, it didn't have anything to dowith image making.

Denise: Do you think the entertairunent and musicindustry has become more tolerant than it wasbefore? Can you comment about that?

Lesley: I think it is probably more accepting thanit used to be. However, I still believe the recordindustry is the most homophobic, as well as theindustry where they have the least number of womenin positions of power. I say this just after reading ahuge article in the New York Times about how manywomen are now in high positions in Hollywood andthe film industry and I cannot say that the same is

true of the record industry.Denise: So the record industry is plagued with sexism

and homophobia?

Lesley: You bet: the double whammy.

Denise: Tell me about your new alhumLesley: I like to say this: Remember the songs weused to listen and dance to in the sixties? Well thisis an album you can listen to and dance to in yoursixties. It's very organic. It is me with a rhythmsection and background singers. The songs arevery personal and very intimate. It is as calm andwithdrawn and inside as "It's My Party" and "Judy'sTurn to Cry." We are pop and out and fun. The songsare a natural outgrowth of who I am as a performer.

Denise: Are you going on the road with the newmusic?

Lesley: We have been out doing some short tours in

COmCCT LYRICS BY PERMISSION OF COPYRICHT OWNERS

bursts. We were out on the west coast in April and wehit Seattle, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sacramentoand Los Angeles. We will be in the New Englandarea for part of this summer and then down into theNorth Carolina and Delaware area in September. Sowe have these mini-tours set up as opposed to goingout for months at a time. I go out for a week or two;come home and revamp and then go out for anotherweek or so.

Denise: Does Lois go with you?

Lesley: No. She's got her own work and what I dois not much fun; certainly not fun for her. When I'mworking I have to have dinner at 4 o'clock and mywhole day is about being onstage because my firstpriority is getting the show on. I can't run aroundand go shopping, going antiquing and having funand that's what she deserves to do if we go away:not following me around from one dark nightclub toanother.

Denise: Do you talk everyday when you are on theroad?

Lesley: Absolutely, every day dozens of times. It'sthe glue that keeps us together.Denise: Do you have any plans for retirement?Lesley: I don't have the money to retire yet. I haven't

really taken care of myself financially and that's oneof the things that I regret most. That's one of thethings I am trying to deal with now.

Denise: Is that one of the messages you thitik thatyoung women need to hear?

Lesley: Oh boy, is it ever. I've told a number ofpeople now that I am going to sit down and write mymemoirs. That would be one of the big messages inmy book: to take care of yourself first. I got a lot ofmixed messages when I was a kid and I didn't alwaysfeel that great about myself.

Denise; Aside from your work with "In the Life," Iknow you are committed to helping others in someother arenas. Can you elaborate?

Lesley: I've lost so many wonderful dear friendsand I had dinner with a couple friends last nightand we talked about all the people we missed. It'sbeen a devastating pandemic. It's great that BillClinton is getting behind the issue. When Lois andI decide where we need to spend our time and ourenergy and give our contributions, it's really allabout children and women. So we are very involvedin those organizations. We are working now withFay Waddleton on a benefit for her Center forGender which is all about information on womenand disseminating it properly so that they get theright care and the right information to take care ofthemselves.

Denise: Because you are an open lesbian, do youthink you are a role model for young women who arelistening to your music and do you think you are in aposition to encourage tolerance?

Lesley: If someone loved my music as a teenager andnow finds out that I'm gay and it helps him or herin some way, then that's great. It is a double-edgedsword, though. God only knows what the old fansthink. I'm not really sure. Most of the new musicI am putting out now is only available online, so itinvolves a younger audience. They are very acceptingand very open and they do seem to be supporting thenew album. Some of the older fans aren't computer-sawy. It's not even something they want to get into,so I'm not really sure what the balance is there.

Years ago there was an advertising campaign ontelevision that used the phrase "Black is Beautiful."They showed accomplished black people doing whatthey do in their life, helping people and helping eachother and making other human being's lives betterand it was a campaign that lasted over considerabletime. That worked back then and it is what we neednow. I guess what I am saying is once you get toknow one of us, it's really hard to dislike us. We needto get that word out.

Recently we found Lesley singing "It's My Party"at the Rainbow Vision Santa Fe ribbon cuttingceremony. This event was held to celebratethe opening of the first LGBT Rainbow VisionRetirement Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. IN

Lesley Gore's Hit Records:1963-h's My Party-1963-Judy's Turn To Cry1963-She's A Fool-1964 - You Don't Own Me -1964 - That's The Way Boys Are -1964-1 Don't Want To Be A Loser -1964 - Maybe I Know -1965-Look Of Love-1965 - Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows1965 - My Town, My Guy and Me1967-California Nights

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