The honesty in Lesley Gore's voice comes from seasoned dignity, not the over-the-top immediacy of today's "American Idol" culture. Teen idol? Gore has been there and done that.
March 12, 2007 (Press Release) --
She was 17 when "It's My Party" was a hit, and she's still best known for that 1963 pop hit. Her early records were produced by Quincy Jones -- for then Chicago-based Mercury Records -- and others included "Judy's Turn to Cry," "She's a Fool" and the feminist "You Don't Own Me."
In 2005, she came out as a lesbian when she hosted the PBS newsmagazine "In the Life," which reports on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
That same year, she returned to music with the jazz-pop record "Ever Since," on which she covers "Out Here on My Own," a song she co-wrote with her brother Michael. Irene Cara sang that song in the 1980 movie "Fame," and it was Oscar-nominated for best song. But Gore now brings her own experiences into her own song. The sparseness of the arrangement leaves room for Gore's sinewy vocals. It is the emotional highlight of "Ever Since," which was Gore's first album in 30 years.
Now she's even back on the road, making a rare Chicago area appearance with two shows Saturday at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. The early show is sold out.
Back to her jazzy roots
Gore is so closely identified with her early pop hits that few realize she grew up idolizing -- and hoping to emulate -- jazz singers. As young Lesley Sue Goldstein in New York City, she listened to June Christy and Ella Fitzgerald. Today, Gore's brown and white cocker spaniel is named Billie, named in tribute to Billie Holiday.
"My parents didn't have wide musical tastes, but they listened to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra," Gore said last week in a conversation from her New York City home. "I made an immediate identification with Ella because she was a female singer singing stories that a female should sing. Then I moved on to Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. I'd go to crazy clubs to see Anita O'Day and Carmen McRae. To me, the concept of song is an entire story you can tell in two and a half to three minutes. It thrilled me as a kid, and it still does now."
Gore is now following in the jazzy footsteps of her idols. She will bring to Chicago a New York-based combo of piano, bass, guitar, drum and a female backing singer.
But with a new musical approach, she keeps an eye on her famous past. Gore's recent set list includes Mike Errico's title track from "Ever Since," which makes a sly reference to "It's My Party." In a delicate, strumming '60s folk rhythm, Gore sings, "All the weight of night and days too long to list / All the parties I've been to you were missed / I've waited ever since ..."
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY DAVE HOEKSTRA
In 2005, she came out as a lesbian when she hosted the PBS newsmagazine "In the Life," which reports on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
That same year, she returned to music with the jazz-pop record "Ever Since," on which she covers "Out Here on My Own," a song she co-wrote with her brother Michael. Irene Cara sang that song in the 1980 movie "Fame," and it was Oscar-nominated for best song. But Gore now brings her own experiences into her own song. The sparseness of the arrangement leaves room for Gore's sinewy vocals. It is the emotional highlight of "Ever Since," which was Gore's first album in 30 years.
Now she's even back on the road, making a rare Chicago area appearance with two shows Saturday at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. The early show is sold out.
Back to her jazzy roots
Gore is so closely identified with her early pop hits that few realize she grew up idolizing -- and hoping to emulate -- jazz singers. As young Lesley Sue Goldstein in New York City, she listened to June Christy and Ella Fitzgerald. Today, Gore's brown and white cocker spaniel is named Billie, named in tribute to Billie Holiday.
"My parents didn't have wide musical tastes, but they listened to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra," Gore said last week in a conversation from her New York City home. "I made an immediate identification with Ella because she was a female singer singing stories that a female should sing. Then I moved on to Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. I'd go to crazy clubs to see Anita O'Day and Carmen McRae. To me, the concept of song is an entire story you can tell in two and a half to three minutes. It thrilled me as a kid, and it still does now."
Gore is now following in the jazzy footsteps of her idols. She will bring to Chicago a New York-based combo of piano, bass, guitar, drum and a female backing singer.
But with a new musical approach, she keeps an eye on her famous past. Gore's recent set list includes Mike Errico's title track from "Ever Since," which makes a sly reference to "It's My Party." In a delicate, strumming '60s folk rhythm, Gore sings, "All the weight of night and days too long to list / All the parties I've been to you were missed / I've waited ever since ..."
Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY DAVE HOEKSTRA
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