Lesley Gore, best known as the teen idol behind the hits 'It's My Party ( And I Will Cry if I Want To ) ' and 'You Don't Own Me,' returns with an overdue album of new material. On Ever Since, Gore steps back into the spotlight with a finely matured collection of tunes.
Over the years, Gore has kept busy performing at casinos and festivals. The new material on Ever Since is a welcome addition to Gore's set. Not wanting to let her fans down, she keeps a positive attitude about belting out her beloved, enduring classics.
One of the standout tracks from Ever Since, 'Better Angels,' has found its way onto the hit television series CSI: Miami, sounding like Marianne Faithful meets Norah Jones. No stranger to singing cover songs in the past, including 'Secret Love,' Gore reinterprets some of her own material on Ever Since. The new version of 'You Don't Own Me' reveals how both the tune and the singer have grown. Lesley and her brother wrote 'Out Here on My Own,' which Irene Cara sang on the Fame soundtrack and it is redone here as well. Gore added 'Out Here' to her live set, singing it with just her at the piano.
Blake Morgan is the musical director and producer on Ever Since and a long-time friend on Gore's. Lesley compared this working relationship to that of Loretta Lynn's pairing with the younger Jack White of the White Stripes on her acclaimed album Van Lear Rose.
Gore has done some acting, making an appearance on the Batman series as the Catwoman's sidekick, plus the teen movies The Girls on the Beach and Ski Party and in the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe. When asked if she would appear on The L Word, Gore answered with an enthusiastic affirmative. The openly gay crooner even hosted the TV series In the Life. As a teen idol, Gore felt she did not have any mentors and wants to return the favor, in particular to the isolated queer youth with a face they can identify with or approach at her live shows. By being out, Lesley says, 'it's like having a gay person in your family—you never think about gay people the same way again.'
In the highest form of praise, Lesley's hits have been covered by the likes of Dusty Springfield, David Stewart and the ladies from the film The First Wives Club. When asked what song she wishes she had recorded, Lesley chimes in, 'Carol Bayer Sager wrote 'Groovy Kind of Love.' But [ music executive ] Shelby Singleton did not like the word groovy, so instead the song went to Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders' and later was redone by Phil Collins.
Ever Since is currently exclusively available at lesleygore.com and at her live shows.