Leslie Gore’s 1963 Fem Anthem—“You Don’t Own Me”—Gets A Makeover
The Dollyrots by Jen Rosenstein
Leslie Gore was a 16-year old high school student in Bergen County when she was discovered by Quincy Jones to record “It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To),” a song written for her by three men. It shot up to #1 in 1963. (Amy Winehouse covered it in 2010.) At 17, she recorded the song she always considered her signature tune: the feminist anthem “You Don’t Own Me” (written by two men). It reached #2 later in ‘63. She came out as Lesbian in 2004. She died in 2015 at 68 from lung cancer.
The Dollyrots from Florida, a punk trio, has added some balls to an already defiant song. Their version, on Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label, came out June 27 b/w an original, “Get On This Ride.” They’ll be playing both songs when their current tour wraps up in Atlantic City at the Anchor Rock Club on August 9.