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Lesley Gore: She stands alone in the ‘60s girl group era as the only solo artist to be so identified with that happy, poppy, harmony-filled genre (with the exception of the wonderful Darlene Love, whose name was often kept off the label by Phil Spector, in lieu of his favored group names like The Blossoms and The Crystals).

Amid all the three- and four-somes whose names began with “The” and inevitably ended in an “s,” Lesley Gore fully exemplified the ebullient bouffant-adorned coquettish deb-groups that routinely battled chart positions with the British Invasion boys. Only, she did it by herself. Successfully, too.

At 16, her career began when she recorded her first hit song, “It's My Party,” a #1 U.S. smash in 1963. She followed it up with 10 more Billboard Top 40 hits including “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “You Don't Own Me,” and “Maybe I Know,” which reached #14. All were recorded for Mercury Records.

In fact, it’s “Maybe I Know” which cements her place in the girl group pantheon: Written by Jeff Barry and then-wife, Ellie Greenwich, all that’s missing on Lesley’s production is Phil Spector.

Dozens are the ‘60s girl group hits that feature the songwriting credit “Spector/Greenwich/Barry,” but they were all recorded for Spector’s Philles Records (named after Phil, with the “Les” part representing Spector’s partner, fellow label exec, Lester Sill).

On a brief personal note, I had the pleasure of meeting Barry in 1980, shortly after moving to L.A. from Houston. He had produced two of fellow Houstonian (and good friend) Lisa Hartman’s albums (1976 and ‘79, both for noted song publisher, Don Kirshner’s Kirshner/CBS Records), and Lisa was kind enough to arrange for me to meet Jeff in his upper-Sunset Blvd. offices.

Barry, a true living legend who’s in both the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame (with Ellie) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (with Ellie), is 86. Greenwich passed away in 2009 at 68.

Barry has written songs with exclusive FR&B contributor, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Stephen Michael Schwartz. Stephen writes about that late-’70s experience, and even shares a rare song demo of one of their collabs, “Light Years Away,” fully-produced by Jeff Barry! That’s here:

Stephen Michael Schwartz, Off the Clef #3: The Late '70s Collab Sessions, "Light Years Away" w/Jeff Barry SONG DEMO

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May 24, 2022

Defiant and so anxious to convince her friends (and, let’s face it…mostly herself) that he’s the boy for her, that she wastes no time!

The sudden cold open leaves no space for the 1964 DJ to annoyingly “walk up” to the vocal over an instrumental intro. Lesley is that insistent to assert to her friends just how much she loves her boy, and how certain she is that he’s returning the affection:

“He really loves me,” that's all I can say;
Before my tears fall, I just walk away.

Allmusic’s Richie Unterberger, chimes in: “The anguish inherent in what some teens see as their worst nightmare -- peers talking about them behind their backs -- reaches a feverish pitch in the latter parts of the verses, in which Gore is joined by backup female singers as she agonizes over the knowledge that she knows it’s her that people are talking about, and laughing at.

“You can hear her cringing, virtually, in the chorus, which espouses a pre-feminist helplessness that some modern listeners may indeed find laughable, or even objectionable. Sure, she knows he’s cheating, probably. But, she beseeches, what can she do? Well, she could confront him and have it out, or break up with him, but those possibilities aren’t mooted in the song.”

Here, though, is another perfectly of-the-genre Greenwich/Barry classic that would’ve been perfect in the capable hands and vocal cords of a Darlene Love or The Ronettes on Spector’s Philles. Lesley, though, handles the harmony more than capably by double-tracking (of course, the requisite “girl-group” chorus backs her up):

Her appearance on the 1964 concert film, A.I.P’s T.A.M.I. Show, filmed at L.A.’s Santa Monica Civic Center, October ‘64; the audience was filled with local high school students who had been given free tickets…oh, to have had the Clearasil concession! Let’s be clear: She’s one of them, they know it, and they adore her…she’s 18, here: The poise, the confidence. She’s singing with a live mic, with Wrecking Crew members backing. Bonus: Her introduction is by Jan and Dean:

For more about Lesley Gore and her hit, “You Don’t Own Me,” enjoy this article by

From an album that’s truly an unheard gem, Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung, the song’s co-writer, Ellie Greenwich, gives it a go! Here’s the original 1964 demo, sung by Ellie, and probably only recorded to allow Lesley (and Quincy Jones, for that matter) to hear it. It’s likely she’s also at the piano (with otherwise bare accompaniment). Ellie grew up playing accordion at a young age, and began writing songs on it as a teen.

After graduating high school (late ‘50s), she applied to the Manhattan School of Music, but was rejected because the school did not accept accordion players. She then enrolled at Queens College (as did Carole King, right around the same time), and eventually taught herself to compose on the piano rather than the accordion. The demo heard by Lesley, arranger Claus Ogerman, and “Q”:

Ellie’s fully-produced (by her) “Maybe I Know” from her Let It Be Written album (click here for the session players listed on the song and album); the arrangers are key here: Steve Feldman, the rhythm tracks; Artie Butler, strings and horns. The background vocals, arranged, I’m guessing, by Ellie, are nothing short of sublime:

A brief detour: If you hear a little bit of a Carole King influence, know that A) this is 1973, two years after Carole and her Tapestry album made chart and sales history, B) Ellie and Carole both (besides attending Queens College, likely overlapping for a time in the late ‘50s) were solidly entrenched in the early-’60s “Brill Building” sound and ethos (Carole worked out of a 1650 Broadway publishing office near the actual Brill Building…for Don Kirshner! There’s that name again)!

In fact, along with Barry and Greenwich marrying in the early-’60s, Carole married fellow songwriter, lyricist Gerry Goffin in 1959! Not at all meant to compare anyone or anything, we’re talking about an era, a sound…the Phil Spector girl group sound was a thing. The Brill Building sound was a thing.

To help illustrate, here is Spring in 1972, with a Carole King/Toni Stern song (recorded first by Carole’s band, The City, on their one 1968 album), “Now That Everything’s Been Said,” in a marvelous merging of girl group sound with a Beach Boy’s influence!

Speaking of King’s lyricist, Toni Stern, Stephen Michael Schwartz wrote with her, as well! The story (in Stephen’s own words) of “I’ve Just About Given Up Hope” (with harmony vocals by Janice Hubbard of Parachute Express), with the fully-produced song demo, can be found here:

Stephen Michael Schwartz, Off the Clef #2: The Late '70s Collab Sessions, "I've Just About Given Up Hope" w/Toni Stern SONG DEMO

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May 20, 2022

Spring (aka American Spring) was a duo of sisters, Diane Rovell and Marilyn Wilson (Mrs. Brian Wilson at the time). They recorded the song (with David Sandler and Brian producing); assume that Brian not only had a role in the vocal arrangements, but sang back-up, as well:

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Talk about limited release! In 1987, Nancy Boyd’s album, Let’s Hang On, and its single, “Maybe I Know,” were released only in The Netherlands and South Africa! In fact, the single’s B-side was “Blame It on the Bossa Nova,” an Eydie Gormé smash in 1963, written by another veteran (and married!) Brill Building songwriting team, Barry Mann and the late Cynthia Weil! Like Carole King, Mann & Weil were staff songwriters at Don Kirshner and Al Nevin’s company, Aldon Music, whose offices were located in Manhattan, near the Brill Building composing-and-publishing factory.

Nancy Boyd, born Nancy Bruinooge on November 24, 1963, was originally from Belgium, and enjoyed her modest pop success in the late 1980s and early-’90s, working with the Dutch label, BR Music, and was known for her cover versions of popular songs. Her “Maybe I Know” cover was co-produced by BR label owner, Bert van Breda and Ed Starink (who also arranged).

Boyd’s cover and video evoke the girl group and Brill Building ethos about as well as can be executed (certainly propelling it, as she does, into the late-’80s). She, van Breda and Starink pull everything together, and even come close to matching match the recording and video production of Tracey Ullman’s brilliant cover of the oh-so-talented Kirsty MacColl and her “They Don’t Know,” which effortlessly also fits in this whole universe of song and sounds!

And, it’s OK to imagine there’s, somehow, a cosmic aural coincidence between MacColl’s and Barry & Greenwich’s three-word song titles that both contain the word, “Know,” separated by just 15 years!

“I just watched a video of Lesley on YouTube singing it live, as well as TMBG playing with just accordion, live on MTV when they were guest VJs on the channel!”👇

“I love the way John Flansburgh stands and moves like a crooner, which is not how he normally performs. Also, how young they looked back then (including Flansburgh’s fellow Giant, John Linnell)….oh, how we all age!

“I believe the TMBG version (above) was first on their Long Tall Weekend album from 1999, which is definitely not their best work, but has its highlights. I actually preferred the live version above (which I only heard minutes ago for the first time) to their album version with a full band. I think their stripped-down, MTV live take (as opposed to their studio turn) is a more honest take on Gore’s original.”

Check out Steve’s previous article featuring TMBG:

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