Lesley Gore

When Brooklyn-born and Tenafly, New Jersey-raised Lesley Gore recorded a couple of demos with her vocal coach, she probably didn't expect them to make their way to the in-tray of the president of the Mercury record label. He signed the 16-year-old singer and linked her up with producer Quincy Jones.

Gore and Jones chose "It's My Party" out of a stack of demos to record for her debut single. It was rush released as Phil Spector intended recording the song with The Crystals and climbed all the way to #1 on the Hot 100.

Gore reeled off a number of other successful singles between 1963 and 1967, including "Judy's Turn To Cry," (the sequel to "It's My Party"), "She's A Fool," "You Don't Own Me," "That's the Way Boys Are," and "Maybe I Know." In total she racked up 11 Top 40 hits on the Hot 100.