What happens when you mix another Lesley Gore “party” song with a dash of a Herman’s Hermits-type British invasion dance beat? You get a can’t miss item…that missed. In fact, “it did not chart.”
Why toss it here? Oh, just as a reminder that there's no such thing as a sure thing.
I was enjoying a bunch of Gore (no, not the SAW movies) when up came “Start the Party Again.” I thought, hmm, pretty catchy, but did this obvious sequel go anywhere? No, a quick check of the reference books confirmed.
From the borrowed beat of the Hermits to the familiar voice of Gore and the familiar word “PARTY,” there’s no reason why this thing couldn’t have been at least in the Top 20. But who knows. DJ’s had other things to play. Gore was momentarily played out…despite playing "Pussycat" opposite Julie Newmar's "Catwoman" on a two-part "Batman" show. (That's where the picture above is from).
You remember Lesley? Just old enough to NOT interest a guy like Jerry Lee Lewis, she recorded “It’s My Party. “ Producer Quincy Jones, who covered a wide range of musical styles, knew exactly what teen whites would go for, and this was a #1 mammoth hit. She instantly knocked off a sequel: “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” which burrowed into the Top 5. 1963 was her year, and it wasn’t even half over yet. In June, 1963, her two hits were part of an album cleverly titled, “I’ll Cry If I Want To.”
Back then, kids couldn’t afford an entire album too easily, and there were no Croatian or Russian blogs and forums to throw the music around, so "I'll Cry If I Want To" didn't quite make the top 20. It was loaded with filler that played on the words “Party” and “Cry.” There was “Just Let Me Cry,” “Cry and You Cry Alone,” “The Party’s Over,” and “No More Tears Left to Cry.”
Gore explored new territory with “You Don’t Own Me,” which has become a feminist anthem over the years, but quickly returned to being the hapless victim with the Top Ten drama of 1964, “Maybe I Know.” But…by 1965 she was treading water with a “Golden Hits” package, and no single reaching the Top 10. Things were likewise grim in 1966, as Mercury pushed four singles and only one (“Young Love”) made it to #40. “Treat Me Like a Lady” didn’t even crack the Top 100. The "Mersey Sound" and Liverpool beat continued to dominate the charts. No surprise then, that "Start the Party Again" tried for a bit of the "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good" Herman's Hermits style.
Happily for Lesley, in January of 1967 the Marvin Hamlisch minor-key “California Nights” brought her back to the Top 10. It was her only 1967 success, as the single “Brink of Disaster” got no further than #82. Her career as a pop star was over. Still, her tunes remained "golden oldies" and she eventually mounted a career in cabaret clubs and swanky lounge rooms, combining the old hits with newer, more mature material. The phrase "Let's get this party started" became a cliche used by boxing announcers, and "Start the Party Again" was the title of a CD compilation of her hits.
The party can start and end, any time. And sometimes, despite all the calculations and formulas saying “this is a surefire hit,” the party might not happen at all.
START THE PARTY AGAIN - American girl, Brit invasion beat - no passwords, Paypal tip requests or delays and extortion about buying a "premium account" for faster downloads. NO $$ going to the uploader for "hard work"
I'm sure you have heard the following story (Wiki): Jones and Spector both happened to attend a concert with Charles Aznavour at Carnegie Hall on the evening of 30 March 1963 and when they met outside it came up in conversation that Spector had recorded a version of "It's My Party" with the Crystals [actually a couple of the Blossoms, in a slower R&B style]. Jones skipped the concert instead spending that night—a Saturday—at Bell Sound Studios making a test pressing of the track comprising one hundred copies.
ReplyDelete...The weird part is that Spector supposedly had the affectation of wearing a vampire-style cape at the time. There were also implicit (or explicit) threats involved. Spector was always melodramatic, had a mean streak, and was a bit (or more) creepy-scary. He is now in prison for murdering his girlfriend, reportedly in a prison hospital with serious health issues.
Funny, Quincy Jones posted about this on Facebook on May 31, which he thought was the anniversary date (other sources say May 30):
ReplyDelete"I was going over some demos Lesley recorded with her vocal coach and grabbed the cassette of “It’s My Party” because I liked the sound. We’d been working on getting her a #1 so we went on a Saturday to record it, and later that afternoon I went to Carnegie Hall for another recording with Charles Aznavour. I ran into Phil Spector while I was there, and he said he’d just cut a smash with the Crystals called “It’s My Party.” I freaked and ran back to Bell Studios to press up 100 acetates and immediately shipped ‘em out to the disc jockeys. And thank God we did, because 53 years ago today, it reached #1 and was the first of 18 hits done with Lesley!!"
Jones and Spector meeting at a Charles Aznavour show...good thing nobody mentioned the song to Charles. He may have cried out, "Tomorrow is MY TURN..." and demanded a quickie single.
Just where Spector's demo is...nobody seems to know. It doesn't seem to have leaked.
The full Wiki:
Lesley Gore recalls that "It's My Party" was among some two hundred demos producer Quincy Jones brought to review with her in the den of her family home in February 1963. On hearing "It's My Party," Gore told Jones: "That's not half bad. I like it. Good melody. Let's put it on the maybe pile." The song proved to be the only demo Gore and Jones found agreeable. With Jones producing and Claus Ogerman handling arranging and conducting duties, Gore recorded 'It's My Party' at Bell Sound Studios in Manhattan on 30 March 1963.
In March 1963 Phil Spector heard the demo of "It's My Party" while visiting Aaron Schroeder's office. Wally Gold would recall: "He [Spector] said, 'Great, I love it. I’m gonna do it with the Crystals.' We [the song's writers] were really excited, because that would ensure that the record was #1!" Schroeder apparently only learned of the Lesley Gore recording of "It's My Party" when Quincy Jones invited him to hear the completed track, which Schroeder found formulaic; believing that Spector would be able to cut a much stronger version of the song with the Crystals and not wanting to lose Spector's good will, Schroeder attempted to convince Jones to suppress the track. Schroeder did not mention Spector's version to Jones but Jones and Spector both happened to attend a concert with Charles Aznavour at Carnegie Hall on the evening of 30 March 1963 and when they met outside it came up in conversation that Spector had recorded a version of "It's My Party" with the Crystals.Jones skipped the concert instead spending that night—a Saturday—at Bell Sound Studios making a test pressing of the track comprising one hundred copies.
Over the next two days Jones mailed these out to radio programmers in key markets across the US. Gore heard her record played on the radio for the first time that Friday; the official release of "It's My Party" came later in the month, with the disc ascending to number one nationally in four weeks. Jones was abroad at the time of "It's My Party"'s release. On his return he expressed dismay when Aaron Schroeder advised him that the rush release of "It's My Party" had precluded coining a more pleasant name for the singer than "Lesley Gore," to which Schroeder replied: "Didn't anybody tell you?...Quince, the record's number one. Do you really give a damn what her last name is?