I always loved Lesley Gore, especially this song which peaked at #2 for two weeks on the Billboard Charts in Feb. 1964.  It’s catchy as hell, bold and fearless  Still gives me goosebumps 60 years later. A kick ass tune.

Cool fact: she was only17 when she recorded it!

While You Don’t Own Me eventually became a feminist anthem, in 1964 it was a bit shocking and controversial, a progressive song at a time when the pop charts were filled with misogynistic lyrics and traditional representations of women (slaves to men essentially).

Lesley explained to NPR, “At the time, I know I chose it because I liked the strength in the lyric.  But, for me, it was not a song about being a woman. It was about being a person, and what was involved with that. Of course, it got picked up as an anthem for women, which makes me very proud.”

She asserts her independence throughout the song and admonishes her guy time and again:

The song has thrived across the decades.  The young Australian singer Grace covered it in 2015 as a hip-hop version with rapper G-Eazy. Gore died that same year at the age of 68 from lung cancer.

In 2016, You Don’t Own Me was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song was used for the #MeTooMovement, has appeared in countless TV shows and movies and was used in 2012 to Get Out The Vote for women.

One song can literally change the world.