Today we throw back to the week of June 1, 1963, when Lesley Gore topped Billboard’s Hot 100 with ‘It’s My Party,’ the lead single from her debut album I’ll Cry if I Want To. The song spent two weeks at #1 and 13 total weeks on chart. Gore’s next three singles reached the top five, but this track was her last to reach #1.

‘It’s My Party’ was first recorded by British singer Helen Shapiro, but it wasn’t released until her album came out in October, months after Gore’s success with the song. Her version is a little slower and her voice is a little deeper, giving the illusion that you’re listening to the more popular version at a reduced speed.

Credit the sound of Gore’s ‘It’s My Party’ to producer Quincy Jones. Jones found himself in a race with another producing legend, Phil Spector, who intended to record the song with girl group The Crystals. When Jones learned about the competition, he rushed a pressing of the track and distributed it to radio stations across the U.S. The song hit #1 before Spector could press record on his own version.

‘It’s My Party’ was written by Walter Gold, John Gluck Jr., Herb Weiner, and Seymour Gottlieb. Gottlieb’s daughter, Judy, delivered the famous opening lines after breaking into tears upon learning that her grandparents would attend her sixteenth birthday party. What a brat!

Rather than set that scenario to song, he imagined a scene where the lead singer’s boyfriend, Johnny, left her party with another girl, Judy. Interesting that he used his daughter’s name for the mistress.

Gore had a follow-up hit with ‘Judy’s Turn to Cry,’ a sequel to this song that appeared on the same album. In that one, the singer kisses another boy to make Johnny jealous and he ends up dumping Judy and returning to her. This was the Euphoria of 1963.