You Don't Own Me

"You Don't Own Me"
"You Don't Own Me"
Single by Lesley Gore
from the album Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts
B-side	"Run Bobby, Run"
Released	December 11, 1963
Recorded	September 21, 1963
Genre	Doo-wop; R&B; blue-eyed soul;
Length	2:31
Label	Mercury
Songwriter(s)	John Madara; Dave White;
Producer(s)	Quincy Jones
Lesley Gore singles chronology

"You Don't Own Me" is a pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White, and was recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when she was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most successful recording and her last top-ten single. Gore herself considered it to be her signature song claiming “I just can’t find anything stronger to be honest with you, it’s a song that just grows every time you do it.”^[1]

The song was prominent at the time of its release in 1963 as it symbolized women's empowerment, showing the strength of a woman to stand up for herself against a man.^[2] Since then, the song has been hailed as an early feminist anthem.^[3] In 2015, singer SayGrace took Gore's song to No. 1 in Australia with a version featuring rapper G-Eazy.^[4] The following year, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

^ "It's My Party Singer Lesley Gore dies". BBC News. 2015-02-17. Archived from the original on 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
^ Ulaby, Neda (June 26, 2019). "'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy". npr music.
^ Chilla, Mark (March 4, 2022). "Shout, Sister, Shout: The Great American Songbook's Feminist Anthems". Afterglow. Indiana Public Media. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
^ Ulaby, Neda (June 26, 2019). "'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy". NPR. Retrieved April 14, 2022.

[1] "It's My Party Singer Lesley Gore dies". BBC News. 2015-02-17. Archived from the original on 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

[2] Ulaby, Neda (June 26, 2019). "'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy". npr music.

[Songbook-3] Chilla, Mark (March 4, 2022). "Shout, Sister, Shout: The Great American Songbook's Feminist Anthems". Afterglow. Indiana Public Media. Retrieved April 11, 2022.

[4] Ulaby, Neda (June 26, 2019). "'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy". NPR. Retrieved April 14, 2022.

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