Still her party

You don’t own out-and-proud ’60s pop star Lesley Gore, who will be
sunshine and lollipops as she performs with the Women’s Chorus of Dallas

SECOND ACT | Since coming out publicly in 2005, Lesley Gore has opened a surprising — and busy — chapter in her career.

GORE TO THE MAX
With the Women’s Chorus of Dallas
at the Wyly Theatre,
2300 Flora St. March 13.
7:30 p.m. $20–$45. TWCD.org.

…………………………………………

Lesley Gore is much more than her signature hit, "It’s My Party." Just five years ago, she officially came out of the closet with her release, Ever Since, an overlooked album that arced Gore from girl-next-door product of the ’60s to gritty-but-graceful artist with a brand new relevance.

But it is hard to get past the nostalgic hit for which she’s still identified. The proof? She’ll no doubt sing it when she performs with the Women’s Chorus of Dallas this Saturday.

"’Party’ takes me back to wonderful places like going steady, who my history teacher was, my friends," says Gore in a telephone interview from her home. "It stands for a reason. I would be dishonest to say no, I don’t get tired of it. But it turns me on to see people having fun when I sing it."

She speaks with a hurried enthusiasm about what life is bringing to her now. Her recordings through the ’70s and ’80s went largely unnoticed, but in 2005, she found critical acclaim with Ever Since, and tracks from the album have been used in films and television shows such as The L Word. Which begs the question: Did coming out publicly liberate her artistically?

"It’s been absolutely worthwhile!" she asserts. "My life has always been backwards from everyone else’s. If you told me at 16 that I’d be saying this at 63, I’d have said you’re crazy. There’s always a flurry of what people find titillating."

Gore hit it big with the Quincy Jones-produced "It’s My Party" and followed up with hits that didn’t throw her immediately into the one-hit wonder K-Tel bin. "You Don’t Know Me" and "Sunshines, Lollipops and Rainbows" kept her on the charts while playing the virginal girl of boys’ dreams  — even though she had been out to her close friends since coming out to herself after college at Sarah Lawrence in New York.

A depiction of Gore was suggested in the film Grace of My Heart, where Bridget Fonda played a well-coiffed girly singer crooning "My Secret Love," the song Gore doctored, but she had little else to do with the movie.

"Because they were using a character based on me, this is perfectly all right with me. The script wasn’t factual. But they did not invite me to opening. I would have like to been more involved," she says.

Interestingly, not once did she feel compromised by her hetero-centric persona in the early days. She knew she was a lesbian throughout that time but stands by the boy-girl puppy love she sang about.

"The only way to sing a song is to be authentic to it," she says with seasoned wisdom.

Grace wasn’t her foray into film. Gore was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing Fame’s "Out Here On My Own" with her brother Michael. She wasn’t expecting much with the film’s remake, but found herself pleasantly surprised by the loyalty to her song and even liked the movie.

"I saw it on TV. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it but I did," she says.

While Gore visits the past in her music, she’s amped up about her future and the second act of her career. She dove into the LGBT community spotlight hosting the PBS show, In the Life, to "make [her presence in the community] official." But Gore isn’t all about being a lesbian in the public eye; she is a musician first.

"I enjoy performing so very much. Every show I do is created for the specific venue to keep it more interesting and keep me on my toes. It’s not like I have so many songs and that’s my act. My point is, after 47 years, I’m excited about putting a show together. I’m blessed."

The singer who’s a throwback to simpler times is seeing the inundation of Twitter and Facebook on the horizon. She’s not too thrilled about going down these roads because she’s afraid it gets less personal with her fans. But she’s taking baby steps.

"My Web site guy would like me to Twitter and maybe be a Facebook presence. There is so much on my plate and I don’t have the time. I think it’s important to keep up with the times. I just don’t wanna lose that personal connection," she says. "Because when and if that goes away, we’re all screwed."

And people will cry if they want to.            

The country girl

If you’ve seen the video for "Don’t Go To Texas (Without Me)" on Logo and wondered who that is, you might be surprised: She’s bigger than you know. Anne McCue’s bluesy rocker isn’t only making the rounds on the gay channel, it’s introducing a whole new sound to the music veteran.

"If people don’t realize I have six albums already, I hope they check ’em out," she says.

McCue offers that chance firsthand Saturday when her tour stops in Dallas. Gearing up for her upcoming album Broken Promise Land, McCue is already on the road stirring up buzz. This time she steps away from her usual alt-country sound to introduce her rocker chick persona.

"This will definitely be a sort of tribute to some ’70s Australian rock, Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds. There is no acoustic guitar, which is unusual for me."

The Aussie-born musician lives in Nashville now  but her rocker roots go way back to home. She was lead guitarist for the all-female rock band Girl Monstar but her acoustic sound landed her high-profile gigs with Lucinda Williams, Heart and Lilith Fair.

She’s sure to win new fans with her "Texas" single. Lone Star loyalists will eat it up and gay fans surely appreciate her running off with the girl in the video. It’s a win-win for McCue coming to town.

"I love Texas," she says. "I know it’s gonna be a good jam when we play there."

Jack’s Backyard, 2303 Pittman Road. Saturday at 9 p.m. $5. AnneMcCue.com.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 12, 2010.vzlom-paroljaраскрутка сайта в гугл