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19 hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, of which eight made the Top 20, rank Lesley Gore as second only to Brenda Lee as the USA's top-selling solo female recording star of the mid-60s.

Lesley was not quite five when her brother Michael was born, yet had already amassed an impressive record collection and would spend hours listening to favourites such as Patti Page; her destiny was being forged. As Michael grew older, he exhibited an aptitude for the piano and soon fell into a routine of writing songs with Lesley. At school she excelled in the choir and was part of a girl group who sang solely Shirelles songs. By the age of 15 she had persuaded her parents to send her to a vocal coach. Before long she was singing occasionally with a band.

At a showcase for the group, Lesley caught the ear of Mercury Records' president Irving Green, who invited her to visit the company's New York HQ, where she met producer Quincy Jones. The pair clicked instantly, and a recording contract was offered. A few days later, Quincy arrived at her home with a stack of publishers' demos, from which they selected the song that would change her life.

Days after Lesley's 17th birthday, 'It's My Party' entered the charts on its way to #1. Even the Beatles were captivated by the vibrancy of the disc, asking George Martin to produce their records in a similar style. In classic soap opera fashion, the biter bit in 'Judy's Turn To Cry', a Top 5 sequel which consolidated her position as America's new pop princess. 'She's A Fool' made it three in a row, while her first LP made the upper reaches of the album chart.

If the USA hadn't chosen this moment to embrace the Beatles, Lesley would have also made #1 with 'You Don't Own Me'. Other Top 20 highlights of 1964 were 'That's The Way Boys Are' and 'Maybe I Know'. Her only sizeable hit of 1965 was 'Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows', but by then she was not just a pop star but also a full-time college student. Almost two years passed before producer Bob Crewe restored her to the Top 20 with 'California Nights'. The feat was aided by a television appearance in Batman singing what proved to be her final big hit.

Post-Mercury, Lesley recorded for Bob Crewe's short-lived Crewe label, surfacing next with a singer-songwriter LP for Mowest. She had been building up to this for years, having written many of her Mercury tracks. A 1975 reunion with Quincy Jones found her in a more soulful setting than before on an A&M album. In 1980 she and brother Michael received Grammy and Oscar nominations for 'Out Here On My Own', one of several songs they composed for the film Fame. Lesley also frequently performed live with her friend Lou Christie, with whom she recorded some duets.

In the 1990s she ventured into the world of journalism by interviewing k.d. lang for Ms magazine. In 1996 she was asked to write a song for the film Grace Of My Heart. The result was 'My Secret Love', lip-synched in the film by Bridget Fonda, whose character was partly based on Lesley. Gore died of lung cancer on February 16, 2015, she was 68 years old. Following her death, Neil Sedaka commented that she was "a phenomenal talent" and "a great songwriter in her own right." Gore's funeral was held on February 19, 2015 in New York City.

When teenager Sharon Lee Myers, then professionally known as Jackie Dee, had two songs published and recorded in 1958, who could have guessed that this petite, dynamic blonde was embarking on a career which would lead, in 2010, to her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame?

And when the same young girl stepped into a local studio inIndianato record as Sherry Lee, Sixteen Year Old Miss Country Music, who might have imagined that a few years later she would be chosen to join the Beatles as a supporting act on their first all-screaming sell-out tour of the USA and Canada?

That’s not all, of course. The same young woman, now known to the world as Jackie DeShannon, won herself a Gold Disc in 1969 for writing and singing the international hit ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’, reputedly the biggest-selling single ever on the distinguished Imperial label. And then in 1982, she was presented with a Grammy Award for Best Song, as co-writer of Kim Carnes’ ‘Bette Davis Eyes’.

Still, as this is written in 2012, Jackie’s career continues. On a quick visit to London she appeared live on the highly rated TV show Later With Jools Holland. She released her latest single, ‘For Africa, In Africa’, this year, a few months after “When You Walk In The Room”, her delightful unplugged album of some of her favourite songs was released.

Jackie’s secret for success has been her love of music and her continuing curiosity and desire to try something new. There are many well-loved performers that can be easily categorised as a country, folk, rock’n’roll, pop or R&B singer. Jackie defies such classification; as a singer, thanks to her soulful, sexy, versatile voice, she’s done it all. 

Jackie’s earliest, rock’n’roll records are a delight to hear. They include a raunchy version of Leiber and Stoller’s ‘Trouble’ which will have induced many a parent to lock up their sons, for their own protection. Jackie moved to Hollywood, where a series of singles for Liberty Records in the very early 60s showed her prowess at singing R&B, Ray Charles-style. Then a songwriting partnership with Sharon Sheeley saw a change to teenage pop material, and brought the girls a number of songwriting successes, for Brenda Lee and many others.

Just to prove how unpredictable Jackie is, her first entry into the American charts came with an unashamedly country song, ‘Faded Love’. Soon after this Jackie could be found in the clubs of LA belting out traditional folk and blues with her young accompanist, Ry Cooder, on guitar. And then back to the recording studio with Jack Nitzsche and Dick Glasser to record wonderful originals of ‘Needles And pins’ and ‘When You Walk In The Room’, classics of 60s pop music.

There followed a love affair with the contemporary British guitar group sound, including a brief partnership with Jimmy Page, resulting in songs for Marianne Faithfull, Dave Berry and others. Then back into the studio with sophisticated songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for memorable recordings of ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’, the under-rated ‘A Lifetime Of Loneliness’ and more.

Later in the 60s Jackie pursued her interests in art and drama and still found time to visit the recording studios regularly, giving us her own favourite album “Laurel Canyon”, cut with Mac Rebennack and Barry White, and then combining with her brother, Randy Myers, and singer Jimmy Holiday to write ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’, an international anthem of love and peace which has been recorded by several hundred artists, from Ella Fitzgerald and Mahalia Jackson to Leonard Nimoy and the Dave Clark Five.

The 1970s saw Jackie moving through the major record labels – Capitol, Atlantic,Columbia– with ease and dignity, as a major league singer-songwriter and interpreter of great songs. A short period of working with Van Morrison produced some soulful music and the decade finished with a couple of laidback high quality albums on Amherst Records.

Married to songwriter Randy Edelman, the next two decades saw Jackie taking more of a background role, writing film music and, more importantly, bringing up her son. Her songs were still being heard widely, though. In addition to Kim Carnes’ massive success with ‘Bette Davis Eyes’, country singer Pam Tillis had a big hit on the country charts with a revival of ‘When You Walk In The Room’ and Dolly Parton and Lulu included good versions of ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’ on successful albums. Cliff Richard and Status Quo were others to benefit from Jackie’s songwriting.

In the second millennium, two new albums appeared: the superbly contemporary “You Know Me”, followed by the lovely acoustic set “When You Walk In The Room”. Jackie’s singing remains as beguiling as ever, and her live appearances, although few and far between, are joyful celebrations of decades of great music.

Jackie DeShannon is a woman who has sung with Elvis Presley, befriended Eddie Cochran and the Everly Brothers, recorded with the Byrds, co-written with Jack Nitzsche, Van Morrison, Carole Bayer Sager, John Barry and many more. She has recorded outstanding versions of songs by Bacharach and David, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and countless more, while her own compositions have attracted thousands of interpretations.

The sparky teenager whose recordings of ‘Buddy’ and ‘Trouble’ are in every rockabilly collection has come a long way, without ever losing that spark. Jackie DeShannon, the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame awaits you.

2012

The Fame catalogue rolled on, as did the Songwriter and London American series, Mod Jazz and New Breed danced on and there were more cute EPs and cuddly 45s. So all of the flowers in the Ace garden were being well tended.

There was a new compiler on the block, looking like he was ready to bop. Ian Saddler, a record collector who specialised in Louisiana music created a new series. The first release was “Boppin’ By The Bayou”. Essential to making the series work was accessing the seminal rock’n’roll and R&B recordings made by JD Miller out of Crowley. While Miller provided Excello with a huge amount of their catalogue, he was also responsible for a lot of great rockin’ rhythm and blues sides that he didn’t sell on. With a big helping hand from John Broven, a deal that had been sought for many a year was finally put together. Before long, the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal was doing a pretty good impersonation of the Bayou. Vince Anthony & the Blue Notes’ ‘Watch My Smoke’ was not just one of the great tracks in the deal but could well be the byword for the alacrity with which the series expanded.

Ace Records aficionados will very likely be familiar with the uniquely soulful guitar-playing which embellished such notable hits as Dobie Gray’s ‘Drift Away’ and Billy Swan’s ‘I Can Help’, as well as the ground-breaking use of electric sitar on the Box Tops’ ‘Cry Like A Baby’ and ‘Hooked On A Feeling’ by B.J. Thomas. Add to these Elvis Presley’s ‘In The Ghetto’ and ‘Suspicious Minds’, Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’, Joe Tex’s ‘Skinny Legs And All’, and many more significant chartbusters by the likes of Bill Black’s Combo, Joe Tex, Neil Diamond, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis, Jimmy Buffett, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard. Such an imposing list should provide an idea of the enormous contribution made over six decades by Memphis and Nashville’s most versatile and in-demand session guitarist, Reggie Young, who has died at the age of 82.