You Don't Own Me#Grace version
{{Short description|1963 single by Lesley Gore}}
{{About|the song recorded by Lesley Gore|the single by Pale Waves|You Don't Own Me (Pale Waves song)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = You Don't Own Me
| cover = Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Lesley Gore
| album = Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts
| B-side = Run Bobby, Run
| released = December 11, 1963
| recorded = September 21, 1963
| studio =
| genre = *Doo-wop
| length = 2:31
| label = Mercury
| writer = {{hlist|John Madara|Dave White}}
| producer = Quincy Jones
| prev_title = She's a Fool
| prev_year = 1963
| next_title = That's the Way Boys Are
| next_year = 1964
| misc = {{External music video|type=single|header=Official audio|1={{YouTube|OYB1rbL8EHo|"You Don't Own Me"}}}}
}}
"You Don't Own Me" is a pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White and 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."{{Cite web |date=February 17, 2015 |title=It's My Party Singer Lesley Gore dies |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31500422 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231009035748/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31500422|archive-date=October 9, 2023 |access-date=October 9, 2023 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
File:Leslie Gore Batman 1967.JPG
The song was prominent at the time of its release in 1963 as it symbolized women's empowerment, showing the strength of a woman capable of standing up for herself against a man.{{Cite web |last=Ulaby |first=Neda |date=June 26, 2019 |title='You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/06/26/735819094/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-me-american-anthem#lik |website=npr music}} Since then, the song has been hailed as an early feminist anthem.{{cite web |url=https://indianapublicmedia.org/afterglow/shout,-sister,-shout-the-great-american-songbooks-feminist-anthems.php |title=Shout, Sister, Shout: The Great American Songbook's Feminist Anthems |last=Chilla |first=Mark |date=March 4, 2022 |work=Afterglow |publisher=Indiana Public Media |access-date=April 11, 2022}} In 2015, singer SayGrace took Gore's song to No. 1 in Australia with a version featuring rapper G-Eazy.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/06/26/735819094/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-me-american-anthem |title='You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy |date=June 26, 2019 |last=Ulaby |first=Neda |website=NPR |access-date=April 14, 2022}} The following year, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Background
The song expresses emancipation, as the singer tells a lover that he cannot objectify her. She doesn't want to be held to his hypocritical gender standards, such as not being able to see other men, when he sees other women. The song's lyrics became an inspiration for younger women and are sometimes cited as a factor in the development of the second wave feminist movement.{{cite journal |last=Stos |first=Will |year=2012 |title=Bouffants, Beehives, and Breaking Gender Norms: Rethinking 'Girl Group' Music of the 1950s and 1960s |journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=117–154 |doi=10.1111/j.1533-1598.2012.01322.x |doi-access=free}}
Gore said, "My take on the song was: I'm 17, what a wonderful thing, to stand up on a stage and shake your finger at people and sing you don't own me."{{cite web
| title = Biography - Lesley Gore
| website = Biography.com
| url = http://www.biography.com/people/lesley-gore-16606845#early-career
| access-date=September 27, 2016
}} In Gore's obituary, The New York Times referred to "You Don't Own Me" as "indelibly defiant".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/arts/music/lesley-gore-teenage-voice-of-heartbreak-dies-at-68.html|title=Lesley Gore, Teenage Voice of Heartbreak, Dies at 68|date=February 16, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2016}} American music magazine CashBox described it as "a throbbing, multi-track, ballad-with-a-beat on which [Gore] emotionally declares her independence."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=December 21, 1963 |page=8 |access-date=January 12, 2022 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1963/CB-1963-12-21.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}
Chart performance
The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It remained at number two for three consecutive weeks, beginning on February 1, 1964, unable to overcome the Beatles' hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand".{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=March 20, 2024 |title='You Don't Own Me': The Story Behind Lesley Gore's Empowering Hit |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-me-feature/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}} It became Gore's second most successful hit after "It's My Party". The song was Gore's last top-ten single.{{cite web|author=Richie Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/you-dont-own-me-mt0000713886 |title=You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore | Song Info |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=September 27, 2016}}{{cite web
| title = You Don't Own Me Song Facts
| publisher = Songfacts.com
| url = http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4215
| access-date=September 27, 2016
}}
= Weekly charts =
= Year-end charts =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1964) !Peak position |
| US (Billboard Year-End Hot 100){{Cite magazine|date=January 2, 1965|title=Top Records of 1964|magazine=Billboard|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-01-02.pdf}}
|36 |
| US (Cashbox Year-End Top 100){{Cite web|title=Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1964|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1964YESP.html|access-date=December 14, 2021|website=tropicalglen.com}}
|42 |
| Brazil{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}
|47 |
Later comparative criticism
After the success of "You Don't Own Me", many of Gore's other recordings (generally written by others), including "That's the Way Boys Are", were eventually comparatively criticized for not meeting feminist expectations. Of "That's the Way Boys Are", author Richard Aquila noted that the lyrics "voice the era's acceptance of sexual double standards," in contrast with the theme of Gore's previous single, "You Don't Own Me".{{cite book|author=Aquila, R.|title=That old-time rock & roll: a chronicle of an era, 1954-1963|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-252-06919-2|pages=114–116, 234}} Aquila regards "That's the Way Boys Are" as one of several examples of Lesley Gore recordings that regard women as dependents or passive objects, along with her earlier singles "It's My Party" and "Judy's Turn to Cry". Musicologist Walter Everett described "That's the Way Boys Are" as one of the many 1960s sexist songs that "perpetuated a boys-will-be-boys tolerance for male but not female infidelity."{{cite book|author=Everett, W.|author-link=Walter Everett (musicologist)|title=The foundations of rock: from "Blue suede shoes" to "Suite : Judy blue eyes"|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-19-531023-8|page=366}} Music critic Greil Marcus also mentioned how "That's the Way Boys Are" backs off from the "proto-feminist manifesto" of "You Don't Own Me" to a message of "he may treat you like garbage, but they're all like that, and we love 'em for it!"{{cite book|author=Marcus, G.|author-link=Greil Marcus|title=In the fascist bathroom: punk in pop music, 1977-1992|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-674-44577-2|pages=217–218}}
On August 14–21, 1965, Patty Duke peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100 with "Don't Just Stand There", which sounds very similar to "You Don't Own Me".{{cite web|url=https://www.rockdabox.net/patty-dukes-billboard-chart-history-dont-just-stand-there-beyond/|title=Patty Duke's Billboard Chart History, 'Don't Just Stand There' & Beyond|author=Sir Rockwell|publisher=Rockdabox, 'The Future of Caribbean Radio'|date=March 29, 2016|access-date=October 18, 2024}}
Impact
Lesley Gore's single "You Don't Own Me" was one of the first songs of its kind to become a feminist anthem, speaking out against the misogynistic culture at the time the single was written in 1963. The impact of this song is evident today, as it has become a song of women's empowerment that is often played during many feminist rights marches, campaigns, and is often showcased on TV shows with a similar agenda.
Lesley Gore re-recorded "You Don't Own Me" for her 11th album Ever Since in 2005, later utilizing it during the 2012 presidential campaign encouraging women to vote and protect women's reproductive rights. The song has since been used in many different feminist rights campaigns, marches and TV shows, highlighting the significance of the powerful message the song still delivers. Gore said “After some 40 years, I still close my show with that song because I can’t find anything stronger, to be honest with you". She still believes in the song's message, stating "When you can do a song in different ways, and do it over different periods of time, and it still has its legs, there's something to be said for that".{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Russell |date=January 1, 2006 |title=A visit with legendary songwriter Lesley Gore |url=https://performingsongwriter.com/articles-interviews/5-minutes-interviews/lesley-gore/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=Performing Songwriter Ent., LLC |language=en-US}}
Gore died in 2015 at the age of 68, sparking a remembrance of the hit song, "which only grew stronger as the rallying cry during the women’s marches in 2018 around the MeToo movement".{{Cite web |last=Benitez-Eves |first=Tina |date=March 22, 2022 |title=Behind the Song Lyrics: Lesley Gore's Feminist, Civil Rights Anthem "You Don't Own Me" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-lyrics-lesley-gores-feminist-civil-rights-anthem-you-dont-own-me/ |access-date=April 15, 2024 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}} Even in death, she captivated a nation with the powerful words in "You Don't Own Me".
Saygrace version
{{Infobox song
| name = You Don't Own Me
| cover = You Don't Own Me (featuring G-Eazy) (Official Single Cover) by Grace.png
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Grace featuring G-Eazy
| released = {{start date|2015|03|17|}}
| recorded = 2015
| studio =
| venue =
| length = {{duration|m=3|s=19}}
| label = RCA
| writer = {{hlist|John Madara|David White|Gerald Gillum}}
| producer = {{hlist|Quincy Jones|Parker Ighile}}
| chronology = Saygrace
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Dirty Harry
| next_year = 2015
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = G-Eazy
| type = single
| prev_title = Fuck with U
| prev_year = 2014
| title = You Don't Own Me
| year = 2015
| next_title = You Got Me
| next_year = 2015
}}
{{External music video|type=single|header=Music video|{{YouTube|8SeRU_ZPDkE|"You Don't Own Me (ft. G-Easy)"}}}}
}}
In 2015, the song was recorded by Australian singer Grace and was released as her debut single. It features American rapper G-Eazy. Grace's version was produced by Quincy Jones, who also produced the original recording by Lesley Gore, and Parker Ighile. It was released on March 17, 2015, one month after Gore's death, and peaked at number one on the ARIA Charts, later being certified 3× platinum by the ARIA.{{cite web
| title = iTunes Store (AU) - Music - Grace - You Don't Own Me (feat. G-Eazy) - Single
| work = iTunes Store (AU)
| url = https://music.apple.com/au/album/you-dont-own-me-feat-g-eazy-single/976664319
| date = August 15, 2014 | access-date = April 12, 2016
}} The song was also a success in New Zealand, peaking at number five for two consecutive weeks, and in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four.
In an interview with House of Fraser, Grace said, "[
| title = Grace - The Voice Behind our Christmas Avert
| work = House of Fraser
| url = http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/fraser/grace-voice-behind-the-song-christmas-advert-2015,default,pg.html
| access-date = April 14, 2016
| archive-date = February 5, 2016
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160205041144/http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/fraser/grace-voice-behind-the-song-christmas-advert-2015,default,pg.html
| url-status = dead
}}
The song was released worldwide on August 17, 2015. It grew to prominence in the UK when it was used in the 2015 House of Fraser Christmas advert. It was also performed by The X Factor contestant Lauren Murray in 2015 and Matt Terry in 2016. The increased exposure for the song helped it rise to a peak of number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song was featured in the third trailer for the 2016 film Suicide Squad{{Cite news
| title = This is who covers Lesley Gore's You Don't Own Me in the Suicide Squad trailer
| newspaper = Metro
| url = http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/11/this-is-who-covers-lesley-gores-you-dont-own-me-in-the-suicide-squad-trailer-5808387
| access-date = April 11, 2016
}}
and appeared on the film's soundtrack album.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7408822/suicide-squad-soundtrack-eminem-skrillex-lil-wayne-twenty-one-pilots |title='Suicide Squad' Soundtrack: Skrillex & Rick Ross, Panic! at the Disco Cover 'Bohemian Rhapsody' & More |magazine=Billboard |first=Gil |last=Kaufman |date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=June 22, 2016}}
The song was featured in the opening of Riverdale{{'}}s eighth episode in March 2017, as well as the background music for the 2018 Ford Mustang GT commercial, with Helen Hunt and Evan Rachel Wood.
A music video directed by Taylor Cohen was released on June 1, 2015.{{cite web
| title = Grace - You Don't Own Me ft. G-Eazy
| publisher = YouTube
| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SeRU_ZPDkE
| date = June 1, 2015 | access-date = April 16, 2016
}}
= Charts and certifications =
== Weekly charts ==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2015–2016)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Australia|1|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|song=You Don't Own Me|access-date=May 23, 2015|rowheader=true|refname="ARIA Chart"}} |
| {{single chart|Canada|45|artist=Grace|rowheader=true|access-date=September 8, 2014}} |
| {{single chart|Czechdigital|52|year=2016|week=34|rowheader=true|access-date=September 1, 2014}} |
| scope="row"| France (SNEP){{cite web|url=http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-singles-telecharges/?ye=2016&we=32|title=Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 32, 2016)|publisher=Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|language=fr|access-date=August 15, 2014}}
| 182 |
| {{single chart|Hungarysingle|32|year=2016|week=34|rowheader=true|access-date=September 3, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|Ireland|13|year=2016|week=2|rowheader=true|access-date=January 16, 2016}} |
| scope="row"| Italy (FIMI){{cite web|url=http://www.fimi.it/classifiche#/category:digital/id:2322/page:1|title=Classifica settimanale WK 34|publisher=Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana|language=it|access-date=August 27, 2016}}
| 89 |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|5|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|song=You Don't Own Me|rowheader=true|access-date=July 24, 2015}} |
| {{single chart|Portugal|62|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|song=You Don't Own Me|rowheader=true|access-date=September 1, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|Scotland|3|date=December 10, 2015|rowheader=true|access-date=December 5, 2015}} |
| {{single chart|Slovakia|50|year=2015|week=39|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Slovakdigital|38|year=2016|week=33|rowheader=true|access-date=September 1, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|Spain|19|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|song=You Don't Own Me|rowheader=true|access-date=February 22, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|Switzerland|60|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|song=You Don't Own Me|rowheader=true|access-date=February 29, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|UK|4|date=December 18, 2015|rowheader=true|access-date=December 18, 2015}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|57|artist=Grace|rowheader=true|access-date=August 23, 2016}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardpopsongs|22|artist=Grace|rowheader=true|access-date=April 27, 2016}} |
== Year-end charts ==
== Certifications ==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=2015|certyear=2019|access-date=March 30, 2019}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Grace|title=You Don't Own Me (Feat. G-Eazy)|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|relyear=2015|certyear=2019|certmonth=6|certday=24|access-date=September 30, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Grace|title=You Don't Own Me|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2020|id=8999|access-date=October 5, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Grace|title=You Don't Own Me (Feat. G-Eazy)|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2015|digital=true|access-date=September 29, 2016|certyear=2016}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Mexico|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|title=You Don't Own Me|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=2015|certyear=2019|certref={{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/CertificacionesAmprofon/photos/a.1293366120787996/1314458385345436|title=Certificados Musicales Amprofon (in Spanish)|publisher=Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas|via=facebook|access-date=October 5, 2021}}}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|relyear=2015|certyear=2020|title=You Don't Own Me|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|type=single|source=radioscope|access-date=December 27, 2024|award=Platinum|number=2}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|type=single|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|title=You Don't Own Me|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2017|relyear=2015|access-date=March 1, 2017}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|type=single|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|title=You Don't Own Me|award=Gold|certyear=2019|relyear=2015|access-date=October 11, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=You Don't Own Me|artist=Grace feat. G-Eazy|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2015|certyear=2016|id=13548-4115-1|access-date=September 30, 2016}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Grace|title=You Don't Own Me|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2015|certyear=2016|access-date=July 10, 2016}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true | noshipments=true|nosales=true}}
Other notable covers
- Dusty Springfield released an early cover on her 1964 album A Girl Called Dusty.{{Cite web |last=Nissim |first=Mayer |date=May 4, 2022 |title='You Don't Own Me' by Lesley Gore: The making of the '60s feminist anthem |url=https://www.goldradiouk.com/features/song-facts/lesley-gore-you-dont-own-me-feminist/ |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=Gold |language=en}}
- The Ormsby Brothers released the first male version of this song in 1973. The New Zealand group's version peaked at number 5 in Australia in that year.{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=226}}
- Joan Jett covered the song in 1979 as a single, later included in her self-titled first album, which was re-released as Bad Reputation.
- Klaus Nomi covered the song in 1981 for his self-titled album. This version was used by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show for his "Gay Community Updates" where he would degrade LGBTQ+ people.
- André Hazes recorded a Dutch-language version of the song in 1981 for his album Gewoon André; "Zeg Maar Niets Meer" was popular in Europe, and reached number 2 in the Dutch charts in early 1982.
- The song was featured in the 1996 film The First Wives Club as sung by Diane Keaton, Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/lesley-gores-you-dont-own-774017/|title = Without Lesley Gore This Famous 'First Wives Club' Scene Would Never Have Happened| website=The Hollywood Reporter |date = February 16, 2015}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/04/9611093/you-dont-own-me-first-wives-club-song-backstory|title=The Real Meaning Behind the First Wives Club's Best Scene}} It also attracted a fan following.{{Cite web|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/diane-keaton-wowed-first-wives-club-impersonation-t207314|title=Diane Keaton wowed by fan's 'First Wives Club' impersonation video|date=January 28, 2021 }}
- Kristin Chenoweth recorded a cover of this song alongside Ariana Grande, for her 2019 album For the Girls.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ariana-grande-kristin-chenoweth-you-dont-own-me-891478/|title = Ariana Grande, Kristin Chenoweth Cover 'First Wives Club' Theme 'You Don't Own Me'| magazine=Rolling Stone |date = September 27, 2019}}
- The 2022 Netflix series Stay Close used "You Don't Own Me" as the theme song, sung by Nikki Williams.{{Cite web|last=Rafter|first=Darcy|date=January 30, 2022|title=Stay Close theme song explored: Who sings the opening tune?|url=https://www.thefocus.news/tv/stay-close-theme-song/}}
- The Blow Monkeys covered the song for the soundtrack to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing.{{cite web|url=https://www.smoothradio.com/news/entertainment/dirty-dancing-watermelon-vinyl-sequel/|last=Nissim|first=Mayer|title=Dirty Dancing's classic soundtrack gets special watermelon-shaped vinyl ahead of sequel|date=July 14, 2022|accessdate=January 2, 2023}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Lesley Gore}}
{{Bette Midler singles}}
{{Joan Jett}}
{{G-Eazy}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Reflist||liststyle=|group=|refs=}}
Category:Mercury Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones
Category:Songs with feminist themes
Category:Songs written by David White (musician)