When Times Are Scary, Let's Retreat Into Old Songs That Make Us Happy

The great Ronettes in the big-haired 1960s

I went on a 1960s female singer binge listen yesterday.

The news is scary for everyone, and it's always comforting to go back to nostalgia land and dredge up the music you heard when you were a kid, before you were aware of how awful the world can be.

Anybody can do this, and it's therapeutic. Try it.   

It doesn't matter which era of music you had when you were five or 10 years old. Could be 1950s rock and roll, 1990s grunge, 1940s Big Band, 1970s disco or pop hits of the 2000s.

I retreated down memory lane with nice, strong female singers in the 1960s.

You really should check out the several videos below, because I think anybody of any age would like this music. And it's fun checking out the, uh, intersting big hair styles, and the kitschy productions and sketches in the videos.

First, let's go "Downtown" wth Petula Clark: 




Here's the VERY great Dusty Springfield. Hard to choose which song of hers is best, but this tie I went with "I Only Wanna Be With You"



Next, let's bring in the Ronettes in these conservative looking business dresses, but oh! that teased hair! It's just perfect. How'd you like to carry that weight on your shoulders.

Still, "Be My Baby" is a wonderful classic:


This next one might be my favorite of the bunch. This is early feminism, it's Lesley Gore asserting herself, being her own person. This song was a total breakthrough. They're still using the song
in car ads today, of all things. But I still adore the son.  Here is "You Don't Own Me."



We can't ignore country music, either, no siree! And there's a lot of great feminism here, too.

This next one is classic, and that intentional tackiness of the video, and the intentional tackiness of the small mindedness of some of small town America circa the late 60s is just perfect.

Here's Jeannie C. Riley with "Harper Valley PTA"



Then we have our cry in your beer country song from the great Tammy Wynette:



Finally, Lynn Anderson never promised us a rose garden, but she did give us some great songs like this one:

RIP Leslie Gore, One Of the 1960s Best Singers

Lesley Gore  

I'm not quite sure what evolved between "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To" and "You Don't Own Me," But Leslie Gore sure made some ahead of her time statements back in the 1960s.

I bring her up because she passed away today at the age of 68. 

At first "It's My Party" seems like a typical pouty teenager upset that her boyfriend dumped her.

The song is precisely that, and more. I like how Gore takes control in the song, even if what she's taking control of is the angst of a boyfriend bailing on her.

Maybe she's a little bit too enthralled by that cad Johnny, but she's not going to let everyone else's expectations control her.

"Play all my records, keep dancing all night
But leave me alone for awhile
'Til Johnny's dancing with me
I've got no reason to smile

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I wan to.
You would cry too if it happened to you."

Then, in 1964, Leslie Gore came out with the hit, "You Don't Own Me."

The lyrics, sung to the tune of some assertive minor keys, nowadays seem like only a complete dufus would have to be told this but in 1964, this was kind of groundbreaking:

"You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys.
You don't own me, don't say I can't go with other boys
And don't tell me what to do
And don't tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don't put me on display, 'cause
You don't own me, don't try to change me in any way."

The sad thing is, you know how I said only a complete dufus would have to be told he doesn't own any women?

If you look at a lot of the online community, especially the legions of trolls out there, any time a woman dares to voice her opinion on say, online gaming, or sexism in the computer industry or anything for that matter, the jerks pounce.

What an odd juxtaposition. The computer nerds are so futuristic, foward thinking. At the same time, a few of them continue to live in the darkest, most sexist corners of the 1950s.

At least Leslie Gore had the presense of mind in 1964 to start setting the record straight. It helped lead to generations of women who are not owned by anybody.

RIP, Leslie Gore.

Here is "You Don't Own Me:"

Really Interesting Lesley Gore Political Ad

One of my favorite songs from the 1960s is Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me." It came out in the early part of that decade, and it's quite a feminist statement for that early era.

I love the forboding melody, the warning to the guys out there. Don't mess with her. And the way Gore belts out the song. Definitely the best song from 1964, or at least close to it. 

Now, of course, the sentiment in the song is just the way things are. Everybody understands women are not to be owned, controlled.

Gore, now 66, is still recording, touring and being active out in the business.

Gore has just put out a video, a political anti-Romney ad. I try to be nonpartisan in this blog, but I'm showing the video because I just think it's interesting. I won't say whether I agree with any or all the sentiments in the video. I know fans of Romney won't be pleased by the video, but bear with me.

What Gore did for the video is  the original "You Don't Own Me" plays throughout the video as a wide variety of women lip sync the song. There are written political messages that pop up now and then. But to me, the cool part of the video is how many of the women in it embrace the song as their own, and do so in such a variety of ways.

I love any kind of media that show how different and quirky our personalities are.

The vid is below. And in the interest of nonpartisanship, if anybody knows of a cool pro Romney video, I'll consider posting that too. Only if it's cool, though.