You Don't Own Me

This article is about the song recorded by Lesley Gore. For the single by Pale Waves, see You Don't Own Me (Pale Waves song).

"You Don't Own Me" is a popular song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when Gore 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]

"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
"She's a Fool" (1963) "You Don't Own Me" (1963) "That's the Way Boys Are" (1964)

The song was shocking in 1963 for its anti-patriarchal stance, showing the power of one woman to deny the wishes of a man. Since then, the song has been hailed as an early feminist anthem.^[2] In 2015, singer Grace took Gore's song to No. 1 in Australia with a version featuring rapper G-Eazy.^[3]. 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 does not own her, that he cannot tell her what to do or what to say, and that he is not to put her on display. The song's lyrics became an inspiration for younger women and are sometimes cited as a factor in the second wave feminist movement.^[4]

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."^[5] In Gore's obituary, The New York Times referred to "You Don't Own Me" as "indelibly defiant".^[6]

Cash Box described it as "a throbbing, multi-track, ballad-with-a-beat on which [Gore] emotionally declares her independence."^[7]

Chart performance

The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The song 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". It became Gore's second most successful hit after "It's My Party". The song was Gore's last top-ten single.^[8][9]

Weekly charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
US (Billboard Hot 100)^[10]	2
US (Cashbox Top 100)^[11]	2
Australia (Kent Music Report)	4
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)^[12]	5
New Zealand (Listener)^[13]	2
Sweden^[14]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
US (Billboard Year-End Hot 100)^[15]	36
US (Cashbox Year-End Top 100)^[16]	42
Brazil^[17]	47

Later comparative criticism

After the success of "You Don't Own Me", many of Gore's other recordings (also generally written by others), including "That's the Way Boys Are", were eventually compared to it and criticized for not coming up to 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".^[18] 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".^[18] 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."^[19] Music critic Greil Marcus also remarked on the way "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!"^[20]

On 14–21 August 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".^[21]

Grace version

"You Don't Own Me"
Single by Grace featuring G-Eazy
from the EP Memo and the album FMA
Released	March 17, 2015 (2015-03-17)
Recorded	2015
Genre	Hip hop soul R&B
Length	3:19
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	John Madara David White Gerald Gillum
Producer(s)	Quincy Jones Parker Ighile
Saygrace singles chronology
"You Don't Own Me" (2015) "Dirty Harry" (2015)
G-Eazy singles chronology
"Fuck with U" (2014) "You Don't Own Me" (2015) "You Got Me" (2015)

The song was covered by Australian singer and songwriter 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 Lesley Gore's death, and peaked at number one on the ARIA Charts, later being certified 3× Platinum by the ARIA.^[22] 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, "[Quincy Jones] told me how the song came out during the feminist movement and how it was such a strong statement. I loved the song, started researching Lesley Gore and fell in love with her as an artist. [You Don't Own Me] really inspired me."^[23]

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.^[23] 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 ^[24] and appeared on the film's soundtrack album.^[25]

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.^[26]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2015–2016)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[27]	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[28]	55
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[29]	42
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)^[30]	45
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)^[31]	52
France (SNEP)^[32]	182
Hungary (Single Top 40)^[33]	32
Ireland (IRMA)^[34]	13
Italy (FIMI)^[35]	89
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[36]	5
Portugal (AFP)^[37]	62
Scotland (OCC)^[38]	3
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)^[39]	50
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)^[40]	38
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[41]	19
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[42]	60
UK Singles (OCC)^[43]	4
US Billboard Hot 100^[44]	57
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[45]	22

Year-end charts

Chart (2015)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[46]	26
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[47]	43
Chart (2016)	Position
Iceland (Plötutíóindi)^[48]	49
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[49]	87

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[50]	4× Platinum	280,000^‡
Canada (Music Canada)^[51]	2× Platinum	160,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[52]	Gold	45,000^‡
Italy (FIMI)^[53]	Gold	25,000^‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)^[54]	Gold	30,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[55]	Platinum	15,000^*
Poland (ZPAV)^[56]	2× Platinum	40,000^‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[57]	Gold	15,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[58]	Platinum	600,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[59]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other notable covers

• Dusty Springfield released an early cover on her 1964 album A Girl Called Dusty.^[60]
• 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.^[61]
• Joan Jett recorded a cover of this song for her 1980 debut album Bad Reputation.
• 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.^[62][63] It also attracted a fan following.^[64]
• Kristin Chenoweth recorded a cover of this song alongside Ariana Grande, for her 2019 album For the Girls.^[65]
• The 2022 Netflix series Stay Close used "You Don't Own Me" as the theme song, sung by Nikki Williams.^[66]
• The Blow Monkeys covered the song for the soundtrack to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. ^[67]
• Lani Misalucha recorded a cover for the soundtrack in the 2015 Star Cinema movie Etiquette for the Mistresses.
• Klaus Nomi recorded a cover on his 1981 self-titled album; it was also released as a single.

See also

• List of feminist anthems
• My body, my choice

References

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4. Stos, Will (2012). "Bouffants, Beehives, and Breaking Gender Norms: Rethinking 'Girl Group' Music of the 1950s and 1960s". Journal of Popular Music Studies. 24 (2): 117–154. doi:10.1111/j.1533-1598.2012.01322.x.
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