It was 1963 -- and Lesley Gore was living the normal life of a carefree 16-year-old in Tenafly, while attending the Dwight School for Girls in Englewood. 

That was the case before a snappy little tune called It's My Party was released. The bouncy melody -- teamed with lyrics that struck a chord with every teeny-boppin' teenage girl in the country -- put the newly-minted Leslie Gore on the big-time musical map.

It's My Party shot to the top of the charts, and paved the way for a string of Top 20 hits, including Judy's Turn to Cry (#5),  You Don't Own Me (#2), She's A Fool (#2), That's The Way Boys Are (#12), and Maybe I Know, which reached as high as #14.

An interesting sidebar, is that Crystals were recording the song for producer Phil Spector at around the same time, but Gore's version hit the airwaves first and rose to # 1 in four weeks.

Here are five things you may not have known about Lesley:

1. To her credit, Gore decided to forego the limelight in favor of going to college (Sarah Lawrence), performing when she could. 

2. 1965's Sunshine, Lollipops and Roses saw Gore get nominated for a Grammy for best female rock vocal performance.

3. Her producer was Quincy Jones, who went on to carve out a legendary career.

4. Remember the song Wedding Bell Blues? That song topped the Billboard charts for three weeks for Marilyn McCoo and The Fifth Dimension, but not before Gore's original version failed to gain national recognition.

5. Bob Crewe, who co-produced many of the Four Seasons big hits, was behind Gore's final Top 20 single California Nights, which hit the charts in 1969. 

We've compiled several videos of this Jersey Legend's outstanding work for your enjoyment.