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Whether crafted by genius producers, cooked up by barely sane independent record company guys or stumbled upon after one too many beers, the hit record contains a little magic that insinuates its way into the ear, sticking to the relevant brain cells whether wanted or not. There is no formula for making a hit, they just happen, or more often than not – they don’t, for the hit record is a rare thing. Somewhere along the career path of even the most adventurous artist there is almost certain to be a hit record, or at the very least a blatant attempt at one. Though for some that hit was the career. In the Golden Age the hit came as a 45 rpm seven-inch and lasted anywhere from 1:14 to around 2:27. It was this leanness, this lack of excess that made them a delight; it was all over before you had a chance to think about it and left behind a fleeting memory of something wonderful. Of course these old hit records can be pure nostalgia, pushing emotional buttons, throwing you back into the moment, but they are also little works of art, miniature existential miracles and if you don’t have a stack of them in your heart, then something sure is missing.

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.

Thanks to the brilliant Rough Trade for including four of our releases in their year-end poll. If you're ever in London (East or West), Nottingham or Brooklyn we strongly recommend visiting one of their great stores.

roughtrade.com/compilations-of-the-year
roughtrade.com/re-issues-of-the-year

Thanks to the team at Shindig! for naming us Best Label of 2016. Also included in their year-end polls were Clearlight, Alice Clark, Ray Stevens, Billy Hawks, Kinked!, Love Hit Me! Decca Beat Girls, Celestial Blues and Let it Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney & Harrison. For full details see pages 24 & 25 of the current issue.

www.shindig-magazine.com

Film directors have always been lionised by their industry and by fans who made household names of Ford, Hitchcock and Spielberg. Record producers, on the other hand, have by-and-large laboured in near-anonymity outside the music business. Ace has thoughtfully remedied that situation with an unofficial series of CDs spotlighting the studio output of visionaries who lived to bring the sounds in their heads to the grooves of a record.

Each of these auteurs relentlessly pursued his aural ideals, always with an eye on that ever-elusive next hit. Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, Bert Berns and Jerry Ragovoy clearly had the magic touch, and Kim Fowley and Gary Paxton managed to grab a couple of brass rings. It’s confounding that such singular geniuses as James Brown, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson were largely unable to duplicate their mega-success with the artists they produced, but each one of these CDs offers a fascinating jaunt into the oeuvre of a titan of pop music.