Lesley Gore vs. SAYGRACE | Head 2 Head 🗣️

In the 15^th edition of Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️ (2023), Lesley Gore and SAYGRACE contend for the best rendition of “You Don’t Own Me.” 

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 🗣️ 2 Head 🗣️, we pit at least two musicians singing the same song together, comparing their performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  In the 15^th edition of head 🗣️2 head 🗣️ (2023), 🎙 Lesley Gore and 🎙 SAYGRACE contend for the best rendition of 🎵 “You Don’t Own Me”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Lesley Gore, “You Don’t Own Me”

💿 Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts • 🏷 Mercury • 📅 1963

“You don’t own me / I’m not just one of your many toys.” #FACTS.  🎵 “You Don’t Own Me” (💿 Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts) is an empowerment anthem to women everywhere.  🎙 Lesley Gore (1946 – 2015)  put him in his rightful place on this 1963 gem.  She continues singing in the first verse, “You don’t own me / Don’t say I can’t go with the other boys.” Basically, Gore, an independent woman, is going to do what she wants to and NO man is going to tell her otherwise.  “You Don’t Own Me” was written by 🎼 ✍ Dave White Tricker and Johnny Medora.  It was produced by an icon: 🎛 Quincy Jones.  The sound of the record hearkens back to the glory days, and features a lush, string-laden arrangement.  Furthermore, compositionally, the shift between minor and major is genius. So is the harmonic scheme in general. A huge hit, “You Don’t Own Me” peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.

Of course, the centerpiece of this uplifting, feminist anthem is the chorus, which is varied each and every time. In the second chorus, Gore asserts, “I don’t tell you what to say / I don’t tell you what to do / So just let me be myself / That’s all I ask of you.” Woo! Furthermore, Gore is “young and I love to be young / I’m free and I love to be free.” Understandable, particularly since she was only 17 when “You Don’t Own Me” was recorded and released. The big takeaway regarding 🎵 “You Don’t Own Me” is how it takes a confident stance for girls everywhere.  It’s a message of, “You do you,” and don’t let anybody, especially the boys, tell you what to do and how to live.

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Appears in 🔻:

• Lesley Gore, “You Don’t Own Me”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 20 (2023)

2. SAYGRACE, “You Don’t Own Me” (Ft. G-Eazy)

💿 FMA • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2016 

Perhaps if you from a younger generation, you just assumed that the 🎙 Grace (now 🎙 SAYGRACE) hit,  🎵 “You Don’t Own Me”, was an original.  It is understandable, considering the original song by 🎙 Lesley Gore was released in 1963.  The SAYGRACE cover appears as the ace in the hole on her 2016 debut album, 💿 FMA.  Interestingly, SAYGRACE differentiates from the original by adding a rapper feature, courtesy of the ever confident 🎙 G-Eazy.

Following the intro, G-Eazy takes first blood on “You Don’t Own Me.” In spirit with the original, Eazy makes sure he touts the independent, empowered woman. “She’s the baddest I would love to flaunt / Take her shopping, you know Yves Saint Laurent,” he raps, adding, “But nope, she ain’t with it though / All because she got her own dough…” He returns for the fourth verse, with a similar vibe: “Never borrow, she ain’t ever loan / That’s when she told me she ain’t never ever ever ever gonna be owned.” As for the star, SAYGRACE, she does a marvelous job singing. She never over nor under- sings, bringing the right balance. Likewise, the production – 🎛 Parker Ighile and Quincy Jones – is slick update of vintage 60s backdrop.  It’s classy yet also feels at home in the 2010s.  “You Don’t Own Me,” in SAYGRACE’s hands, peaked at no. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.

via GIPHY

Appears in 🔻:

• SAYGRACE, “You Don’t Own Me”: Covers No. 16 (2023)

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

🎙 Lesley Gore or 🎙 SAYGRACE?  Both artists achieved success with 🎵 “You Don’t Own Me”.  For SAYGRACE, to date, it is her biggest hit.  As for Lesley Gore, the original rendition just missed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. #EPIC.  As awesome and swagger-laden as the SAYGRACE/G-Eazy remake is, “You Don’t Own Me” will always belong to the late, great Lesley Gore.

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Lesley Gore vs. SAYGRACE: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 15 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Mercury, RCA; Antoni Shkraba via Pexels, andresilva5, talha khalil, Valentin Tikhonov via Pixabay; Nick Wang on Unsplash]