Legendary Brooklyn-born singer Lesley Gore's role in a little-known music video had had a huge effect on some children in the South Bronx. NY1's Erin Clarke filed the following report.
She was best known for "It's My Party," a smash hit in the 1960s. But to a group of kids in the south Bronx, Lesley Gore became someone who made a difference.
The children are part of a program called Kids Helping Kids. Many are in foster care or dealing with tough situations, from having a parent suffer a serious illness or pass away.
"It's really hard to get attention paid to the kids. It just is," said Chris Norwood, founder of Health People.
In the summer of 2012, they decided to make a music video with a message - that teens should carry themselves with respect by how they dress - but they didn't have the slightest idea how to do it. Their program coordinator remembered meeting Lesley Gore at a fundraiser, and sent her an email: Would she rehearse them?
The singer's reply stunned them.
"She said, you know, 'I'm not just going to rehearse them. I'm going to get them a studio. I'm going to get them director. We're going to make a real video,'" Norwood said.
She helped to oversee the shooting of the video in St. Mary's Park and took the kids to a professional studio to record their song.
"When I first saw the studio, I thought I was dreaming," said one kid in the program.
Then, Gore surprised everyone by singing along, adding her distinctive voice to the the centerpiece lyric of the song.
Her involvement made a lasting impression.
"People like that don't really come and help out kids and stuff, so for her to come and do that, that meant a lot," said one kid in the program.
They were even planning to do another song. Then came the news last month that Gore died of lung cancer.
"I was actually heartbroken," said one kid in the program.
But instead of shutting down, the group did what Gore would have wanted them to: expressed themselves through words.
"You have inspired me to do things that I have never done before, and that is another thing that I want to thank you for. Rest in peace with the angels," said one kid in the program.