"That's the Way Boys Are" is a song written by

Mark Barkan Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

and

Ben Raleigh Ben Raleigh (June 16, 1913, New York – February 26, 1997, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood) was an American lyricist and composer responsible for a number of major hits, including "Dungaree Doll", "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "Hold on Girl", "She's ...

, first recorded by

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop music, pop hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), I ...

and released in March 1964 – her fifth hit single, following four consecutive top five hits on ''Billboard'''s

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. In late April 1964, with the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

in full swing, "That's the Way Boys Are" peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100; hits by UK acts

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

accounted for five of the singles in the Top Ten. The track was produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

and arranged by

Claus Ogerman Claus Ogerman (born Klaus Ogermann; 29 April 1930 – 8 March 2016) was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall. Life and wo ...

and features on Gore's third album, ''

Boys, Boys, Boys ''Boys, Boys, Boys'' is the third studio album by American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and n ...

''. Music critic William Ruhlmann called the song "a well-crafted reflection from a sympathetic and understanding female perspective on the obtuse mating habits of boys." 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 "You Don't Own Me" is a popular song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Medora, John Madara and David White (musician), David White and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when Gore was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most succe ...

". Aquila regards "That's the Way Boys Are" as one of several examples of Lesley Gore songs that regard women as dependents or passive objects, along with earlier singles " It's My Party" and "

Judy's Turn to Cry "Judy's Turn to Cry" is a song written by Beverly Ross and Edna Lewis that was originally released by Lesley Gore in 1963. The song is the sequel to Gore's prior hit "It's My Party (Lesley Gore song), It's My Party", and both songs were produced ...

." Musicologist Walter Everett described the song as one of the many 1960s sexist songs that "perpetuated a boys will be boys tolerance for male but not female infidelity." Music critic

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

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!" Rulmann described the music as "a bouncy, contemporary sound that compared favorably to the

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

style without being as ornamented." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a contagious, multi-tracked handclapper that Lesley and her choral-ork support shuffle thru in ultra-commercial manner" and praised the

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

. Subsequent to its initial release, "That's the Way Boys Are" has been released on compilation albums including ''The Golden Hits of Lesley Gore'' in 1965, ''It's My Party: The Mercury Anthology'' in 1996, ''Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows: The Best of Lesley Gore'' in 1998, ''20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection'' in 2000 and ''The Ultimate Collection 1963-1968: Start the Party Again'' in 2005. It has also been included on multi-artist compilation albums such as ''Growin' Up Too Fast: The Girl Group Anthology'' in 1996 and ''Mad Men: A Musical Companion (1960-1965)'' in 2011. "That's the Way Boys Are" was covered by

Y Pants Y Pants were an American all-female no wave band from New York City active from 1979 to 1982. The trio, made up of photographer/musician Barbara Ess, visual artist Virginia Piersol (aka Virge Piersol), and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a uni ...

. Greil Marcus commented that the Y Pants version has more tension than Lesley Gore's version, and that the Y Pants version starts with a sad, sweet ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' vocal but progresses to horrible screaming.

References

{{Authority control Lesley Gore songs 1964 songs 1964 singles Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Songs written by Mark Barkan Mercury Records singles Songs with lyrics by Ben Raleigh