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

Mark Barkan Marcus Barkan (July 4, 1934 – May 8, 2020) was an American songwriter and record producer. He was also a Music director, musical director for the television show ''The Banana Splits, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour'', which aired between Sept ...

and

Ben Raleigh Ben Raleigh (June 16, 1913, New York – February 26, 1997, Hollywood) was an American lyricist and composer responsible for a number of major hits, including " Dungaree Doll", "Wonderful! Wonderful!", "Hold on Girl", " She's a Fool", " I Don't Wa ...

, first recorded by

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

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

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

. In late April 1964, with the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

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. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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 was the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964, they had their first UK top-ten single, ...

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

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

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, Bill Evans, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall. ...

and features on Gore's third album, ''

Boys, Boys, Boys ''Boys, Boys, Boys'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the a ...

''. 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 pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when she was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most successful recording and her last top-ten single ...

". 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 "It's My Party" is a song recorded by American singer Lesley Gore on her debut studio album '' I'll Cry If I Want To'' (1963). It was released as a single on April 5, 1963, by Mercury Records. The song was written by Herb Wiener, John Gluck Jr. ...

" and " Judy's Turn to Cry." 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 (né Gerstley; 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. Biogra ...

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 (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

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'', is 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 orchestr ...

. 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 uniq ...

. 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 Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' 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