Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952[nb 1] – August 26, 2004) was an American singer. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single "Gloria", stayed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist, peaking at No. 2. It also reached number one in Australia and Canada. Branigan's "Gloria" was a cover of a song written by Italian singer-songwriters Giancarlo Bigazzi and Umberto Tozzi. In 1984, she reached number one in Canada and Germany with the U.S. No. 4 hit "Self Control", which was released by Italian singer and songwriter Raf the same year. Both "Gloria" and "Self Control" were successful in the United Kingdom, making the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
This article is about the singer. For her 1990 self-titled album, see Laura Branigan (album).
Laura Branigan
August 26, 2004 (aged 52)
- Singer
- songwriter
- actress
- 1970–1996
- 2001–2004
Seeing her greatest level of success in the 1980s, Branigan's other singles included the Top 10 hit "Solitaire" (1983), the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart number one "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1983), the Australian No. 2 hit "Ti amo" (1984), her return to the top 40 "The Power of Love" (1987), and "Shattered Glass" (1987), which reached the top 15 of the U.S. dance chart. Her most successful studio album was 1984's platinum-selling Self Control. She also contributed songs to motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy and Academy Award-winning Flashdance soundtrack (1983), the Ghostbusters soundtrack (1984), and Miami Vice (1984). In 1984, she won the Tokyo Music Festival with the song "The Lucky One".
Her chart success began to wane as the decade closed and after her last two studio albums Laura Branigan (1990) and Over My Heart (1993) garnered little attention, she generally retired from public life for the rest of the 1990s.[2] She returned to performing in the early 2000s, most notably appearing as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis. As she was recording new music and preparing a comeback to the music industry, she died at her home in August 2004 from a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm.[3]
Branigan and her music saw renewed popularity and public interest in 2019 in the U.S. after "Gloria" was adopted by the NHL's St. Louis Blues as their unofficial victory song while they completed a historic mid-season turnaround to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, leading to the song entering ice hockey lore as an "unlikely championship anthem".[4] Branigan's legacy manager and representative Kathy Golik embraced the trend and traveled to St. Louis to publicly represent Branigan among the Blues fanbase during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, later stating her belief that Branigan and "Gloria" "will forever be intertwined" with the Blues and the city of St. Louis.[5]
Biography[edit]
1952–1970: Early life[edit]
Laura Ann Branigan was born on July 3, 1952, in Brewster, New York,[6] near New York City, the fourth of five children born to Irish-American parents[7] Kathleen O'Hare Branigan[8] and James Branigan Sr., an account executive and mutual funds broker; they later separated. Her younger brother William "Billy" Branigan, who was also a musician, played guitar in Branigan's backing band early in her career and later contributed to her 1993 album Over My Heart as a co-producer, arranger, guitarist, bassist and backing vocalist, in addition to co-writing the track "Over You" with his sister. He died of a heart attack on March 10, 2022, aged 65.[9] Branigan's maternal grandparents were William O'Hare Jr. (son of William John O'Hare and Agnes B. O'Connor) and Mary Conway (daughter of Francis J. Conway and Mary Teresa McGuiness).
Branigan was raised in Armonk, New York,[10] and as a child attended a Catholic school in nearby Chappaqua.[11] She attended Byram Hills High School from 1966 to 1970,[12] starring in the high school musical The Pajama Game in her senior year.[13]
Between 1970 and 1972, Branigan attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City,[13] and supported herself by working as a waitress.
1972–1980: Career beginnings[edit]
In 1972, Branigan met acoustic guitarist Walker Daniels and his future wife Sharon Storm, and acoustic guitarist Chris Van Cleave, forming the folk-rock band Meadow.[14] In 1973 the group, with bass player Bob Valdez, released their debut album The Friend Ship,[15] featuring the singles "When You Were Young", and "Cane and Able", which featured the hook line "Throw away your cane and you are able".[16][17] The record was not properly promoted and never re-released. The band broke up, after which Walker Daniels committed suicide. Branigan preferred not to discuss her involvement with Meadow publicly.
During the years after Meadow broke up, Branigan had various jobs, including a stint as one of Leonard Cohen's backup singers for his European tour in April–August 1976.[18]
Branigan met attorney Larry Ross Kruteck (1936–1996) on St. Patrick's Day March 17, 1978 at a party in Manhattan and got married after almost nine months of dating December 8, 1978.[19] Larry died of colon cancer on June 15, 1996.[6][20]
In 1979, after a chance meeting with manager Sid Bernstein on her return from Europe, Branigan was signed by Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records.[6] For several years Atlantic had difficulty classifying Branigan's powerful voice. Her pop single "Looking Out for Number One", from her unreleased album Silver Dreams, made a brief appearance on the U.S. dance chart, reaching No. 60. Two other early Atlantic singles, "Tell Him" and "Fool's Affair"/"When", followed. None of these three singles were included on her first album, but all four songs were eventually released on CD over 30 years later in 2014 as bonus cuts on a U.S. CD reissue of Branigan's first album.
Branigan's 9-track debut album, Branigan, was released in March 1982. The first single from the album was "All Night with Me", which reached No. 69 on the Billboard charts in early 1982. The album alternated four energetic up-tempo songs with five ballads, including one of the few songs written solely by Branigan, "I Wish We Could Be Alone". "Gloria", an Italian love song recorded in 1979 by Umberto Tozzi and successful in several European countries, was released as the album's second single. Branigan's version was reworked with Tozzi's own arranger, Greg Mathieson, who updated its production with fellow producer Jack White to give it what Branigan called "an American kick" to match the new English lyrics. U.S. radio stations were initially unreceptive to "Gloria", but after it was embraced by dance clubs it eventually won them over, becoming one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. The album went gold, and the single was eventually certified platinum (sales of more than two million U.S. copies). Branigan's performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance alongside Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Juice Newton and that year's winner, Melissa Manchester, becoming her only solo nomination.
In the spring of 1983, Branigan released her second album: Branigan 2. Her vocals propelled her English-language version of the French song, "Solitaire" toward the top of the U.S. charts. The original "Solitaire" was written and recorded in 1981 by French singer-songwriter Martine Clemenceau. Two songs included on the album began the careers for two then-unknowns: the English translation of "Solitaire" was the first major hit for songwriter Diane Warren, while the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" was the first major hit for its co-writer, Michael Bolton. Branigan's version reached No. 12 on the hot 100 and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.
Death[edit]
Branigan died in her sleep at her lodge in East Quogue, New York, on August 26, 2004, aged 52.[32] The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm.[32] It was reported that she had been experiencing persistent headaches for several weeks before her death, but had sought no medical attention for them.[32][33] At the time of her death, it was widely and erroneously reported that she was 47 years old, resulting from a technical error the Associated Press published after contacting Branigan's management company.[34]
Branigan was cremated, and her ashes were scattered over Long Island Sound.[35]
Studio albums