Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan (July 3, 1957 – August 26, 2004) was a popular American singer/actress from Brewster, New York, best known in the U.S. for the song "Gloria" (1982). She received the first of four Grammy Award nominations for the song. Branigan introduced the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1983), making the song a standard, recorded by dozens of artists throughout the world in the years since. "Self Control" (1984) was her biggest-selling album, and the title track became an international Number One hit. Her other hits included "Solitaire," "The Lucky One" and "The Power of Love." She was of Irish and Italian ancestry.
Biography
Branigan studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and worked as a waitress while in school. She eventually got a job singing back-up vocals for Leonard Cohen, touring throughout Europe. In 1979 she was signed by Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records, but the label was at first unsure how to categorize Branigan, given the singer's strong dramatic voice with a four octave range.
She eventually recorded Branigan, the album containing "Gloria"; "Gloria" (originally recorded in Italian by Umberto Tozzi in 1979, and originally a hit only in Tozzi's native Italy) eventually became an international hit. American radio was not initially receptive to "Gloria"; the song's combination of American and European sound predated the imminent second "British Invasion" of popular music by several months. Embraced by dance clubs, especially gay clubs, it eventually won over American radio stations and propelled the song to become one of the biggest hits of the decade. The album went gold, as well as the single, and then platinum. Her vocal performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Grammy award, her first of four nominations.
In spring of 1983, Branigan released her second album, Branigan 2. By this time, the dramatic European synth-pop sound was on the rise, and appropriately, the singer's stirring vocal performance of the English version of the French song "Solitaire" drove that single to the upper reaches of the charts. In addition to cementing a place in pop history and ensuring she was not a one-hit wonder, her sophomore album's two big hits began the careers for two then-unknowns, who themselves became industry legends: The English translation of "Solitaire" was the first major hit for lyric writer Diane Warren, while the album's second hit single, the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?", was the first major hit for its cowriter, Michael Bolton. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" just missed the Top Ten on the Pop charts but spent three weeks at Number One on the Adult Contemporary airplay charts.
The year 1984 was the height of the European synth-pop era, but the striking production and sensuous, half-whispered vocals of "Self Control," the title track off Branigan's third album, took the world by storm. The song became her biggest international hit, topping the charts in several countries and was an anthem on radio and dancefloors across the world, most notably West Germany, where it spent 7 weeks at number one. Other pop, dancefloor and adult contemporary hits off the album include the melodic electropop of "The Lucky One" (which won her a Tokyo Music Festival prize), the continental ballad "Ti Amo" and the club hit "Satisfaction." That year, her live show was recorded no less than twice: once for a syndicated radio concert series, and a second time for a concert video.
By the time of Branigan's fourth album, 1985's Hold Me, "Self Control" had swept the world and territories that had not previously embraced her began to release her earlier material, from South America to the Middle East to the Pacific Islands. Lead single "Spanish Eddie" was her sixth top 40 hit in two and a half years, but failed to enter the top 20. Subsequent release "Hold Me" was a top 40 dance hit and her introduction of the rock ballad "I Found Someone" (cowritten by Michael Bolton) scored even higher on the AC chart, but neither song was supported by a music video and stalled in the lower reaches of the pop charts.
Nineteen eighty-seven's Touch marked a change in Branigan's career. Under new management and using different producers, Branigan took a more active role in her work and in the studio. The Touch album also saw her return to dancefloors with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman-produced "Shattered Glass," one of her best Hi-NRG performances. The album also included a return to the top 40 with her cover of Jennifer Rush's "The Power Of Love," which closed out the year as one of the top 20 bestselling singles of the Christmas season. The album's third single, "Cry Wolf," was considered the album's most organic production, and while it did not capture attention at pop radio, it was a top 30 AC hit.
Laura Branigan's 1990 self-titled album brought the singer back to the tops of the Hi-NRG charts and gay dancefloors with "Moonlight on Water" and scored another top 30 AC hit with "Never in a Million Years." Continuing her more active role in studio production, Branigan added producing to her list of credits with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around."
Branigan's seventh album, 1993's Over My Heart, was her most personal and eclectic album, seeing the singer again try a hand at producing, alongside the legendary Phil Ramone. The album's mature personal themes of transcendence over the loss of a loved one, the nature of commitment, and coming to terms with life after a significant relationship was a sadly ironic presaging of the turn of events her own life would take. Not long after the album's release, she largely left the music industry in 1994 to spend more time with her husband, Larry Kruteck, following his diagnosis of colon cancer. He died in 1996, and it was some years before Branigan was ready to fully return to the public sphere.
While later years showed Branigan's chart success cooling stateside, she was still in great demand around the world and went on several global tours. She remained especially popular in Australia, South Africa and Chile, where she began the first of several invitational performances in the coveted late-evening slot of the famed Viña Del Mar music festival, televised live before an audience of thousands from an open-air arena in the coastal resort city. Branigan had several official hits collections released in South America, Japan, Germany and South Africa (where, in that country alone, she had warranted three separate volumes of hits collections by 1999); her native United States was the last territory to get its own greatest hits collection. This collection was released in 1995, the 13-track The Best of Branigan. This collection included two new covers, the shimmering "Show Me Heaven," and the fun "Dim All the Lights," which was also released in several remixes.
In 2001, about to release remixes of her updated take on the 1980 ABBA hit, "The Winner Takes It All," and working on material for a new album, Branigan's bid to return to the stage was postponed when she broke both of her femurs in a fall from a ladder outside her Westchester County house. In 2002, she made a comeback as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis,, for which she won rave reviews. The same year, her second official stateside hits collection, The Essentials: Laura Branigan was for some a boon, with the inclusion of the long out-of-print "I Found Someone." Largely comprising similar tracks as her earlier collection, however, and with five of her seven studio albums now out of print, for many fans the definitive collection has yet to be released. In 2004, she enjoyed a final return to a Billboard top ten chart, for Dance Singles Sales, with a 20th anniversary re-recording of her own Italodisco smash, "Self Control."
Branigan's hit "Gloria" was first in a long line of covers she recorded that far outdid the success of the originals and were considered by many to be the quintessential versions of those songs. Three of Branigan's hit singles later became even bigger hits for other famous singers, despite their lack of her vocal prowess: "I Found Someone" for Cher in 1987; "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" for Michael Bolton in 1989; and "The Power of Love" for Celine Dion in 1994.
Most of Branigan's vivid work stood in sharp contrast to the popular opinion that her style of music was mechanized studio contrivance. Receiving rave reviews for her live performances, Laura's legendary voice (two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian-Carlo Menotti was her vocal coach) was surrounded on her albums by sharp, tight performances from some of the best studio musicians in the business, some legends themselves. The likes of guitarists Steve Lukather (Toto), Dan Huff (Giant) and Michael Landau; keyboardists Greg Mathieson, Harold Faltermeyer, Michael Boddicker and Robbie Buchanan; bassists Nathan East and Dennis Belfield (Rufus); drummer Carlos Vega; percussionists Paulinho Da Costa and Lenny Castro; and background vocalists including The Waters Sisters (Maxine & Julia), James Ingram, and Richard Page & Stephen George (Mr. Mister) were all repeat guests. Early producers included Jack White, Mathieson, Buchanan and Faltermeyer. As her stature grew, she attracted Grammy-winning producers including Phil Ramone, Richard Perry and David Kershenbaum. Successful foreign artists sought to work with her, and she performed duets with Australian megastar John Farnham on the heels of his releasing the most successful Australian album to date, as well as Latin pop phenomenon Luis Miguel. She was also a favorite guest performer on several of the most popular talk and music shows of the day, with ultimately as much as a dozen appearances each on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, Dick Clark's American Bandstand and Solid Gold.
The singer occasionally made acting appearances, first in 1981 in An American Girl in Berlin for German television, and then after the success of "Gloria," guest appearances on American television series such as CHiPs and Automan. She would later do independent films such as Mugsy's Girls (aka Delta Pi, 1985) with the venerable Ruth Gordon, and the Australian film Backstage (1988). She sang on major national television and radio campaigns for products including Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola and Chrysler, who sponsored her 1985-1986 tour.
Her sudden death on August 26, 2004 was attributed to a brain aneurysm, which also caused the deaths of her father and her paternal grandfather.
In 2005, a memorial for her friends and fans was held on the anniversary of her death near the Long Island home in which she was caring for her mother at the time of her death. Its success has led to plans for it becoming an annual event, and in future years it is expected to turn into a celebration of her life and the legacy of her passionate vocal performances and the heartfelt connection she made with her fans, who, in several interviews and from the stage, she would refer to as "my other half."
Controversy
In the early 1970's, Branigan was briefly a lead singer in a band named "Meadow," cowriting and singing a few songs on the band's album The Friend Ship (released 1973). This was before Branigan toured with Leonard Cohen and by the 1980's she refused to acknowledge she ever had any connection with the band Meadow or the 1973 album.
In the spring of 1984, academy award-winning film director William Friedkin (French Connection, The Exorcist) became one of the first major directors to shoot a music video, Branigan's "Self Control." Tame not only by today's standards and even by those of a few months later, MTV nevertheless refused to air the clip, despite the song's massive, multiformat popularity (top 5 pop, dance, and adult contemporary), demanding it be re-edited. Branigan stood up against this censorship and for the artistic vision she and auteur Billy Friedkin had conceived, taking to the media to press her case. MTV kept their ban in place all summer long until after the song had peaked and fallen from the top 10. While Branigan's record company recut the video against her better judgment, MTV only aired the version they had requested, a handful of times before dropping it from their playlist. That Christmas on the channel, Madonna was writhing on the floor in a bustier, wedding dress over her head, and being ravaged by lion-headed men in the canals of Venice in "Like A Virgin," and Duran Duran's loinclothed "Wild Boys" were ravaging each other. MTV never apologized, never ceased lowering its threshold of decency, and never promoted a Laura Branigan video again. Mirroring the song's lyrics, the video follows the singer as she prepares for a night out, then walks along stylized city streets, followed by a mysterious man in a white mask. Entering through a door, she is led down a flight of stairs and into a club where an odd cast of characters are caught in something between a dance and an orgy, though all remain fully clothed. Branigan, drawn into the crowd for a moment, chases--or flees from--her desires down a hallway filled with doors and ultimately into a room where the masked man pulls her to him. At the end of the song, she wakes up in bed next to the man, still masked; as the sun streams through the window, he vanishes. According to Branigan, the storyline for the "Self Control" video was inspired by a real-life incident in which she, needing transportation to get to her voiceover job, accepted a ride with a man who instead took the then 18-year-old singer to a club similar to that portrayed in the video and then tried to proposition her for a date and sex. Laura said she didn't even realize until afterward that this man was a pimp.
By the late 1990's, a website was made using the name laurabranigan.com. After several years it was apparent to many Branigan fans (some of whom call themselves "Branifans" or "Fanigans") this website had no authorized connection to the singer herself. In an effort to provide her and her fans with a more comprehensive and respectful site, a new Laura Branigan fan website at LauraBraniganOnline.com was created in November 2002. Branigan herself endorsed LauraBraniganOnline.com as her sole official website in January 2004. Currently, both websites can be found on the Web.
Discography
Official U. S. Album Releases
| Title | Label | Year Released |
|---|---|---|
| Branigan | Atlantic | 1982 US #34 |
| Branigan 2 | Atlantic | 1983 US #29 |
| Self Control | Atlantic | 1984 US #23, UK #16 |
| Hold Me | Atlantic | 1985 US #71, UK #64 |
| Touch | Atlantic | 1987 US #87 |
| Laura Branigan | Atlantic | 1990 US #133 |
| Over My Heart | Atlantic | 1993 |
| The Best of Branigan | Atlantic | 1995 |
| The Essentials: Laura Branigan | Atlantic/Warner Strategic | 2002 |
Hit singles
| Title | Year | US Pop Peak | US AC Peak | US Dance Peak | Cashbox | ARC Wkly Top 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Gloria" | 1982 | 2 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| "Solitaire" | 1983 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 8 | 6 |
| "How Am I Supposed to Live without You" | 1983 | 12 | 1 | ~ | 13 | 10 |
| "Self Control" | 1984 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| "The Lucky One" | 1984 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 22 | 16 |
| "Ti Amo" | 1984 | 55 | 22 | ~ | 54 | 38 |
| "Satisfaction" | 1985 | ~ | ~ | 24 | ~ | ~ |
| "Spanish Eddie" | 1985 | 40 | 29 | 26 | 37 | 32 |
| "Hold Me" | 1985 | 82 | ~ | 39 | 79 | - |
| "I Found Someone" | 1986 | 90 | 25 | ~ | 81 | - |
| "Shattered Glass" | 1987 | 48 | 27 | 13 | 51 | - |
| "The Power of Love" | 1987 | 26 | 19 | ~ | 29 | 17 |
| "Cry Wolf" | 1988 | - | ~ | - | ||
| "Moonlight On Water" | 1990 | 59 | ~ | 44 (NRG 4) | 58 | - |
| "Never In A Million Years" | 1990 | - | 22 | ~ | - | |
| "Dim All The Lights" | 1995 | - | - | 36 | - | |
| "Self Control 2004" | 2004 | ~ | ~ | 10 | ~ | ~ |
Figures are for Billboard charts unless otherwise noted
~ (Title unreleased in that format)
Filmography
Movies
| Title | Credit | Year Released |
|---|---|---|
| Flashdance | Soundtrack, songs, "Imagination," "Gloria" | 1983 |
| Ghostbusters | Soundtrack, song, "Hot Night" | 1984 |
| Body Rock | Soundtrack, song, "Sharpshooter" | 1984 |
| Mugsy's Girls | Actress, Monica | 1985 |
| Violets Are Blue | song, "One Day" | 1986 |
| Backstage | Actress, Kate Lawrence | 1988 |
| Coming to America | Soundtrack, songs, "Come Into My Life" [Duet with Joe Esposito], "Believe In Me" | 1988 |
| Salsa | Soundtrack, song, "Your Love" | 1988 |
Television
| Title | Credit | Year |
|---|---|---|
| CHiPs (NBC) | Series, song, "A Love Until The End Of Time" | 1982 |
| Saturday Night Live (NBC) | Series, musical guest | 1982 |
| CHiPs (NBC) | Series, actress, Sarah; songs, "Gloria," "Down Like A Rock" | 1983 |
| Love Is Forever (NBC) | Movie, title song, "Love Is Forever" | 1983 |
| Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve (ABC) | Special, performer, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" | 1983 |
| Automan (ABC) | Series, actress, Jessie Cole; songs, "Gloria," "Hot Night," "Satisfaction" | 1984 |
| Cover Story (USA Cable) | Celebrity bio series, 1 episode devoted to Laura interview, behind the scenes footage, videos | 1984 |
| A Solid Gold Christmas (Syndicated) | Special, performer, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"/"Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" | 1984 |
| Miami Vice | Series, Song, "Self Control" | 1984 |
| Hollywood Wives (ABC) | Miniseries, title song, "Hollywood Wives" | 1985 |
| Disney's Living Seas (ABC) | Special, on-camera performer/composer, song, "If I Were A River" | 1986 |
| Record Guide '88 (Syndicated) | Music series, 1 episode devoted to Laura interview, videos | 1988 |
| SRO: In Concert (Syndicated) | Hour-long concert series, 1 episode devoted to Laura live in Atlantic City | 1990 |
| Baywatch (Syndicated) | Series, soundtrack; end credits song, "I Believe" | 1994 |
Other notable work
Theater
| Title | Credit | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Love, Janis (Off-Broadway, NYC) | Singer, Janis Joplin | 2002 |
Video games
| Title | Credit | Year Released |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Soundtrack, songs, "Self Control" | 2002 |
External links
- Official Website
- http://www.laurabraniganonline.com/scstory.htm - Branigan describes the inspiration behind the "Self Control" video
- Billboard news story: Laura Branigan Dies Of Aneurysm
- Laura Branigan at IMDb