AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Laura Branigan

Artist:Laura Branigan
Song:Gloria
Album:The Best Of Branigan





Laura Branigan had a monster worldwide hit with her adaptation of the Italian hit Gloria. She had several more hits in the 80s. She retired from music in the 90s but returned to touring until her 2004 death. She was born July 3, 1957 in Brewster, NY. She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and then toured as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen for most of the 70s. She signed with Atlantic Records in 1979 but she changed management and the resulting lawsuit delayed her recording career for a couple of years. She did record an album but it was shelved after a couple of singles flopped. Her debut album Branigan was released in 1982 and Gloria reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a huge worldwide hit. It also appeared in the 1983 hit film Flashdance. I think it's fair to say that it's Laura Branigan's signature song. Gloria was written and originally recorded by Italian singer songwriter Umberto Tozzi. He recorded it as a love song. German producer Jack White (real name-Horst Nussbaum) suggested the song to Laura. He hired Canadian songwriter Trevor Veitch to write English lyrics that had nothing to do with the original song. Veitch was the guy behind Toni Basil's Mickey. White and co-producer Greg Mathieson attempted to record Gloria mid-tempo but found it worked better as a dance track. Jack White produced several of Laura's hits including her other big hit Self Control. He also produced David Hasselhoff among others. Laura Branigan had several 80s hits which you can get on this budget comp. She faded when she switched producers in 1987 and never could recreate the magic of Gloria. Laura quit the music business in 1994 when her lawyer husband Larry Kruteck was diagnosed with cancer. After his 1996 death, Laura returned to touring. She was a big draw in Europe. She died of a brain aneurysm on Aug. 26, 2004 at age 47. Here's the video for Gloria by Laura Branigan.