Laura Branigan
Encyclopedia
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian
and Irish
ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control
". Branigan is also remembered for the Top 10 "Solitaire
," and for the number-one Adult Contemporary hit "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
", as well as four other US Top 40 hits.
Branigan also contributed songs to notable motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning Flashdance
soundtrack (1983), the Ghostbusters
soundtrack (1984), and the Baywatch
soundtrack (1994), as well as having songs featured in the popular Grand Theft Auto
video game series.
Her signature song "Gloria" stayed on the Billboard Hot 100
for 36 weeks, at the time a record for a female artist. The song holds a place in the top 100 singles of both 1982 and 1983.
Ms. Branigan died at her home in East Quogue, New York, on August 26, 2004. The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed brain aneurysm.
's backup singers for his European tour.
In 1979
Branigan was signed by Ahmet Ertegun
to Atlantic Records
. The strength of her alto voice, with its four-octave range, ironically impeded her career for a couple of years while the label went through the process of categorizing her. She was finally categorized as a pop singer
and a single called "Looking Out for Number One
" made a brief appearance on the U.S. Dance chart. Two other early Atlantic singles, "Tell Him" and "Fool's Affair", followed. None of these three singles (or the B-side "When") were included on her first album or ever reissued on any compilation LP or CD to date. Her first solo album Branigan
was released in 1982; the first single from this album was "All Night With Me," which hit #69 on the Billboard charts in early 1982. Her first reviews saw her voice compared to both Donna Summer
and Barbra Streisand
, both of whom had enjoyed iconic Disco
hits.
Branigan
, the nine-song debut 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," originally an Italian love song recorded by Umberto Tozzi
in 1979
(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. American radio was initially unreceptive 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 the song became one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. The album went Gold, and the single was eventually certified Platinum (for sales of more than two million U.S. copies). Branigan's vocal performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Grammy Award (alongside Linda Ronstadt
, Olivia Newton-John
, Juice Newton
, and that year's winner, Melissa Manchester
); "Gloria" marked Branigan's only solo nomination
. The following year she received a second nomination as one of the various artists on the Flashdance original soundtrack album when it was nominated for Album of the Year. The album also won the Best Soundtrack Grammy but, as this award is given only to the composers, Branigan was not nominated.
In the spring of 1983 Branigan released her second album, Branigan 2
. By this time, the dramatic European synth-pop sound was on the rise, and Branigan's vocals propelled her English-language version of the French song "Solitaire" to the upper reaches of the U.S. charts. The original "Solitaire" was written and recorded in 1981 by French singer-songwriter Martine Clemenceau. In addition to cementing a place in pop history and ensuring she was not a one-hit wonder, her second 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 songwriter 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 co-writer, Michael Bolton
. Branigan's debut recording of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" reached #12 on the Hot 100 and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
The 1983 film Flashdance
contained two Laura Branigan songs, "Gloria" and a new song, "Imagination." The latter song was included on the Grammy Award
winning Flashdance soundtrack
, which reached #1 and sold more than six million copies in the U.S. alone.
", the title track of Branigan's third album, became her biggest hit. The song became her most popular international hit, topping the charts in several countries, most notably West Germany, where it spent six weeks at #1. The original version of "Self Control," recorded a few months earlier in 1984 by one of the song's co-writers Raffaele Riefoli
(under the name Raf), held the West German number-two spot during this time period; outside of Raf's native Italy, Branigan's version enjoyed more success.
Other pop, dancefloor and adult contemporary hits from Branigan's Self Control album include "The Lucky One" (which won her a Tokyo Music Festival
prize), the continental ballad "Ti Amo" (another Umberto Tozzi hit, and a #2 hit in Australia for Branigan) and the Dance hit "Satisfaction." The album also featured an understated version of Carole King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"; as a counterpoint to all the disco production, it was a bare-bones piano version. (In concerts and television appearances throughout her career, Branigan accompanied herself on the piano for the song.) That year Branigan's live show was recorded twice, for a syndicated radio concert series and a concert video. Branigan was also nominated for an award at the American Music Awards of 1985
for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist (though Cyndi Lauper
won the award). Also in 1985 Branigan performed the main theme song for the highly rated television mini-series Hollywood Wives
, based on the novel by Jackie Collins
.
By the time of Branigan's fourth album, 1985's Hold Me, "Self Control" was a world-wide success. The hits continued with "Spanish Eddie," which was her sixth US Billboard Top 40 Pop hit in two and a half years. The subsequent single release "Hold Me" was a U.S. top 40 dance hit, and Branigan's introduction of the rock ballad "I Found Someone" (cowritten by Michael Bolton, and later a hit for Cher
) scored even higher on the Adult Contemporary chart. However, neither song was supported by a music video and stalled in the lower reaches of the Hot 100 chart.
Touch, which was released in 1987, 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. Touch saw her return to dancefloors with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman
-produced "Shattered Glass", written by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe. The album also included a return to the Billboard Top 40 with her cover of Jennifer Rush
's "The Power of Love," which was one of the top 20 bestselling singles in the United States during Christmastime. The album's third single, "Cry Wolf," did not capture attention at pop radio and stalled. The ballad was recorded two years later by Stevie Nicks
, and more recently by writer Jude Johnstone
.
During the height of her career, Branigan also 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
, Automan
and Knight Rider. She would later do independent films such as Mugsy's Girls (aka Delta Pi, 1985) with Academy Award winner Ruth Gordon
, and the Australian film Backstage
. She sang on major national television and radio campaigns for products including Dr Pepper
, Coca-Cola
and Chrysler
, which sponsored her 1985-1986 "Hold Me" tour.
charts and gay
clubs with "Moonlight On Water
", and she scored a Top-30 Adult Contemporary hit with "Never in a Million Years". Branigan added production to her list of credits with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson
's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around" and the atmospheric "Let Me In," a cover of an Eddie Money
song. The album also included "Unison," which was the title track for Celine Dion
's English debut CD in the same year. The album's closing track, a cover of Bryan Adams
' "The Best Was Yet to Come," was produced and arranged by Branigan herself. The singer's 1990-1991 concert tour was filmed for a syndicated U.S. television show, SRO in Concert, which was also released on videocassette and laserdisc
(though not on DVD
, to date.)
On Branigan's seventh and final studio album, 1993's Over My Heart
, the singer again produced (with Phil Ramone
), wrote and arranged. The album included a cover of Roxette
's song "The Sweet Hello, the Sad Goodbye," and "Is There Anybody Here But Me?" (Pessis, Wells), a smooth mid-tempo number.
Branigan was married to Larry Kruteck, a lawyer 20 years her senior, in December 1981. Not long after the Over My Heart
album's release, Branigan left the music industry in 1994 to spend more time with Kruteck following his diagnosis of colon cancer. He died on June 15, 1996.
During these years, Branigan's chart success cooled in the United States, though she was still in demand around the world and went on several global tours. Branigan had official hit collections released in South America, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and the United States. The United States collection was released in 1995: The 13-track The Best of Branigan and included two newly recorded covers: "Show Me Heaven
" (written by Maria McKee
) and the Donna Summer
hit "Dim All the Lights
", which Branigan released in several remixes.
Branigan's vocal coach was Carlo Menotti
and she worked with Steve Lukather
(Toto
), Dann 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 guest vocalists including Joe "Bean" Esposito
and background vocalists including The Waters Sisters (Maxine & Julia), James Ingram
, and Richard Page
and Stephen George
(Mr. Mister
). As her stature grew, she attracted Grammy-winning producers including Phil Ramone
, Richard Perry
and David Kershenbaum
. She performed duets with John Farnham
as well as Latin pop artist Luis Miguel. She also appeared frequently on various television shows, including The Merv Griffin
Show, Dick Clark
's American Bandstand
, Solid Gold, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
.
In 2001 Branigan's return to the stage was postponed when she broke both of her femur
s in a fall. In 2002 she performed twice as the "singing" Janis Joplin
in the off-Broadway
musical Love, Janis, before dropping out of the show. "I left Janis because the producers didn't file with Equity
properly", she told the Sunday News
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "I was sort of relieved. My voice isn't anything like Janis Joplin's, and there were 19 of her songs in the show."
Also in 2002 her second official United States hits collection, The Essentials: Laura Branigan
, was released, including the long out-of-print hit "I Found Someone
".
, on August 26, 2004. The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed brain aneurysm. It was reported in the media that she had been experiencing headaches for several weeks before her death but did not seek medical attention. Her ashes were scattered over Long Island Sound
.
In 2005, Other Half Entertainment organized a memorial for Branigan's friends and fans, 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. Following its initial success, the "Spirit of Love Memorial Gathering" remains an annual event in celebration of her life and the legacy of her passionate vocal performances and the heartfelt connection she made with her fans, whom she consistently referred to as "my other half".
Between 2006 and the present, Branigan's management company worked regularly with Warner Music Group entities in the production and release of various new greatest hits compilations. The Platinum Collection is an 18-song compilation including all the major hits as well as tracks such as "Silent Partners", "Satisfaction", "All Night With Me" and "If You Loved Me", that were four relatively new additions to Branigan hits compilations. In 2007, the 1995 "The Best of Branigan" was re-released as part of Rhino's 2007 "Greatest Hits" series of CDs. In 2008, Rhino/WEA authorized the re-release of three out-of-print Branigan albums, Touch, Laura Branigan and Over My Heart. In June 2010, Shine On: The Ultimate Collection
was released, which for the first time, incorporated a region-free DVD featuring official Atlantic music videos to 10 of Branigan's songs in addition to an 18-track CD including Forever Young which made its return to the greatest hits compilations. The CD contains an edited version of the hit "Solitaire".
At Byram Hills High School
in Armonk, New York
, the Laura Branigan Memorial Scholarship is given annually to a senior for excellence in the Performing Arts.
Compilation albums
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
and Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control
Self Control (song)
"Self Control" is the name of an international hit song recorded in 1984 by Laura Branigan, as well as the album on which it appears. The song was recorded that same year with the same English lyrics by Italian singer Raf, who co-wrote the song with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Branigan's...
". Branigan is also remembered for the Top 10 "Solitaire
Solitaire (Laura Branigan song)
-Background:The song originated as a 1981 recording in French by Martine Clemencau for whom "Solitaire" was a modest hit with a French chart peak of #50 on the French pop charts where it remained for 22 weeks. Written by Clemencau herself, the French version of "Solitaire" concerned a recluse who...
," and for the number-one Adult Contemporary hit "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song originally recorded by Laura Branigan in 1983. The song was recorded later the same decade by its co-writer, Michael Bolton.-Background:...
", as well as four other US Top 40 hits.
Branigan also contributed songs to notable motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
soundtrack (1983), the Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
soundtrack (1984), and the Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
soundtrack (1994), as well as having songs featured in the popular Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
video game series.
Her signature song "Gloria" stayed on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for 36 weeks, at the time a record for a female artist. The song holds a place in the top 100 singles of both 1982 and 1983.
Ms. Branigan died at her home in East Quogue, New York, on August 26, 2004. The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed brain aneurysm.
Early career
In the early 1970s Branigan was a member of the band, Meadow, which recorded one album in 1973 called The Friend Ship. The record was never re-released, and Branigan preferred not to discuss her involvement with Meadow publicly. During the years after Meadow broke up, she had various jobs, including a stint as one of Leonard CohenLeonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
's backup singers for his European tour.
In 1979
1979 in music
See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...
Branigan was signed by Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. The strength of her alto voice, with its four-octave range, ironically impeded her career for a couple of years while the label went through the process of categorizing her. She was finally categorized as a pop singer
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and a single called "Looking Out for Number One
Looking Out for Number One
"Looking Out for Number One" is a single by Grammy Award nominated American singer Laura Branigan. It was to have been the second single from her scheduled debut album, which is commonly referred to as Silver Dreams...
" made a brief appearance on the U.S. Dance chart. Two other early Atlantic singles, "Tell Him" and "Fool's Affair", followed. None of these three singles (or the B-side "When") were included on her first album or ever reissued on any compilation LP or CD to date. Her first solo album Branigan
Branigan
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Joe Chemay - background vocals* Bob Glaub - bass guitar* Jim Haas - background vocals* Jon Joyce - background vocals* Michael Landau - guitar* Steve Lukather - guitar...
was released in 1982; the first single from this album was "All Night With Me," which hit #69 on the Billboard charts in early 1982. Her first reviews saw her voice compared to both Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, both of whom had enjoyed iconic Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
hits.
Branigan
Branigan
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Joe Chemay - background vocals* Bob Glaub - bass guitar* Jim Haas - background vocals* Jon Joyce - background vocals* Michael Landau - guitar* Steve Lukather - guitar...
, the nine-song debut 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," originally an Italian love song recorded by Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Antonio Tozzi is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most internationally famous song is "Gloria" -Biography:...
in 1979
1979 in music
See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...
(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
Jack White (producer)
Jack White is a music composer and producer.- Musical work :White started out as a songwriter/producer for German singers in the early 70s and then developed an international style mainly as a producer...
to give it what Branigan called "an American kick" to match the new English lyrics. American radio was initially unreceptive 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
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
clubs, it eventually won over American radio stations and the song became one of the biggest hits of the 1980s. The album went Gold, and the single was eventually certified Platinum (for sales of more than two million U.S. copies). Branigan's vocal performance of "Gloria" was nominated for a Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Grammy Award (alongside Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
, Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
, and that year's winner, Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
); "Gloria" marked Branigan's only solo nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
. The following year she received a second nomination as one of the various artists on the Flashdance original soundtrack album when it was nominated for Album of the Year. The album also won the Best Soundtrack Grammy but, as this award is given only to the composers, Branigan was not nominated.
In the spring of 1983 Branigan released her second album, Branigan 2
Branigan 2
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
. By this time, the dramatic European synth-pop sound was on the rise, and Branigan's vocals propelled her English-language version of the French song "Solitaire" to the upper reaches of the U.S. charts. The original "Solitaire" was written and recorded in 1981 by French singer-songwriter Martine Clemenceau. In addition to cementing a place in pop history and ensuring she was not a one-hit wonder, her second 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 songwriter Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
, while the album's second hit single, the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," was the first major hit for its co-writer, Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
. Branigan's debut recording of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" reached #12 on the Hot 100 and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
The 1983 film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
contained two Laura Branigan songs, "Gloria" and a new song, "Imagination." The latter song was included on the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning Flashdance soundtrack
Flashdance (soundtrack)
-Chart positions:AlbumSingles-References:...
, which reached #1 and sold more than six million copies in the U.S. alone.
Height of her career
The year 1984 was the height of the European synth-pop era, and "Self ControlSelf Control (song)
"Self Control" is the name of an international hit song recorded in 1984 by Laura Branigan, as well as the album on which it appears. The song was recorded that same year with the same English lyrics by Italian singer Raf, who co-wrote the song with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Branigan's...
", the title track of Branigan's third album, became her biggest hit. The song became her most popular international hit, topping the charts in several countries, most notably West Germany, where it spent six weeks at #1. The original version of "Self Control," recorded a few months earlier in 1984 by one of the song's co-writers Raffaele Riefoli
Raffaele Riefoli
Raffaele Riefoli is an Italian popular singer who is better known as simply Raf.-Biography:...
(under the name Raf), held the West German number-two spot during this time period; outside of Raf's native Italy, Branigan's version enjoyed more success.
Other pop, dancefloor and adult contemporary hits from Branigan's Self Control album include "The Lucky One" (which won her a Tokyo Music Festival
Tokyo Music Festival
The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1991. It was organised by the Tokyo Music Festival Association...
prize), the continental ballad "Ti Amo" (another Umberto Tozzi hit, and a #2 hit in Australia for Branigan) and the Dance hit "Satisfaction." The album also featured an understated version of Carole King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"; as a counterpoint to all the disco production, it was a bare-bones piano version. (In concerts and television appearances throughout her career, Branigan accompanied herself on the piano for the song.) That year Branigan's live show was recorded twice, for a syndicated radio concert series and a concert video. Branigan was also nominated for an award at the American Music Awards of 1985
American Music Awards of 1985
The 12th Annual American Music Awards were held on January 28, 1985.-Pop/Rock Category:-Soul/R&B Category:-Country Category:...
for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist (though Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
won the award). Also in 1985 Branigan performed the main theme song for the highly rated television mini-series Hollywood Wives
Hollywood Wives
Hollywood Wives is a 1983 novel by the British author Jackie Collins. It was her ninth novel, and her most successful.Hollywood Wives tells the stories of several women in Hollywood, ranging all the way from long-time talent agents and screenwriters to vivacious screen vixens and young, innocent...
, based on the novel by Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...
.
By the time of Branigan's fourth album, 1985's Hold Me, "Self Control" was a world-wide success. The hits continued with "Spanish Eddie," which was her sixth US Billboard Top 40 Pop hit in two and a half years. The subsequent single release "Hold Me" was a U.S. top 40 dance hit, and Branigan's introduction of the rock ballad "I Found Someone" (cowritten by Michael Bolton, and later a hit for Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
) scored even higher on the Adult Contemporary chart. However, neither song was supported by a music video and stalled in the lower reaches of the Hot 100 chart.
Touch, which was released in 1987, 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. Touch saw her return to dancefloors with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
-produced "Shattered Glass", written by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe. The album also included a return to the Billboard Top 40 with her cover of Jennifer Rush
Jennifer Rush
Jennifer Rush is an American/German-based pop/rock singer, best known for the million-selling single "The Power of Love", which she co-wrote and which went on to be covered by Laura Branigan and Celine Dion.-Career:...
's "The Power of Love," which was one of the top 20 bestselling singles in the United States during Christmastime. The album's third single, "Cry Wolf," did not capture attention at pop radio and stalled. The ballad was recorded two years later by Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
, and more recently by writer Jude Johnstone
Jude Johnstone
Jude Johnstone is an American singer-songwriter. Her songs have been covered by Laura Branigan, Trisha Yearwood, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Johnny Cash, Stevie Nicks and others. Johnstone wrote the #1 song "The Woman Before Me" on Yearwood's debut CD, which also won an award from...
.
During the height of her career, Branigan also 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
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, Automan
Automan
Automan is an American science fiction superhero television series produced by Glen A. Larson. It aired for only 12 episodes on ABC between 1983 and 1984.-Synopsis:...
and Knight Rider. She would later do independent films such as Mugsy's Girls (aka Delta Pi, 1985) with Academy Award winner Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
, and the Australian film Backstage
Backstage (1988 film)
Backstage is a 1988 Australian film starring American singer Laura Branigan. The film was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Jonathan Hardy, who had also written Breaker Morant....
. She sang on major national television and radio campaigns for products including Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
and Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, which sponsored her 1985-1986 "Hold Me" tour.
Later years
Branigan's 1990 self-titled album brought the singer back to the Hi-NRGHi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
charts and gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
clubs with "Moonlight On Water
Moonlight on Water
"Moonlight on Water", also known as "Moonlight on Water ", is a popular music song written by Steve Kipner, best known for writing Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", and Andy Goldmark....
", and she scored a Top-30 Adult Contemporary hit with "Never in a Million Years". Branigan added production to her list of credits with her cover of Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson was an American theatre and film actress and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."-Early life and career:...
's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around" and the atmospheric "Let Me In," a cover of an Eddie Money
Eddie Money
Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
song. The album also included "Unison," which was the title track for Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's English debut CD in the same year. The album's closing track, a cover of Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
' "The Best Was Yet to Come," was produced and arranged by Branigan herself. The singer's 1990-1991 concert tour was filmed for a syndicated U.S. television show, SRO in Concert, which was also released on videocassette and laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
(though not on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, to date.)
On Branigan's seventh and final studio album, 1993's Over My Heart
Over My Heart
Over My Heart, released in 1993, is the seventh and final studio album by singer Laura Branigan.Over My Heart was Branigan's most personal album and saw her again try her hand at producing, alongside successful producer Phil Ramone...
, the singer again produced (with Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
), wrote and arranged. The album included a cover of Roxette
Roxette
Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...
's song "The Sweet Hello, the Sad Goodbye," and "Is There Anybody Here But Me?" (Pessis, Wells), a smooth mid-tempo number.
Branigan was married to Larry Kruteck, a lawyer 20 years her senior, in December 1981. Not long after the Over My Heart
Over My Heart
Over My Heart, released in 1993, is the seventh and final studio album by singer Laura Branigan.Over My Heart was Branigan's most personal album and saw her again try her hand at producing, alongside successful producer Phil Ramone...
album's release, Branigan left the music industry in 1994 to spend more time with Kruteck following his diagnosis of colon cancer. He died on June 15, 1996.
During these years, Branigan's chart success cooled in the United States, though she was still in demand around the world and went on several global tours. Branigan had official hit collections released in South America, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and the United States. The United States collection was released in 1995: The 13-track The Best of Branigan and included two newly recorded covers: "Show Me Heaven
Show Me Heaven
Australian singer Tina Arena released her version of the song as the fifth single for her 1994 album Don't Ask.-Chart performance:-Other cover versions:...
" (written by Maria McKee
Maria McKee
Maria Luisa McKee is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with Lone Justice and her 1990 UK solo chart-topping hit, "Show Me Heaven".-Music:...
) and the Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
hit "Dim All the Lights
Dim All the Lights
"Dim All the Lights" is a song by Donna Summer released as a single in the latter half of 1979. Taken from her Bad Girls album and produced by longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder with Pete Bellotte, the track combines Summer's trademark disco beats with a more soulful/R&B-esque sound...
", which Branigan released in several remixes.
Branigan's vocal coach was Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
and she worked with Steve Lukather
Steve Lukather
Steve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
(Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
), Dann Huff
Dann Huff
Dann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...
(Giant
Giant (band)
Giant is an American melodic hard rock band that was formed in 1987.The band consisted of founding members Dann Huff and Alan Pasqua , and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello on bass....
) and Michael Landau
Michael Landau
Michael Landau is a prolific session musician and guitarist who has played on a large number of albums since the early 1980s with artists as varied as Seal, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis...
; keyboardists Greg Mathieson, Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer
Harold Faltermeyer is a German musician, keyboardist, composer and record producer.He is recognized as one of the composers/producers who best captured the zeitgeist of 1980s synth-pop in film scores...
, Michael Boddicker
Michael Boddicker
Michael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
and Robbie Buchanan
Robbie Buchanan
Robbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
; bassists Nathan East
Nathan East
Nathan Harrell East is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego...
and Dennis Belfield (Rufus
Rufus (band)
Rufus was an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," and "Ain't Nobody."-Origins:...
); drummer Carlos Vega; percussionists Paulinho Da Costa
Paulinho Da Costa
Paulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
and Lenny Castro
Lenny Castro
Lenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
; and guest vocalists including Joe "Bean" Esposito
Joe Esposito (singer)
Joe Esposito is a Grammy winning American singer/songwriter whose career spans from the 1970s to the present day. Esposito's songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Labelle, and Stephen Stills and others.-Biography:...
and background vocalists including The Waters Sisters (Maxine & Julia), James Ingram
James Ingram
James Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...
, and Richard Page
Richard Page (musician)
Richard Page , is an American musician who is the lead singer and bassist of 1980's US band Mr. Mister and is now a songwriter and solo artist.-Early life:...
and Stephen George
Steve George (keyboardist)
Steve George is an American keyboard player, who is perhaps best known as the keyboardist for the 1980s band, Mr. Mister. He co-wrote many of the Mr. Mister songs, together with his childhood friend, Mr...
(Mr. Mister
Mr. Mister
Mr. Mister is an American pop rock band most popular in the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report album called Mr. Gone where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as...
). As her stature grew, she attracted Grammy-winning producers including Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
, Richard Perry
Richard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
and David Kershenbaum
David Kershenbaum
David Kershenbaum is an American record producer and entrepreneur, born in Springfield, Missouri. He has worked with many artists including Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Joe Jackson, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Cat Stevens, Elkie Brooks, and Tori Amos. As a producer he has earned 75 international gold...
. She performed duets with John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
as well as Latin pop artist Luis Miguel. She also appeared frequently on various television shows, including The Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
Show, Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, Solid Gold, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
.
In 2001 Branigan's return to the stage was postponed when she broke both of her femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
s in a fall. In 2002 she performed twice as the "singing" Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
in the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
musical Love, Janis, before dropping out of the show. "I left Janis because the producers didn't file with Equity
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
properly", she told the Sunday News
Sunday News
The Sunday News is a New Zealand tabloid newspaper published each weekend by the Fairfax group in Auckland. In addition to a self-described 'punchy' take on the news, it features coverage of weekend sport, entertainment, star gossip, fashion and TV listings.The Sunday News has editorial offices in...
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "I was sort of relieved. My voice isn't anything like Janis Joplin's, and there were 19 of her songs in the show."
Also in 2002 her second official United States hits collection, The Essentials: Laura Branigan
The Essentials: Laura Branigan
The Essentials: Laura Branigan was released in 2002 and was the second greatest-hits collection of singer Laura Branigan that was issued in the United States...
, was released, including the long out-of-print hit "I Found Someone
I Found Someone
"I Found Someone" is the name of a chart single originally written and composed for Laura Branigan by Michael Bolton and Touch keyboardist Mark Mangold...
".
Death
Branigan died at her home in East Quogue, New YorkEast Quogue, New York
East Quogue, originally settled in 1673 as Fourth Neck, is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 4,265 at the 2000 census.East Quogue is in the Town of Southampton.-Geography:...
, on August 26, 2004. The cause was attributed to a previously undiagnosed brain aneurysm. It was reported in the media that she had been experiencing headaches for several weeks before her death but did not seek medical attention. Her ashes were scattered over Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
.
Legacy
Other Half Entertainment, Branigan's management company at the time of her death, continues to oversee her career legacy through her official website, www.LauraBraniganOnline.com, her official MySpace and Facebook pages, by taking part in various media opportunities, as well as through relationships with Warner Music Group and other entertainment industry entities. Other Half Entertainment serves as the comprehensive, official voice for her legacy interests, while keeping Laura's artistic visions and standards at the heart of its operations.In 2005, Other Half Entertainment organized a memorial for Branigan's friends and fans, 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. Following its initial success, the "Spirit of Love Memorial Gathering" remains an annual event in celebration of her life and the legacy of her passionate vocal performances and the heartfelt connection she made with her fans, whom she consistently referred to as "my other half".
Between 2006 and the present, Branigan's management company worked regularly with Warner Music Group entities in the production and release of various new greatest hits compilations. The Platinum Collection is an 18-song compilation including all the major hits as well as tracks such as "Silent Partners", "Satisfaction", "All Night With Me" and "If You Loved Me", that were four relatively new additions to Branigan hits compilations. In 2007, the 1995 "The Best of Branigan" was re-released as part of Rhino's 2007 "Greatest Hits" series of CDs. In 2008, Rhino/WEA authorized the re-release of three out-of-print Branigan albums, Touch, Laura Branigan and Over My Heart. In June 2010, Shine On: The Ultimate Collection
Shine On: The Ultimate Collection
Shine On: The Ultimate Collection is a digitally remastered two-disc greatest hits compilation album from American singer Laura Branigan. It is the Grammy-nominated vocalist's first multi-disc collection and her first music video compilation...
was released, which for the first time, incorporated a region-free DVD featuring official Atlantic music videos to 10 of Branigan's songs in addition to an 18-track CD including Forever Young which made its return to the greatest hits compilations. The CD contains an edited version of the hit "Solitaire".
At Byram Hills High School
Byram Hills High School
Byram Hills High School is a four-year co-educational public secondary school located in Armonk, New York. Its principal is Mr. Chris Borsari and its vice principals are Chris Walsh and Ken Cotrone. It is the only secondary school within the Byram Hills Central School District and serves...
in Armonk, New York
Armonk, New York
Armonk is a hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of North Castle in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,330....
, the Laura Branigan Memorial Scholarship is given annually to a senior for excellence in the Performing Arts.
Discography
Studio albums- BraniganBranigan- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Joe Chemay - background vocals* Bob Glaub - bass guitar* Jim Haas - background vocals* Jon Joyce - background vocals* Michael Landau - guitar* Steve Lukather - guitar...
(1982) - Branigan 2Branigan 2- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
(1983) - Self Control (1984)
- Hold Me (1985)
- Touch (1987)
- Laura BraniganLaura Branigan (album)Laura Branigan is the sixth album by singer Laura Branigan, released in 1990.The album's second single, "Never In A Million Years", was an AC hit for Branigan. The album also brought the singer back to the tops of the Hi-NRG charts and dancefloors with its first single, "Moonlight On Water", and a...
(1990) - Over My HeartOver My HeartOver My Heart, released in 1993, is the seventh and final studio album by singer Laura Branigan.Over My Heart was Branigan's most personal album and saw her again try her hand at producing, alongside successful producer Phil Ramone...
(1993)
Compilation albums
- The Best of Laura BraniganThe Best of Laura BraniganJapanese version...
(1988) - The Very Best of Laura BraniganThe Very Best of Laura BraniganThe Very Best of Laura Branigan is a collection of American singer Laura Branigan's greatest hits released only in Europe on November 15, 1992 The album includes fifteen hits and a new 'Classic Summer Mix' of Branigan's biggest international hit "Self Control". An American greatest hits, The Best...
(1992) - The Best of Branigan (1995)
- The EssentialsThe Essentials: Laura BraniganThe Essentials: Laura Branigan was released in 2002 and was the second greatest-hits collection of singer Laura Branigan that was issued in the United States...
(2002) - The Platinum CollectionThe Platinum Collection (Laura Branigan album)The Platinum Collection is the first greatest hits collection of American singer Laura Branigan that was released posthumously. It was released only in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2006, however is available as an import in other regions. The album is part of the Warner Platinum series released...
(2006) - Shine On: The Ultimate CollectionShine On: The Ultimate CollectionShine On: The Ultimate Collection is a digitally remastered two-disc greatest hits compilation album from American singer Laura Branigan. It is the Grammy-nominated vocalist's first multi-disc collection and her first music video compilation...
(2010)
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Mugsy's Girls Mugsy's Girls Mugsy's Girls is a 1985 film starring pop singer Laura Branigan and Ruth Gordon about a sorority that travels to Las Vegas to enter a mud wrestling competition in order to raise the money to save their house... |
Monica | Also known as Delta Pi |
| 1988 | Backstage Backstage (1988 film) Backstage is a 1988 Australian film starring American singer Laura Branigan. The film was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Jonathan Hardy, who had also written Breaker Morant.... |
Kate Lawrence | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than... |
Herself | Performer of "Gloria" |
| Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture... |
Herself | Performer of "Gloria" and "Living a Lie" | |
| 1983 | CHiPs CHiPs CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol... |
Sarah | Guest star in "Fox Trap" (Season 6, Episode 16) |
| A Solid Gold Christmas Solid Gold (TV series) Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos... |
Herself | Performer of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | |
| Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest is a television program that airs every New Year's Eve on ABC. It has been hosted by Dick Clark since its first airing on Sunday, December 31, 1972. Ryan Seacrest has been the program's co-host since the December 31, 2005 telecast... |
Herself | Performer of "How am I Supposed to Live Without You" and "Solitaire" | |
| 1984 | Automan Automan Automan is an American science fiction superhero television series produced by Glen A. Larson. It aired for only 12 episodes on ABC between 1983 and 1984.-Synopsis:... |
Jessie Cole | Guest star in "Murder MTV" (Season 1, Episode 9) |
| Laura Branigan In Concert Laura Branigan (video) Laura Branigan is the first video released by American pop-singer Laura Branigan.It was released internationally in VHS and Laserdisc format through Columbia Pictures Home Video, which also released live concerts for many other famous singers of the time, including Pat Benatar.The show was filmed... |
Herself | Her concert live from Caesars Tahoe | |
| Rock Rolls On | Herself | Co-host, Performer of "Self Control" and "The Lucky One" | |
| 1985 | Cover Story | Herself | Biography |
| 1986 | Disney's Living Seas | Herself | Performer and composer of "If I Were a River" |
| 1988 | Record Guide '88 | Herself | Interview |
| 1990 | SRO: In Concert Laura Branigan in Concert Laura Branigan In Concert is the second video released by American pop-singer Laura Branigan.It was aired on Television through the syndicated concert series, SRO: In Concert, before being released internationally on VHS and Laserdisc.... |
Herself | Her concert live from Atlantic City |
| 1991 | Monsters Monsters (TV series) Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.In a similar vein to Tales from the... |
Amanda Smith-Jones | Guest star in "A Face for Radio" (Season 3, Episode 19) |
| Theater | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Love, Janis | Janis Joplin Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band... |
Off-Broadway, New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Group | Category | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... s |
Best Pop Vocal Performance — Female | "Gloria Gloria (Laura Branigan song) "Gloria" is a pop song originally written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, which -with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch- became an international hit for Laura Branigan in 1982-83, selling more than two million singles in the US alone.-Origins:Umberto Tozzi... " |
Nominated |
| 1983 | Album of the Year | "Imagination" (Flashdance soundtrack Flashdance (soundtrack) -Chart positions:AlbumSingles-References:... ) |
Nominated^ | |
| 1984 | American Music Awards American Music Awards -Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC... |
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist | "Self Control Self Control (song) "Self Control" is the name of an international hit song recorded in 1984 by Laura Branigan, as well as the album on which it appears. The song was recorded that same year with the same English lyrics by Italian singer Raf, who co-wrote the song with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Branigan's... " |
Nominated |
| Tokyo Music Festival Tokyo Music Festival The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1991. It was organised by the Tokyo Music Festival Association... |
Grand Prix Award for Best Vocal Performance | "The Lucky One The Lucky One (Laura Branigan song) "The Lucky One" is the second single released from the 1984 album Self Control by Laura Branigan. It was a moderate-sized hit in the United States reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart and number 13 on the Adult Contemporary chart... " |
Won |
- ^ This nomination was not awarded to Laura Branigan alone.