Looking Out for Number One
Encyclopedia
"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. The album was canceled due to a contract lawsuit with her management and to this day remains unreleased officially.
single issued to radio stations as an edited 45RPM EP (w/ Stereo & Mono sides) and to clubs as an extended 12-inch 32RPM Record. Both releases of the song are the "Midnight Mix," which uses the same vocal take as the album version but a significantly different and extended version of the background arrangement. The song became a minor club hit in the United States
, reaching number 60 on the Club Play Singles chart.
On some versions of the single "Love Me Tonight", another song from the unreleased album, was on the B-side. It is unconfirmed whether the version of "Looking Out for Number One" found on this release of the single, which is extremely difficult to find as oppossed to the other two releases, is the album or Midnight Mix version of the song. "Looking Out for Number One" and its B-side are two out of four songs from the Silver Dreams album, which had a track listing of nine, to have been officially released by Atlantic Records
. The other two are "Fool's Affair," which was recorded and released at the same time by Melissa Manchester
in 1980, and a song written by Branigan called "When" which appeared as the B-side to "I Found Someone
" in 1985.
Since the mid-90's, unauthorized MP3
format copies of the 12" version have been widely circulated online. The unauthorized MP3 version is not an additional remix or a variant of the song, despite its shorter track length of 5:25. The 7 seconds of missing audio are from the very end of the song where it fades out and are nearly inaudible when listening to the actual vinyl record.
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...
nominated American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
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"...
. It was to have been the second single from her scheduled debut album, which is commonly referred to as Silver Dreams. The album was canceled due to a contract lawsuit with her management and to this day remains unreleased officially.
Background
The song was released as a promotionalPromotional recording
A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...
single issued to radio stations as an edited 45RPM EP (w/ Stereo & Mono sides) and to clubs as an extended 12-inch 32RPM Record. Both releases of the song are the "Midnight Mix," which uses the same vocal take as the album version but a significantly different and extended version of the background arrangement. The song became a minor club hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, reaching number 60 on the Club Play Singles chart.
On some versions of the single "Love Me Tonight", another song from the unreleased album, was on the B-side. It is unconfirmed whether the version of "Looking Out for Number One" found on this release of the single, which is extremely difficult to find as oppossed to the other two releases, is the album or Midnight Mix version of the song. "Looking Out for Number One" and its B-side are two out of four songs from the Silver Dreams album, which had a track listing of nine, to have been officially released by 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 other two are "Fool's Affair," which was recorded and released at the same time by 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....
in 1980, and a song written by Branigan called "When" which appeared as the B-side to "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...
" in 1985.
Since the mid-90's, unauthorized MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format copies of the 12" version have been widely circulated online. The unauthorized MP3 version is not an additional remix or a variant of the song, despite its shorter track length of 5:25. The 7 seconds of missing audio are from the very end of the song where it fades out and are nearly inaudible when listening to the actual vinyl record.
Charts
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Club Play Singles | 60 |