Shattered Glass (Laura Branigan song)
Encyclopedia
"Shattered Glass" is a song written by Bob Mitchell and Steve Coe which was recorded by Laura Branigan
with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman production team to serve as the first single released from Branigan's fifth album, the 1987 release Touch.
"Shattered Glass" was one of two tracks Branigan cut with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman team. Originally the Touch album was to totally be a collaboration with producer David Kershenbaum
but after completing her recording with Kershenbaum, Branigan, who was especially interested in scoring a strong hit single as her previous album release Hold Me had only produced a mild hit in "Spanish Eddie
" (#40), made an overnight foray to the UK to record at the PWL Studios in London with Stock/Aitken/Waterman, that team currently enjoying massive chart success with releases by such acts as Rick Astley
, Bananarama
, Dead or Alive
, Jason Donovan
and Kylie Minogue
. Besides "Shattered Glass", the PWL session produced Branigan's recording of "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" a Stock/Aitken/Watrman original previously recorded (1984) by Hazell Dean
.
"Shattered Glass" was issued as a single in the US in June of 1987 with "Statue in the Rain", a track recorded for Touch with David Kershenbaum and omitted from the album to accommodate the inclusion of the Stock/Aitken/Waterman tracks, serving as the B-side; the 12" single version of the track was remixed by Pete Hammond. A music video
was made to promote "Shattered Glass", featuring Afa Anoa'i
, a wrestler known, with his brother, as one of The Wild Samoans. A performance by Branigan on the 9/5/1987 broadcast of American Bandstand
gave "Shattered Glass" the distinction of being the final track to be promoted by a guest star on the major network edition of American Bandstand but by the time of Branigan's American Bandstand appearance the failure of "Shattered Glass" as a comeback vehicle for Branigan was evident, the single having stalled at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100
that August.
Billboard
did afford "Shattered Glass" hit status on its dance charts: #13 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
chart and #15 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
, and also on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart (#27). "Shattered Glass" was also the last Laura Branigan single to register in several international markets, although it only attained significant chart impact in Switzerland at #26 and Denmark at #6, the last-named being the final evident Top Ten placing by Branigan on a national chart.
Bryan Buss of AllMusic would later write that, from an album that contained "so many...successfully evocative cuts...lead single 'Shattered Glass'...stand(s) out; you can hardly hold back from caroling along" - "[Branigan's] big, boomy voice...has never sounded better".
"Shattered Glass" appears on the 2007 re-release of Touch on Wounded Bird Records
and on the collections The Essentials: Laura Branigan
and The Platinum Collection
.
A remake of "Shattered Glass" by Natalie Powers
was released on Liberty City Records - June 2009.
12" single
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"...
with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman production team to serve as the first single released from Branigan's fifth album, the 1987 release Touch.
Background
The song had originally been produced by Mitchell and Coe for Scottish singer Ellie Warren in 1980; Warren recalls "all the [radio] stations and media were totally behind ["Shattered Glass"], but the record wasn't serviced properly. When the radio was playing it to death, you couldn't buy it in the shops - a ludicrous situation.""Shattered Glass" was one of two tracks Branigan cut with the Stock/Aitken/Waterman team. Originally the Touch album was to totally be a collaboration with producer 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...
but after completing her recording with Kershenbaum, Branigan, who was especially interested in scoring a strong hit single as her previous album release Hold Me had only produced a mild hit in "Spanish Eddie
Spanish Eddie
"Spanish Eddie" was the lead single from Laura Branigan's fourth album, Hold Me. The single was produced by Jack White and arranged by Harold Faltermeyer. A moody black-and-white photo appeared on the picture sleeve and the single was promoted by a music video. Released in July 1985, the record...
" (#40), made an overnight foray to the UK to record at the PWL Studios in London with Stock/Aitken/Waterman, that team currently enjoying massive chart success with releases by such acts as Rick Astley
Rick Astley
Richard Paul "Rick" Astley is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries...
, Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
, Dead or Alive
Dead or Alive (band)
Dead or Alive were a British New Wave band from Wirral, England, United Kingdom, Europe. The band rose to fame in the 1980s with their number one single on the UK Singles Chart, "You Spin Me Round ". They were the first group to have a number one single under the production team Stock Aitken Waterman...
, Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
. Besides "Shattered Glass", the PWL session produced Branigan's recording of "Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)" a Stock/Aitken/Watrman original previously recorded (1984) by Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...
.
"Shattered Glass" was issued as a single in the US in June of 1987 with "Statue in the Rain", a track recorded for Touch with David Kershenbaum and omitted from the album to accommodate the inclusion of the Stock/Aitken/Waterman tracks, serving as the B-side; the 12" single version of the track was remixed by Pete Hammond. A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was made to promote "Shattered Glass", featuring Afa Anoa'i
Afa Anoa'i
Arthur "Afa" Anoa'i, Sr. is a Samoan American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring in the 1990s, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild Samoan Training Facility.-Early life:Anoa'i was born in Samoa, but...
, a wrestler known, with his brother, as one of The Wild Samoans. A performance by Branigan on the 9/5/1987 broadcast of 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...
gave "Shattered Glass" the distinction of being the final track to be promoted by a guest star on the major network edition of American Bandstand but by the time of Branigan's American Bandstand appearance the failure of "Shattered Glass" as a comeback vehicle for Branigan was evident, the single having stalled at #48 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...
that August.
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
did afford "Shattered Glass" hit status on its dance charts: #13 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart and #15 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
, and also on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart (#27). "Shattered Glass" was also the last Laura Branigan single to register in several international markets, although it only attained significant chart impact in Switzerland at #26 and Denmark at #6, the last-named being the final evident Top Ten placing by Branigan on a national chart.
Bryan Buss of AllMusic would later write that, from an album that contained "so many...successfully evocative cuts...lead single 'Shattered Glass'...stand(s) out; you can hardly hold back from caroling along" - "[Branigan's] big, boomy voice...has never sounded better".
"Shattered Glass" appears on the 2007 re-release of Touch on Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records is a CD only, re-issue record label, that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from both popular and lesser known artists, including Deborah Harry, Chic, David Blue, Marilyn Martin, Gordon Haskell, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Ellen...
and on the collections 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...
and The Platinum Collection
The 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...
.
A remake of "Shattered Glass" by Natalie Powers
Natalie Powers
Natalie Powers is a British solo recording artist and lead vocalist of the pop group Scooch, which represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.-Early career:...
was released on Liberty City Records - June 2009.
Track listings
7" single- "Shattered Glass" – 3:40
- "Statue in the Rain" – 4:16
12" single
- "Shattered Glass" (12" Vocal mix) – 7:14
- "Shattered Glass" – 3:40
- "Statue in the Rain" – 4:16
Charts
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
60 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
6 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
43 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
26 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
78 |
| U.S. 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... |
48 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
15 |