Best known for the hit \"Gloria,\" she died of a brain aneurism.

I remember hearing her song "Self Control" on one of the very first times I went to a gay bar by myself. I may have heard it on the radio before that point, but it was hearing it in the club that really sticks out in my mind. Rest in peace, Laura.

I read this in my paper this morning and was shocked and stunned. 47 years of age. Thats awful!!!! I wil always remember dancing up a sweat to many of Laura's huge dance hits. "Gloria" will always be associated with Laura Brannigan in my mind. What a huge talent loss. Like you said Joe. May you rest in peace Laura.... frown

[ August 29, 2004, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

OH MY GOSH! An 80s pop icon is gone. This has stunned me. RIP, Laura. "Self Control" was one of my fave songs when I was in high school.

Wow so young to die.

I saw her at Great Adventure park in New Jersey in the mid 80's and I stood about 20 feet from her. She was very sexy. I remember her saying "This next song is about heartbreak and being dumped, but of course this has never happened to me !"

Wow, this also surprises me. It's so sad. She wasn't my favorite singer, but I did like many of her songs. Favorite Brannigan songs: Gloria, Self Control, Solitaire, The Lucky Ones, Moonlight On Water and her remake of Dim All The Lights.

It's always sad to hear familiar names passing.

The only song of hers I remember is "Gloria". The first time I heard it was on my very first trip to New York City in the early 80's. My partner and I were both tweaked on black beauties and were dancing our asses off at the Anvil, where you could still buy drink tickets at 5am. I swear the disco mix of that song was about an hour long. We finally got out of the Anvil at about 8am...

Billsf, thank you for the vivid recollection! I have not heard the words "black beauties" in years!!

Well puckman1, although we're much older now, it just goes to show that we could really really party with the best of them back then.

Allright Billsf, who you calling much older now????? I prefer more mature and dignified. wink

Well, to remember when "Gloria" first came out and to recognize what "black beauties" are, I think you can pretty much say we're old.

wink

Hey, I'm not THAT old. I was in High School with Gloria came out. It was a big hit also my freshmen year of college when a hurricane by the same name came through.

My Mom use to sing the song in the car taking me to pre-school. I still dig the song.

[ August 30, 2004, 07:13 AM: Message edited by: Allen ]

Hear a sample of "Self Control" on Tower.com. I loved this song.

I just heard "Gloria" the other day (on a British radio station via the internet, of all places). I still remember the first time I heard it -- I thought it was a new Donna Summer single. Indeed it's one of the best Summer imitations ever and one of the great pop singles of the '80s.

Man ... you guys are OLD!!! wink

I'm kidding.

So, what was she doing prior to her death?

I didn’t hear about Laura Branigan’s passing until last night. While she is most widely known for her beautiful hit single, “Gloria” (#2, 1982), she also had a string of 6 more Top 40 hits (all in the 1980's). Of those hits, her most notable were, “Self Control” (#4, 1984), “Solitaire” (#7, 1983), and “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?” (#12, 1983). While she did have one more Top 100 single in the 1990's “Moonlight On Water” (#59, 1990), she resorted to such moves as a duet with the infamous crooner, David Hasselhoff, for the
"Baywatch" Soundtrack. Her sudden death reminded me of another female singer with a very similar style, Nicolette Larson, who died of a cerebral edema in 1997 at age 45. I think the successful early 80's careers of female singers such as Branigan, Larson, Olivia Newton-John, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper, and Kim Carnes were cut short by the sudden emergence of a new style of female pop music, such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, and Paula Abdul. While Branigan’s career will forever be linked to the 1980's, she should be admired for her passionate vocal style, which can be heard in most of the songs for which she will be remembered.

[ September 04, 2004, 07:18 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

To quote one of her songs: I could hardly believe it...when I heard the news today...

Her songs were some of my favorites from that era, when I was in high school: Gloria, Solitaire, Self Control, The Lucky One, Spanish Eddie....

I thought her best work, though, was on a later album, Touch, which contained the moderate hit Shattered Glass. The final song, Cry Wolf still gives me chills when I listen to it. It also contains her version of The Power of Love. As much as I like Celine Dion, Laura's version was far superior. That was one of at least three Branigan songs that went on to be bigger hits by other artists (the other two being, How Am I Supposed to Live Without You and I Found Someone.)

Like you guys, I miss that era when there were so many good female (and male) vocalists, who placed more emphasis on melody and straight-forward singing than on production. Sure, production values were important back then, and Branigan was a dramatic singer, but give me the straight-forward belters like Branigan, Linda Ronstadt, Pat Benatar, Grace Slick, and Ann Wilson anyday over the overwrought riffs and histrionics of today's Mariah Careys and Christina Aguileras.

[ August 30, 2004, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Just4Kxx ]

I think "Gloria" was the first 45 I ever bought as a kid. Boy, that makes me feel old.

I always thought Laura Branigan had a lot of talent. I had one of her later albums (the one with "Shattered Glass" and "Power of Love") and thought it had some great songs on it. I think the reason she was never a bigger star was because she didn't project much personality to go along with her great voice. In her videos and tv performances (remember "Solid Gold"?), she always came across as a bit stiff to me. It's a shame, because she could really belt out a song.

I was out this weekend with friends who told me about that and I was shocked. Can I just tell you that - until this moment five days later when I looked at JIP's post - I was thinking Laura Fabian died. You know, the Celine Dion wannabe who sang "I Will Love Again."