CALLING GLORIA

Laura Branigan is a classic example of a great and underrated talent whose life and career were cut short far too soon. Laura possessed an elastic alto voice with a stunning four-octave vocal range. She began her career with stints as a backing vocalist for Leonard Cohen and as a member of the group Meadow. She was signed to Atlantic Records by the legendary Ahmet Ertegun, and after much delay, her debut solo album, Branigan, was released in 1982. All the voices in your head made “Gloria,” the album’s second single, a surprise worldwide smash. The song reached #2 in the U.S., eventually spent a record-setting 36 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and racked up sales of over two million copies. In 1983 “Gloria” earned Laura her first of four Gammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance—Female. Thanks in large part to its most prominent hit single, the Branigan album went gold. Not bad for the new gal on the block.

The spring of ‘83 saw the release of Laura’s second album, the cleverly titled Branigan 2. Building on the success of the first album, Branigan 2 managed to spin off two more major hits. The Diane Warren-penned “Solitaire” sailed into the top ten on the pop charts based on the strength of Laura’s overly dramatic vocals and the track’s Euro-synth-pop sound. A little-known singer-songwriter named Michael Bolton gave her the tune “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” which settled in at #1 on the adult-contemporary chart and stayed there for three weeks. Laura’s original version is arguably better than Bolton’s eventual remake of the song he cowrote. After just two albums, it was now clear that Laura was no mere one-hit-wonder.

1984 brought the release of Self Control, her most successful album yet. The title track featured hushed, seductive vocals and a driving Euro beat. Thanks in part to a moody and rather controversial video, “Self Control” went to the top of the charts in numerous countries, became a dance-floor staple, and ended up being Laura’s biggest worldwide hit. Other hits from Self Control included the midtempo “The Lucky One” and the heartfelt ballad “Ti Amo.” One of the highlights — and biggest surprises — of the album is Laura’s aching, impassioned version of the Carole King classic “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” It’s easily one of her best performances and belongs in the collection of any Branigan or King fan.

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Welcome to double digits! This marks the tenth week of posting every song from the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1980s that peaked at #41 and beyond. I have to say that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying writing this series, especially going back and listening to the songs I hadn’t heard since I passed by them while listening to the entire collection (I did that in alphabetical order too). Big thanks for last week’s comments too. Close to 60 of them, mostly about your first music purchases, which, as I mentioned, I love to hear.

Just a short little anecdote before we get to the songs this week — I can only remember one time in my life where I’ve actually said to someone that I wished I was another person. You’d think I would’ve said Michael Jordan, Billy Joel, or some dude who got all the chicks, but back in 1989 I actually remember telling my mother that I wished I was Tone Loc. That’s right — a pale-ass Irish redhead wished he was a gravely-voiced black rapper, all because Tone Loc seemed to have an unlimited supply of Funky Cold Medina. As far as I remember, that really was the only reason, even though I’d never actually heard of medina before that (or after, come to think of it), and other than bringing all the poodles to the house, I had no idea what it really did or even was. The weird things you wish for as a kid …

Here are 20 more songs this week from artists whose names start with the letter B.

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