Laura Ann Branigan was born on 3 July 1952, and is best known for her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single 'Gloria', which stayed on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for a female artist. It also reached number one in Australia and Canada, and the Top Ten in the UK. The track was a cover of a song written by Italian singer-songwriters Giancarlo Bigazzi and Umberto Tozzi, and in 1984 she reached number one in Canada and Germany and No. 4 in the U.S. with 'Self Control', another a cover of an Italian song, this time by singer/songwriter Raf. Prior to the success of 'Gloria', she'd released one single in 1978 on the Liberty Television' label, with 'Memories' being the theme song for Liberty's first made-for-television movie 'Calloway's Climb'. After signing to Atlantic Records, they released three singles in an effort to break her into the mainstream charts, and although none of them were successful, they did agree tor record an album with her. 'Silver Dreams' was due to come out in 1981, but was cancelled due to a contract lawsuit with her management, and remains unreleased to this day, although some tracks have turned up on the re-issue of her 1982 'Branigan' album. Her greatest level of success was in the 1980's, with the Top 10 hit 'Solitaire' in 1983, the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart number one 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without You' the same year, and her return to the top 40 in 1987 with 'The Power Of Love'. Her chart success began to wane as the decade closed and after her last two studio albums, 'Laura Branigan' in 1990 and 'Over My Heart' in 1993, garnered little attention, she generally retired from public life for the rest of the 1990's. She died at her home in August 2004 from a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm, at the age of just 52. As a reminder of that most successful part of her career in the early 80's, here is the full version of that cancelled 1981 debut album.
Track listing
01 When
02 Fool's Affair
03 Looking Out For Number One
04 Helping Mama Bring The Groceries In
05 Leave Me Blind
06 Love Me Tonight
07 Don't Close Your Eyes
08 I'm Just Warmin'
09 Tell Him
10 Silver Dreams
