Laura Branigan

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Laura Ann Branigan July 3 1952 August 26 2004 was an American singer songwriter and actress Her signature song the platinumcertified 1982 single Gloria stayed on the US Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks then a record for a female artist peaking at No 2 It also reached number one in Australia and Canada In 1984 she reached number one in Canada and Germany with the US No 4 hit Self Control She also had success in the United Kingdom with both Gloria and Self Control making the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart Seeing her greatest level of success in the 1980s Branigans other singles included the Top 10 hit Solitaire 1983 the US AC chart number one How Am I Supposed to Live Without You 1983 the Australian No 2 hit Ti amo 1984 and The Power of Love 1987 Her most successful album was 1984s platinumselling Self Control She also contributed songs to motion picture and television soundtracks including the Grammy and Academy Awardwinning Flashdance soundtrack 1983 and the Ghostbusters soundtrack 1984 In 1985 she won the Tokyo Music Festival with the song The Lucky One Her chart success began to wane as the decade closed and after her last two albums Laura Branigan 1990 and Over My Heart 1993 garnered little attention she generally retired from public life for the rest of the 1990s She began returning to performing in the early 2000s most notably appearing as Janis Joplin in the offBroadway musical Love Janis As she was recording new music and preparing a comeback to the music industry she died at her home in August 2004 from a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm