Laura Branigan
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1957 – August 26, 2004) 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". Branigan is also remembered for the Top 10 "Solitaire," and for the number-one Adult Contemporary hit "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You", as well as four other US Top 40 hits.
Branigan also contributed songs to notable motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning Flashdance soundtrack (1983), the Ghostbusters soundtrack (1984), and the Baywatch soundtrack (1994), as well as having songs featured in the popular Grand Theft Auto video game series.
Her signature song "Gloria" stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 36 weeks, at the time a record for a female artist. The song holds a place in the top 100 singles of both 1982 and 1983.
