I just found out that she died on Thursday. She was Celine Dion before Celine was Celine Dion.

What were your fave songs of hers? mine were Self Control and The Lucky One

I just now found out as I'm watching the news, she had a brain aneurysm in her sleep. Sorry to hear that, she was cool. Definitely did the better version of How Am I Supposed To Live Without You. I pretty much liked all her singles, Self Control was my favorite.

This is such sad news... :(

"Self Control" and "Gloria" were my two favorites.

I'm listening to her right now, musically this is probably the saddest death for me since Freddie Mercury. I LOVED Laura's 80's records.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002IGR.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

My favorites were "Gloria" and "Self Control"

RIP Laura thanks for the music :(

She sung the theme song to the 80s mini series "Hollywood Wives." I LOVE that song.

I love her song "Gloria". It's sad that she died so young. :(

:(


I was surprised to hear about her death this morning.
She had some good songs back in the 1980's.


:(

Originally posted by vashti1999
I just now found out as I'm watching the news, she had a brain aneurysm in her sleep. Sorry to hear that, she was cool. Definitely did the better version of How Am I Supposed To Live Without You. I pretty much liked all her singles, Self Control was my favorite.

You're right, Laura Branigan did the original version of "How Do I Supposed to Live Without You" before the song was remade by Michael Bolton and it was a big hit in early 1990.

I felt bad all day since I found out Laura Branigan died. I've always loved her music and her truly beautiful voice.

She reminded me of my sister too.

RIP Laura - We'll miss you:(

Originally posted by Full House
You're right, Laura Branigan did the original version of "How Do I Supposed to Live Without You" before the song was remade by Michael Bolton and it was a big hit in early 1990.

I think her version of How Am I... is better than Bolton's even though Bolton wrote it.

AOL has a condolences board.

I cannot believe the crap... a lot of "who the hell is she?" posts. Followed by "she's just a one-hit-wonder" and even more "oh, who cares besides gay men?" posts. I cannot believe the audacity of these people. For example, I was never a fan of Reagan, but I never posted nasty things about him following his death, as well as other celebrities/politicians who've died that I didn't like.


How is she a one hit wonder? Yes, Gloria will forever be her signature song, but how can you say Self Control, Solitaire and How Am I Supposed To Live Without You also weren't big hits? Not every female artist of the 80's had the type of career someone like Madonna, Whitney or Janet had.

Would it make me a bad music fan if I admitted I don't recall hearing of her until about two days ago?

Originally posted by AKA
Would it make me a bad music fan if I admitted I don't recall hearing of her until about two days ago?

well, I'm not sure if she's your style of music. I have heard people describe her as a cross between Donna Summer and Celine Dion. She sang ballads and dance music. But you probably have at least heard Gloria and Self Control in your life, those were her two biggies. Her peak was roughly 1982-1985

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
well, I'm not sure if she's your style of music. I have heard people describe her as a cross between Donna Summer and Celine Dion. She sang ballads and dance music. But you probably have at least heard Gloria and Self Control in your life, those were her two biggies. Her peak was roughly 1982-1985 You're probably right. I've probably heard the songs; I just wouldn't connect them to the name.

But based on posts on this board and other boards I post at, I'd say she has a lot of fans.

Laura's discography

1982 Branigan
contained "Gloria" (#2) and "All Night With Me" (#69)

1983 Branigan 2
contained "Solitarie" (#7), "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" (#12) and "Deep In The Dark" (dance hit)

1984 Self Control - her biggest selling album
contained "Self Control" (#4), "The Lucky One" (#20) and "Ti Amo" (#55)

1985 Hold Me
contained "Spanish Eddie" (#40), "Hold Me" (#82) and "I Found Someone" (#90, remade by Cher and went top 10)

1987 Touch
contained "The Power Of Love" (#26, remade by Celine Dion and went #1) and "Shattered Glass" (#48)

1990 Laura Branigan
contained "Moonlight On Water" (#57) and "Never In A Million Years" (Adult Contemporary hit)

1993 Over My Heart
contained "Love Your Girl" (dance hit)

1995 The Best Of Branigan
her greatest hits, but also contained a remake of Donna Summer's "Dim All The Lights"

she had released a few one-off singles since, but her last studio album was 11 years ago

I guess when I think of Laura Branigan I think of the scene in Flashdance where Alex's friend, Jeannie, is participating in the ice show and the song playing is "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. Also, when that song was big there was a little girl who lived down the street from me named Gloria.

Originally posted by dukey
I guess when I think of Laura Branigan I think of the scene in Flashdance where Alex's friend, Jeannie, is participating in the ice show and the song playing is "Gloria" by Laura Branigan. Also, when that song was big there was a little girl who lived down the street from me named Gloria.

the sad irony is that the actress who played Jeannie also died of the same thing Laura died from

It's sad she had to die espically at an age like 47.

But to be honest I never really cared for her music at all. I always thought Celine did The Power Of Love much more justice than Laura ever could.

my friend Rob, who is probably the biggest Laura Branigan fan you'll ever meet, emailed me this



10 Reasons Why Laura Branigan Was Cool

1. Without a doubt, Branigan will always be remembered for her 1982 hit "Gloria." While the song was maligned by hipsters and punk rockers at the time (partially because it was so omnipresent — it spent 36 weeks on the Billboard charts), it's one of the most memorable Top 40 songs from that era.

2. Branigan got her start with none other than the king of cool, Leonard Cohen. Branigan scored a gig as one of Cohen's back-up singers and toured with him throughout the late '70s.

3. Driven as both a singer and an actress, Branigan knew from an early age that she wanted to perform. Not just some hack singer, she honed her craft early on, attending the Academy Of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan.

4. Branigan was almost a Bond girl. Originally tapped to sing "All Time High," the theme to Octopussy, she ultimately lost out to Rita Coolidge.

5. Branigan translated her fame to a minor acting career, appearing in the TV show CHiPs and the movie Mugsy's Girl.

6. While some may debate the actual coolness of this fact, Branigan was smart enough to work with a young Michael Bolton before he managed to find his own fame. Bolton co-wrote Branigan's 1983 hit "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You."

7. Beating out Celine Dion by a long run, Branigan recorded a kick-ass version of the Jennifer Rush hit "The Power Of Love" in 1987 that puts Celine's version to shame.

8. It was hard to see a movie in the '80s without hearing Laura Branigan on the soundtrack. Her songs were present in flicks like Ghostbusters, Flashdance and Coming To America.

9. After her husband Lawrence Kruteck died in 1996, Branigan all but retired, although she was working on a comeback. She returned to the studio in 2001, released a Greatest Hits compilation in 2002 and appeared as Janis Joplin in the musical Love, Janis.

10. Above all, Laura Branigan was an amazing singer. She had an impeccable flare for choosing songs and delivered each track with drama and passion. She will be missed.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
the sad irony is that the actress who played Jeannie also died of the same thing Laura died from

Really? I didn't know this. When did it happen?

Here is a piece of interesting trivia:in late 1987, at the same time
Laura Branigan had her last top 40 hit "Power Of Love", Michael
Bolton had his first top 40 hit as a singer, "That's What Love Is
All About"

Originally posted by dukey
Really? I didn't know this. When did it happen?

Sunny Johnson (Jeannie) died barely a year after Flashdance came out, in June 1984.

also, Laura had her last charting single, Moonlight On Water, when Michael Bolton's #1 rendition of Laura's How Am I Supposed To Live Without You was still on the chart.

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
Sunny Johnson (Jeannie) died barely a year after Flashdance came out, in June 1984.

That's sad. I actually watched Flasdance last night after reading your post concerning Sunny Johnson's death. She was way too young to die.

Originally posted by dukey
That's sad. I actually watched Flasdance last night after reading your post concerning Sunny Johnson's death. She was way too young to die.

I agree, another thing that is surprising is just how long ago her death was too. I mean, Flashdance has probably been seen many many times after she died yet people watching it don't realize that Jeannie's dead, and has been dead since a year after the movie came out.

this is a website that discusses Sunny's brief life and tragic death, she was only 30 years old
Find A Grave - Sunny Johnson (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5004389&pt=Sunny%20Johnson)

Another example of this that surprised me was the guy who played Buck in Who's That Girl, I had no idea he died in 1987 even tho I'd seen the movie many many times.

Thanks for the information Buffy. I checked out the sight. It was a nice tribute to her.:)