American singer-songwriter and actress Laura Ann Branigan was born on 3rd July 1952 in Mount Kisco, New York and passed away on 26th August 2004 and was a widow.
As a kid, Laura went to a Catholic school, followed by 4 years in high school, where she performed in a musical. Then as a youth, she attended a private drama school and worked as a waitress.
In 1972, she formed a folk-rock band named ‘Meadow’ and released their debut album the following year. After the group disbanded, Laura had several jobs amongst which she acted as a backup singer.
Laura got married in 1978 and a year later her singing career took off and she went on to release 3 singles. Her debut album came out in 1982, and featured the US number 2 single ‘Gloria’. This track was a cover version of the original song interpreted by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi in 1979 and became one of the greatest hits of that decade.
Branigan’s follow-up album was released the following year, and included the songs ‘Solitaire’ and ‘How am I supposed to live without You’, both cover versions of singers Martine Clemenceau and Michael Bolton respectively.
During the 80s at the peak of her career, Laura also acted in several popular TV series such as ‘Automan’, ‘CHiPs’, ‘Knight Rider’ and ‘Fox Trap’, as well as appeared in a couple of movies.
In 1984, her third album came out and included the German number 1 hit ‘Self Control’ and the Australian number 2 hit ‘Ti Amo’. Both these tracks were originally released by Italian singers Raf and Umberto Tozzi respectively and were all very successful worldwide. In addition, Laura sang in duet with other artists like John Farnham and Luis Miguel, plus interpreting songs for big movies like ‘Ghostbusters’.
Branigan took a 2-year career break to take care of her husband who had been diagnosed with colon cancer, and stopped altogether after his death. She resumed her career in 2002.
Until her demise 20 years later, Laura had 10 more albums, a box set, an EP, ,2 videos and 20 singles. In 1984, she received a Billboard Year-End Award as well as a Tokyo Music Festival Grand Prix Award for Best Vocal Performance.
Laura passed away on 26th August 2004 from an undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm at the age of 52.
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