Gloria (Laura Branigan song)
Encyclopedia
"Gloria" is a pop song originally written and composed in Italian
by Umberto Tozzi
and Giancarlo Bigazzi, which -with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch
- became an international hit for Laura Branigan
in 1982-83, selling more than two million singles in the US alone.
That summer Tozzi's recording entered the Italian Top Ten for a stay of sixteen weeks, six of them at #2. It spent four weeks at #1 in both Switzerland
and - in a translated version - Spain
. That same year saw Tozzi's "Gloria" achieve hit status in Austria
(#4), Belgium
(#3 on the French chart), the Netherlands
(#21), France
(#3) and Germany
, where the track reached #13 http://tsort.info/music/8w9fef.htm despite a cover version
by Gerd Christian.
The original version of "Gloria" was a love song as was the first attempt at an English version, which was cut by Jonathan King
(#65 UK 11/1979).
Tozzi's hit "Gloria" is one of the most internationally known Italian modern songs, just after Domenico Modugno
's Volare
.
, the first released album by Laura Branigan
.
The 1982
release was on Atlantic Records
, produced
by Jack White
and Greg Mathieson. It was White - a native of Germany - who suggested Branigan cut Tozzi's song; Branigan would recall her reaction: "I went hmmm, because it was so soft and so European sounding. But we gave it the American kick and rewrote the lyrics and off she went."
It has been noted that the riff on which White and Mathieson based the arrangement for Branigan's version of "Gloria" resembles the chorus of the Olivia Newton-John
hit "Physical
"; eventually Branigan made her last Hot 100 appearance with "Moonlight on Water
", written and composed by "Physical" composer Steve Kipner
. Branigan would tell People
Weekly Magazine that she and her producers at first attempted an English version of Tozzi's "Gloria" in the romantic mode of the original, changing the title to "Mario," but this seemed ineffective. Ultimately Branigan would record "Gloria" with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch, lyrics which completely re-invented the song as a character study addressing a woman living in the fast lane and effectively urging her to slow down the pace of her life.
Although another selection, "All Night With Me," was chosen as Branigan's lead-off single, Branigan also performed "Gloria" during her promotional TV appearances at the time of the album's release in early 1982 and that track was released as a single in the summer, first becoming a disco
favorite and gradually accruing radio support to debut on the pop charts. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 on July 10, 1982. After a slow climb, the single peaked at number two on November 27, 1982. Cash Box would rank the track as #1. "Gloria" remained in the Top 40 for 22 weeks: its total Hot 100 residency of 36 weeks established a new record for a single by a solo female act. Certified platinum for sales of two million in the US alone, Branigan's "Gloria" was also an international success, most notably in Australia
where it held the #1 position for seven weeks from 7 February to 21 March 1983. "Gloria" also took Branigan to the Top Ten charts in the UK (#6), Ireland
(#4), New Zealand (#6) and South Africa
(#9). In Italy Branigan's "Gloria" reached #36.
"Gloria" earned Branigan a nomination for the Best Pop Vocal Performance Female Grammy Award
for the year 1982. Though she did not herself win, the track which did, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You
," performed by Melissa Manchester
, showed the influence of the Eurodisco
sound which Branigan had popularized in the US with "Gloria." This influence was even more strongly evident the following year as evinced by no less than three of Grammy's Pop Performance Female nominees: "Flashdance... What a Feeling
" by Irene Cara
, "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)
" by Sheena Easton
(written by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch) and "She Works Hard for the Money
" by Donna Summer
. Branigan herself was not nominated in this category for the year 1983 - as a contributor to the Album of the Year contender Flashdance
she received a second Grammy nomination. Although Branigan was represented on Flashdance by the track "Imagination," in the film itself "Gloria" is more prominently featured - being the music to which the character played by Sunny Johnson
performs her ice-skating routine.
A re-recording of "Gloria" in a Hi-NRG
style was made by Branigan a few months before her death in August 2004: the track was released as "Gloria 2004." The previous year, Branigan had characterized "Gloria" as "really [not] my biggest hit, but it certainly is my signature song. And I always get the same reaction wherever I go and whenever I perform it....I have to end every show with that song and people just go crazy. 'Gloria' was just a great girl!"
Prior to Laura Branigan's version repeating its US success in the UK British singer Elkie Brooks
covered
"Gloria" but Brooks' version was unreleased prior to inclusion on the 1986 compilation The Very Best of Elkie Brooks
.
In 1982 Sheila
recorded the song with French lyrics written by Claude Carrère and Jean Schmitt which, rather than being about a woman named Gloria, used the word in its Latin sense of "praise" to laud the French armed forces. Titled "Glori Gloria" - adding the French glori to the Latin gloria - the track was a Top Ten hit in France being the #7 biggest hit for the month of December 1982.
Also in 1982 Sylvie Vartan
recorded "Gloria" with the same lyrics as the Branigan hit while Lena Valaitis
had a single release of "Gloria" with a new German lyric written by Michael Kunze; as with Branigan's version, the Valaitis version was produced by Jack White.
In 1983 Carola
recorded a 1982 Swedish
rendering of "Gloria" - lyrics by Ingela Forsman
- for her Främling album; also
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
by Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Tozzi
Umberto Antonio Tozzi is an Italian pop/rock singer and composer, born in Turin. His most internationally famous song is "Gloria" -Biography:...
and Giancarlo Bigazzi, which -with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch
Trevor Veitch
Trevor Veitch is a Canadian musician/record producer who has worked behind the scenes on many pop trends from the 1960s to the present. He is mostly known for his involvement in the popular 60s folk rock group, 3's a Crowd...
- became an international hit for Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan 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"...
in 1982-83, selling more than two million singles in the US alone.
Origins
Umberto Tozzi himself made the first recording of "Gloria" in 1979.That summer Tozzi's recording entered the Italian Top Ten for a stay of sixteen weeks, six of them at #2. It spent four weeks at #1 in both Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and - in a translated version - Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. That same year saw Tozzi's "Gloria" achieve hit status in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
(#4), Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(#3 on the French chart), the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(#21), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(#3) and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the track reached #13 http://tsort.info/music/8w9fef.htm despite a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Gerd Christian.
The original version of "Gloria" was a love song as was the first attempt at an English version, which was cut by Jonathan King
Jonathan King
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...
(#65 UK 11/1979).
Tozzi's hit "Gloria" is one of the most internationally known Italian modern songs, just after Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno
Domenico Modugno was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu "...
's Volare
Volare (song)
"Nel blu dipinto di blu" , popularly known as "Volare" , is Domenico Modugno's signature song....
.
Laura Branigan's success
The song "Gloria" would attain its highest profile via a re-working featured on BraniganBranigan
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Joe Chemay - background vocals* Bob Glaub - bass guitar* Jim Haas - background vocals* Jon Joyce - background vocals* Michael Landau - guitar* Steve Lukather - guitar...
, the first released album by Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan 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"...
.
The 1982
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
release was on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Jack White
Jack White (producer)
Jack White is a music composer and producer.- Musical work :White started out as a songwriter/producer for German singers in the early 70s and then developed an international style mainly as a producer...
and Greg Mathieson. It was White - a native of Germany - who suggested Branigan cut Tozzi's song; Branigan would recall her reaction: "I went hmmm, because it was so soft and so European sounding. But we gave it the American kick and rewrote the lyrics and off she went."
It has been noted that the riff on which White and Mathieson based the arrangement for Branigan's version of "Gloria" resembles the chorus of the Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
hit "Physical
Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)
"Physical" is a song by Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John, released in September 1981. The song was an immediate success, shipping 2 million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum, and spending 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming Newton-John's...
"; eventually Branigan made her last Hot 100 appearance with "Moonlight on Water
Moonlight on Water
"Moonlight on Water", also known as "Moonlight on Water ", is a popular music song written by Steve Kipner, best known for writing Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", and Andy Goldmark....
", written and composed by "Physical" composer Steve Kipner
Steve Kipner
Steve Kipner is a multi-platinum-selling songwriter and record producer with hits spanning over a 40 year history, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Chicago's Grammy-nominated "Hard Habit to Break", "Genie In A Bottle" by Christina Aguilera, for which he won an...
. Branigan would tell People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
Weekly Magazine that she and her producers at first attempted an English version of Tozzi's "Gloria" in the romantic mode of the original, changing the title to "Mario," but this seemed ineffective. Ultimately Branigan would record "Gloria" with English lyrics written by Trevor Veitch, lyrics which completely re-invented the song as a character study addressing a woman living in the fast lane and effectively urging her to slow down the pace of her life.
Although another selection, "All Night With Me," was chosen as Branigan's lead-off single, Branigan also performed "Gloria" during her promotional TV appearances at the time of the album's release in early 1982 and that track was released as a single in the summer, first becoming a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
favorite and gradually accruing radio support to debut on the pop charts. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 on July 10, 1982. After a slow climb, the single peaked at number two on November 27, 1982. Cash Box would rank the track as #1. "Gloria" remained in the Top 40 for 22 weeks: its total Hot 100 residency of 36 weeks established a new record for a single by a solo female act. Certified platinum for sales of two million in the US alone, Branigan's "Gloria" was also an international success, most notably in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where it held the #1 position for seven weeks from 7 February to 21 March 1983. "Gloria" also took Branigan to the Top Ten charts in the UK (#6), Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(#4), New Zealand (#6) and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(#9). In Italy Branigan's "Gloria" reached #36.
"Gloria" earned Branigan a nomination for the Best Pop Vocal Performance Female Grammy Award
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. The award goes to the artist...
for the year 1982. Though she did not herself win, the track which did, "You Should Hear How She Talks About You
You Should Hear How She Talks About You
"You Should Hear How She Talks About You" is a 1982 Top Ten single performed by Melissa Manchester from her album Hey Ricky.First recorded by Charlie Dore for her 1981 Listen! album, "You Should Hear..." was written by Dean Pitchford and Thomas R. Snow...
," performed by Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
, showed the influence of the Eurodisco
Euro disco
Euro disco is an all encompassing colloquial term used to describe a variety of European electronic dance music that first originated from disco in the 1970s; incorporating elements of pop, New Wave and rock into disco-like continuous dance atmosphere...
sound which Branigan had popularized in the US with "Gloria." This influence was even more strongly evident the following year as evinced by no less than three of Grammy's Pop Performance Female nominees: "Flashdance... What a Feeling
Flashdance... What a Feeling
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance, written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and Irene Cara, and performed by Cara. Despite the title, the word "Flashdance" is never used in the lyrics; however, the line "In a flash, take a hold of my heart" refers to the...
" by Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
, "Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)
Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)
Telefone is a dance/pop single recorded by Scottish singer Sheena Easton, the first single released from her fourth album, 1983's Best Kept Secret....
" by Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton
Sheena Easton is a Scottish recording artist. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television programme The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.Easton rose to fame in the early 1980s with the pop...
(written by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch) and "She Works Hard for the Money
She Works Hard for the Money (song)
"She Works Hard for the Money" is a 1983 hit single by singer Donna Summer. It was the first single released from the album of the same name.-Premise:The song, co-written by the singer, told a story of a woman who "works hard for [her] money"...
" by Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
. Branigan herself was not nominated in this category for the year 1983 - as a contributor to the Album of the Year contender Flashdance
Flashdance (soundtrack)
-Chart positions:AlbumSingles-References:...
she received a second Grammy nomination. Although Branigan was represented on Flashdance by the track "Imagination," in the film itself "Gloria" is more prominently featured - being the music to which the character played by Sunny Johnson
Sunny Johnson
Sunny Johnson was an US-American actress.In the 1983 film Flashdance, she portrayed Jennifer Beals's figure-skating friend....
performs her ice-skating routine.
A re-recording of "Gloria" in a Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
style was made by Branigan a few months before her death in August 2004: the track was released as "Gloria 2004." The previous year, Branigan had characterized "Gloria" as "really [not] my biggest hit, but it certainly is my signature song. And I always get the same reaction wherever I go and whenever I perform it....I have to end every show with that song and people just go crazy. 'Gloria' was just a great girl!"
Charts
| Chart (1982/1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Ireland Singles Chart | 4 |
| South African Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
6 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
2 |
Other versions
Umberto Tozzi himself subsequently re-recorded "Gloria" with Veitch's English-language lyrics; this version appears on his 2002 release, The Best of Umberto Tozzi.Prior to Laura Branigan's version repeating its US success in the UK British singer Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
"Gloria" but Brooks' version was unreleased prior to inclusion on the 1986 compilation The Very Best of Elkie Brooks
The Very Best of Elkie Brooks (Telstar)
The Very Best of Elkie Brooks is a compilation album by Elkie Brooks.Issued on CD, vinyl and cassette in 1986 through Telstar Records, it reached number 10 and stayed in the UK charts for 18 weeks.- Track listing :#"Pearl's a Singer"#"Sunshine"...
.
In 1982 Sheila
Sheila (singer)
Sheila is a French pop singer, who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s and later fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Sheila has sold over 24,000,000 copies of records in France and was the top selling artist in France in the 1960s and 1970s...
recorded the song with French lyrics written by Claude Carrère and Jean Schmitt which, rather than being about a woman named Gloria, used the word in its Latin sense of "praise" to laud the French armed forces. Titled "Glori Gloria" - adding the French glori to the Latin gloria - the track was a Top Ten hit in France being the #7 biggest hit for the month of December 1982.
Also in 1982 Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan is a French singer. She was one of the first rock girls in France. Vartan was the most productive and active of the yé-yé style artists, considered as the toughest-sounding of those. Her performance often featured elaborate show-dance choreography. She made many appearances on French...
recorded "Gloria" with the same lyrics as the Branigan hit while Lena Valaitis
Lena Valaitis
Lena Valaitis is a Lithuanian-German Schlager singer. She had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s and competed in three Eurovision Song Contests.- Personal life:...
had a single release of "Gloria" with a new German lyric written by Michael Kunze; as with Branigan's version, the Valaitis version was produced by Jack White.
In 1983 Carola
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
recorded a 1982 Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
rendering of "Gloria" - lyrics by Ingela Forsman
Ingela Forsman
Ingela Birgitta "Pling" Forsman is a Swedish lyricist in popular music. 1981–2009, 33 of her songs have competed in the Swedish Melodifestivalen, three of them winners: Bra vibrationer , Se på mej and Kärleken är...
- for her Främling album; also