Wednesday 1/18/23 5pm ET: Feature LP: Laura Branigan – Touch (1987)

Touch is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Laura Branigan, released on July 7, 1987, by Atlantic Records. The album saw Branigan’s return to dancefloors with the lead single, the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced “Shattered Glass”, which was released in June 1987 and reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album’s second single, a cover of Jennifer Rush’s “Power of Love”, was released in October 1987, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Spirit of Love” was released as a single in Europe, while “Cry Wolf” served as the album’s third single in the United States.

1. “Over Love” 3:44
2. “Shadow of Love” 5:05
3. “Angels Calling” 3:49
4. “Meaning of the Word” 5:41
5. “Power of Love” 5:20
6. “Shattered Glass” 3:40
7. “Whatever I Do” 4:02
8. “Spirit of Love” 4:11
9. “Name Game” 4:10
10. “Touch” 4:09
11. “Cry Wolf” 4:48
12. “Statue in the Rain” 4:17

Laura Branigan – lead vocals (all tracks); background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 8)
Bob Marlette – arrangements, drum programming, guitars, keyboards (tracks 1–3, 5, 10, 11); string arrangements (tracks 5, 11); additional keyboards (track 8)
Sue Shifrin – background vocals (tracks 1, 10)
Andrew Thomas – PPG programming (track 1)
Rick Palombi – arrangements, keyboards, drum programming, background vocals (tracks 4, 8)
Mark Leggett – keyboards (track 4); arrangements, drum programming, guitars (track 8)
Michael Landau – guitars (track 4)
Dennis Henson – background vocals (track 4)
Donna de Lory – background vocals (track 4)
Mona Young – background vocals (tracks 4, 10)
Kim Scharnberg – string arrangements, conducting (tracks 5, 11)
Kenneth G. Kugler – copyist (tracks 5, 11)
Julie Ann Gigante, Ralph D. Morrison III, Clayton Haslop, Alexander Horvath, R.F. Peterson, Arthur Zadinsky, Michael Nowak, Raymond J. Tischer II, Margot MacLaine, Armen Ksjikian, Dennis Karmazyn, Michael Matthews – strings (tracks 5, 11)
John O’Hara – keyboards (tracks 6, 7)
Mike Stock – keyboards, Linn programming, background vocals (tracks 6, 7)
Matt Aitken – keyboards, Linn programming, guitars (tracks 6, 7)
A. Linn – drums (tracks 6, 7)
Dee Lewis – background vocals (tracks 6, 7)
Coral Gordon – background vocals (tracks 6, 7)
Jeff Lorber – arrangements, keyboards, drum programming (track 9)
Students from St. Finbar School – background vocals (track 9)
Carlos Vega – drums (track 11)
John Nelson – guitars (track 11)
David J. Holman – PPG programming (tracks 2–11)

Friday 9/10/21 1am ET: Feature LP: Laura Branigan – Self Control (1984)

Self Control is the third studio album by American singer Laura Branigan, released on April 1, 1984, by Atlantic Records. The album peaked at number 23 on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internationally, it charted within the top five in several continental European countries.

Four singles were released from the album, including Branigan’s cover version of Raf’s “Self Control”, which was a commercial success, peaking at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the charts in Canada and several European countries. Additionally, “The Lucky One” peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, while her cover of Umberto Tozzi’s “Ti amo” reached number two in Australia and number five in Canada.

1. “The Lucky One” 4:10
2. “Self Control” 4:08
3. “Ti Amo” 4:18
4. “Heart” 4:08
5. “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” 3:26
6. “Satisfaction” 3:56
7. “Silent Partners” 4:10
8. “Breaking Out” 3:50
9. “Take Me” 3:43
10. “With Every Beat of My Heart” 4:12
11. “Self Control” (Extended Version) 5:06
12. “The Lucky One” (Jack White Mix) 5:08
13. “Satisfaction” (Special Dance Mix) 5:58
14. “When” 2:44
15. “Hot Night” 3:20

Laura Branigan – vocals
Carlos Vega – drums
John Robinson – drums
Michael Landau – guitar
Dann Huff – guitar
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar
Nathan East – bass
Robbie Buchanan – pianos, synthesizers (all tracks); arrangements (tracks 3, 5, 7–9)
Harold Faltermeyer – additional synthesizers (all tracks); arrangements (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 10)
Larry O. Williams – saxophone (track 9)
Thomas Kelly – background vocals
Steve George – background vocals
Bill Champlin – background vocals
Richard Page – background vocals
Tommy Funderburk – background vocals
Jon Joyce – background vocals
Jim Haas – background vocals
Joe Chemay – background vocals
Beth Anderson – background vocals
Joe Pizzulo – background vocals

Wednesday 7/1/2020 9pm ET: Feature Artist – Laura Branigan

Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) Branigan’s year of birth has been disputed. Although most sources at the time of her death gave her birth year as 1957, it has subsequently been accepted by reliable sources that she was born in 1952*. Branigan was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single “Gloria”, stayed on the U.S. 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 U.S. 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, Branigan’s other singles included the Top 10 hit “Solitaire” (1983), the U.S. 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 1984’s platinum-selling Self Control. She also contributed songs to motion picture and television soundtracks, including the Grammy and Academy Award-winning 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.[6] She began returning to performing in the early 2000s, most notably appearing as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway 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.

Branigan and her music saw renewed popularity and public interest in 2019 in the US after “Gloria” was adopted by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues as their unofficial victory song while they completed a historic mid-season turnaround to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, leading to the song entering ice hockey lore as an “unlikely championship anthem”. Branigan’s legacy manager and representative Kathy Golik embraced the trend and traveled to St. Louis to publicly represent Branigan among the Blues fanbase during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, later stating her belief that Branigan and “Gloria” “will forever be intertwined” with the Blues and the city of St. Louis.

We have featured Branigan over the years and have received complaints from a small group of rather arogant hostile fans of the dead performer. Please save any outrage!

Thursday 6pm: Across The Tracks: Featuring – One (Part 3)

This installment of Across The Tracks feature tune with “ONE” in the title.  We’ll feature music from James Taylor, Laura Branigan, Queen, Ronnie Dyson, Deep Purple, Tommy Cash, Murray Head, Wallflowers, Jethro Tull and much more across the tracks and genres.  

Artist Countdown: Laura Branigan Top 25 Hits 6pm ET #artistcountdown @radiomax

Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1957 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best remembered for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit “Gloria” and for the Top Ten 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 several other US Top 40 hits. As well as her music, she was also known for her powerful, husky alto singing voice which spanned four octaves.

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.

Branigan died at her home in East Quogue, New York, on August 26, 2004, of a previously undiagnosed cerebral aneurysm. She was 47 years old. (Source: Wikipedia)

1	Self Control
2	Gloria
3	The Lucky One
4	Solitaire
5	Spanish Eddie
6	Ti Amo
7	Shattered Glass
8	How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
9	Moonlight on Water
10	Power of Love
11	I Found Someone
12	Self Control 2004
13	Hold Me
14	Never in a Million Years
15	Satisfaction
16	Dim All the Lights
17	Looking Out for Number One
18	All Night with Me
19	Spirit of Love
20	Didn’t We Almost Win It All
21	It’s Been Hard Enough Getting Over You
22	How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye
23	Gloria 2004
24	Imagination
25	Hot Night