Internationally, the single charted at number eight in Canada and number 12 in New Zealand. It also reached numbers 16 and 28 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary and Dance charts, respectively. With a peak position of number seven, "Solitaire" became Branigan's second consecutive top-10 entry. Released as the lead single from the Branigan 2 album, "Solitaire" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 the week Branigan's breakthrough single " Gloria" fell off the chart. "Solitaire" would launch the hitmaking career of Diane Warren, who had recently been employed as a staff writer by Branigan's producer Jack White Warren gave White the completed lyrics for "Solitaire" the day after he asked her to give the song an English rendering. The English lyrics of "Solitaire" reinvent the song's narrative, with the playing of the card game solitaire employed as a metaphor for the singer enduring the neglect of her lover. Written by Clémenceau herself, the French version of "Solitaire" concerned a recluse who shuts himself away from a world moving toward nuclear war.
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.The song originated as a 1981 recording in French by Martine Clémenceau for whom "Solitaire" was a modest hit with a French chart peak of #50 on the French pop charts where it remained for 22 weeks. Funeral services are scheduled for today (Aug. She is survived by her mother, two brothers and a sister. Branigan recently had been working on material for a new release. In 2002 she starred as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical “Love, Janis,” which earned her rave reviews.
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In 1994, she sang a duet with David Hasselhoff called “I Believe” for the soundtrack of the television show “Baywatch.” She released a 13-track “Best of Branigan” LP the next year.Īfter the death of her husband, Lawrence Kruteck, in 1996, Branigan stopped performing but returned to the stage in 2001. She signed as a solo artist with Atlantic Records in 1982.Īfter her run of success in the 1980s, her releases in the early 1990s attracted little attention. During the late 1970s, she toured Europe as a backing vocalist for Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen. She attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan. Her songs also appeared on soundtracks for the films “Flashdance” and “Ghostbusters.”īranigan was born July 3, 1957, and grew up in Brewster, N.Y. She also made television appearances, including guest spots on “CHiPs,” and in the films “Mugsy’s Girls” and “Backstage.”īranigan released seven albums after her debut “Branigan,” including “Solitaire,” “Self Control,” and “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You,” which was co-written with Michael Bolton.
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“Gloria,” a signature song from her debut album “Branigan,” stayed atop the pop charts for 36 weeks and earned her a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocalist, the first of four nominations in her career.
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He said she had complained to a friend of a headache for about two weeks before she died, but had not sought medical attention. Branigan died of a brain aneurysm Thursday in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, N.Y., said her brother Mark Branigan. Laura Branigan, a Grammy-nominated pop singer best known for her 1982 platinum hit “Gloria,” has died at the age of 47.