Gloria (Umberto Tozzi song)
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- For other songs of this title, see Gloria (disambiguation).
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| “Gloria” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Umberto Tozzi | ||
| B-side | "Aria di lei" | |
| Released | 1979 | |
| Format | 7", 45rpm | |
| Genre | Pop/Dance/Rock | |
| Label | CBS Records | |
| Writer(s) | Umberto Tozzi, Giancarlo Bigazzi | |
| “Gloria” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Laura Branigan from the album Branigan |
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| B-side | "I Wish I Could Be Alone" | ||||
| Released | July, 1982 | ||||
| Format | 7", 45rpm | ||||
| Recorded | Los Angeles, California | ||||
| Genre | Pop / Dance / Rock | ||||
| Length | 4:50 | ||||
| Label | Atlantic ATL 11759 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Umberto Tozzi, Giancarlo Bigazzi, Trevor Veitch | ||||
| Producer | Jack White, Greg Mathieson | ||||
| Laura Branigan singles chronology | |||||
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"Gloria" is a pop song recorded by Laura Branigan in 1982, released as a single and appearing on her debut album, Branigan. Originally written in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, Tozzi's first recording was a success in his home country in 1979. Working with producers Jack White and Greg Mathieson, Branigan re-recorded the song and brought it to a broader audience. It also was a triumph for the resurgent Disco sound, which had been neglected of late on North American radio playlists.
Branigan's rendition earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal of the year. Certified Platinum in the U.S. and peaking at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100's top 40 and remaining on the chart for 22 weeks, Branigan's version did well on charts around the world, peaking at #6 in the UK and remained at #1 for seven weeks in Australia. Until the 1990s, "Gloria" held the record for most weeks on the Hot 100 by a female, at 36. Widely considered to have launched her career,[citation needed] "Gloria" became Branigan's signature song, and her highest-charting song on the Hot 100.
In a nod to the original "Gloria", Branigan began a holiday medley on a Solid Gold Christmas special singing the Latin refrain of one of the oldest known Christian hymns, dating back to AD 129, and popularly known today as "Angels We Have Heard On High," or "Westminster Carol," the sustained, melismatic tumult "Gloria In Excelsis Deo."
Branigan re-recorded the song, and "Gloria 2004" became a Hi-NRG club hit prior to her death in August of that year.
[edit] Laura Branigan's "Gloria" in pop culture
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- The song appears in a tense scene in the movie Flashdance, as a character performs a figure skating routine. (Another Branigan performance, "Imagination", is used elsewhere in the film and appears on its soundtrack album.)
- In a nod to its use in that film, the song was used in the Fox TV series American Dad, in an episode in which the title character is discovered by his wife to have a secret passion for figure skating, elaborately sneaking from their home to perform solo routines to the song.
- In addition to numerous TV performances of the song as herself, Branigan guest-starred on two different network TV series—CHiPs and Automan—as two different fictional singers, each of whom performs the song (among others) as their own.
- On the Will & Grace episode, "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" (aired November, 2000) Bobbi Adler, played by Debbie Reynolds, sings the chorus of "Gloria" in a short segment.
- The song appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the Flash FM radio station, and on the game's soundtrack album.
- The song has been used internationally in TV commercials for products as diverse as beer and flour.
- A Saturday Night Live TV commercial parody promotes a smoke alarm that plays '80s hits instead of a siren. Smoke seeps into a darkened room, when Branigan's voice belts "Gloria," at which Rachel Dratch shoots upright in bed with a stunned smile, exclaiming "I love this song!"
- The song is the theme of radio broadcaster Alan Jones on station 2GB in Sydney, Australia.
- British band Pulp is said to have lifted the guitar line for their "Disco 2000"" from the song. Originally, writer Jarvis Cocker was going to call the girl within the song Gloria, but changed her name to Deborah to avoid litigation.
- Infamous American Idol contestant Ian Benardo sang a poor version of this to be rejected from the show.
- On a 2002 episode of Saturday Night Live, "Gloria" can be heard in a skit in which there was a dance-off between Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Timberlake was dancing on a chair as the song plays.
- In 2004, that song was played during the Philippine presidential election campaign of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bearing her name on it with the song during the K4 before-election campaign with the coalition before the election began.
More faithful covers of the song include versions featuring the Veitch lyric by Kelly, French singer Sylvie Vartan, and by British singer Elkie Brooks in 1986, and one with an earlier English translation, by Jonathan King. Tozzi himself re-recorded the song several times in various styles, including a version that mirrors Branigan's in vocal delivery, arrangement, and lyric. The Branigan hit has been a karaoke staple and has been attempted by Pop Idol contestants in various countries. In 2006, Australian girl group the Young Divas included a cover of Branigan's version of "Gloria" on their successful debut album.
Though generally categorized as pop or dance-rock, Branigan's recording of this song has also been categorized as, or in combination with, Hi-NRG, Italo disco, Euro disco, bright disco, electronic, and disco.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1982, 1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1 (7) |
| Canada | 1 |
| USA Cash Box | 1 |
| USA ARC Weekly Top 40 | 1 |
| USA Hot 100 | 2 (3) |
| Ireland | 4 |
| UK | 6 |
| South Africa | 9 |
| US Sales | 2,000,000+ |
| Preceded by "The Look of Love" by ABC |
Canadian number one single (by Laura Branigan) November 20, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes |
| Preceded by "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes |
Cashbox number one single (by Laura Branigan) November 27, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Truly" by Lionel Richie |
| Preceded by "Truly" by Lionel Richie |
ARC Weekly Top 40 number one single (by Laura Branigan) December 4, 1982 |
Succeeded by "Maneater" by Daryl Hall & John Oates |
| Preceded by "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club |
Australian number one single (by Laura Branigan) February 7 - March 21, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Up Where We Belong" by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes |
