Laura Branigan (album)
Encyclopedia
Laura Branigan is the sixth album
by singer Laura Branigan
, released in 1990.
The album's second single, "Never In A Million Years", was an AC hit for Branigan. The album also brought the singer back to the tops of the Hi-NRG
charts and dancefloors
with its first single, "Moonlight On Water
", and a trendy update of Vicki Sue Robinson
's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around
". The latter was the first of many songs on which Branigan added production to her list of credits. A slew of promo remixes were embraced by many of the DJs who first brought her to fame with "Gloria
", but "Turn the Beat Around" did not make the broader US national dance chart and did not receive an official single release.
While a sexy video
supported the lead-off single (which was subtitled "Sex On The Beach" on DJ pressings), Laura Branigan became her first album since 1983's Branigan 2
to be promoted by only one music video. While the album was Laura's last to be commercially available as a vinyl LP, "Moonlight On Water" and "Never In A Million Years" were also Branigan's first singles not to be released in the 7" vinyl
format. This was Branigan's first album not to produce a Top 40 Hot 100 hit.
The song "Unison" was recorded by Celine Dion
the same year. The album's final track was another Branigan production, a subdued cover of Bryan Adams
' "The Best Was Yet to Come".
Singles
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by singer 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"...
, released in 1990.
The album's second single, "Never In A Million Years", was an AC hit for Branigan. The album also brought the singer back to the tops of the 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...
charts and dancefloors
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
with its first single, "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....
", and a trendy update of Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson was an American theatre and film actress and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."-Early life and career:...
's disco-era "Turn the Beat Around
Turn the Beat Around
In 1994 , the song was recorded by Gloria Estefan for the soundtrack to the film The Specialist. Released as a single, it became a hit reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is also featured on Estefan's fourth solo album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. She also sang the song as her opening...
". The latter was the first of many songs on which Branigan added production to her list of credits. A slew of promo remixes were embraced by many of the DJs who first brought her to fame with "Gloria
Gloria (Laura Branigan song)
"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.-Origins:Umberto Tozzi...
", but "Turn the Beat Around" did not make the broader US national dance chart and did not receive an official single release.
While a sexy video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
supported the lead-off single (which was subtitled "Sex On The Beach" on DJ pressings), Laura Branigan became her first album since 1983's Branigan 2
Branigan 2
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
to be promoted by only one music video. While the album was Laura's last to be commercially available as a vinyl LP, "Moonlight On Water" and "Never In A Million Years" were also Branigan's first singles not to be released in the 7" vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
format. This was Branigan's first album not to produce a Top 40 Hot 100 hit.
The song "Unison" was recorded by Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
the same year. The album's final track was another Branigan production, a subdued cover of Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
' "The Best Was Yet to Come".
Track listing
Personnel
- Laura Branigan - vocals, background vocals, arrangements
- Howie Rice - guitar, synth guitar, keyboards, drum programming, percussion
- James Harrah - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Ramsey Embick - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, synth sax, percussion - Steve Lindsey - keyboards, synthesizer, synth strings, drum programming, co-production
- Andy Goldmark - keyboards, drum programming
- Steve KipnerSteve KipnerSteve 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...
- drum programmingDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music... - Michael Dunlap - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboards - Richard PerryRichard PerryRichard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
- drum programming - Peter WolfPeter Wolf (producer)Peter F. Wolf is a composer, producer, songwriter and arranger. He was awarded the highest honor for artists from his birth country of Austria, the Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst .- Early years :Wolf studied classical piano at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music...
- keyboards, keyboard bass, percussion, arrangements - Peter Maunu - guitar
- Clif Magness - guitar, keyboards, drum programming
- Steve Goldstein - keyboards
- Brandon Fields - saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Jeff PorcaroJeff PorcaroJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Dennis Matkosky - keyboards, drum programming, arrangements
- Larry KleinLarry KleinLarry Klein is a music producer, songwriter and bass guitar player, commonly known for being the frequent musical collaborator, and ex-husband, of Joni Mitchell....
- bass guitar - Khris Kellow - keyboards, synth strings, drum programming, arrangements
- John Robinson - high-hat
- Aaron Zigman - keyboards, synth strings
- Paulinho da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
- percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
- percussion - Rick Chudacoff - keyboards, arrangements
- Peter Bunetta - background vocals, drum programming, percussion programming, arrangements
- Robbie BuchananRobbie BuchananRobbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
- keyboards - Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
- keyboards - Dann HuffDann HuffDann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...
- guitar - Brenda RussellBrenda RussellBrenda Russell is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Known for her eclectic musical style, her recordings have encompassed several different genres, including pop, soul, dance, jazz and adult contemporary...
- background vocals - Donna Delory - background vocals
- Danny Peck - background vocals
- Bill Champlain - background vocals
- Leslie Hall - background vocals
- Monalisa Young - background vocals
- Leslie Smith - background vocals
- Joey Diggs - background vocals
- Ivory Stone - background vocals
- Patti Henley - background vocals
- Michael Williams - background vocals
- Ina Wolf - background vocals
- Maxi Anderson - background vocals
- Joe PizzuloJoe PizzuloJoe Pizzulo is best known as one of the lead singers for Sérgio Mendes in the 1980s. He had hit singles with "Never Gonna Let You Go" and "Alibis"...
- background vocals - Phillip Ingram - background vocals
- Dorian Holley - background vocals
- Alfie Silas - background vocals
- Peggi Blu - background vocals
- Jean Johnson - background vocals
- Kate Markowitz - background vocals
- Francine Howard - background vocals
- Bernadette Barlow - background vocals
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Billboard 200 | 133 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Moonlight on Water" | Billboard Dance chart | 44 |
| 1990 | "Moonlight on Water" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 59 |
| 1990 | "Turn The Beat Around" | Promo 12" only | |
| 1991 | "Never In A Million Years" | Adult Contemporary | 22 |