“Gloria” in three iterations
I had very vaguely remembered the hit song of the 80s entitled “Gloria,” sung by Laura Branigan, but that was about it for my knowledge of the song. But the other day I came across this version of a Leonard Cohen song and discovered that Laura Branigan had once been a Leonard Cohen backup singer. Her voice was so powerful, though, that it’s hard for her to make it stay in the background. You can really hear her characteristic sound here (it’s from 1976), although she’s not belting it out. She just had the sort of voice that could penetrate just about anything:
Then I got more curious about Branigan and her big hit “Gloria,” and discovered to my surprise that the song’s origin was from Beethoven by way of Italy. Surprised? I was. The original song has this history:
“Gloria” is a 1979 song written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and first translated to English by Jonathan King. A 1982 cover version by American singer Laura Branigan, with different English lyrics, peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America …
Umberto Tozzi first recorded “Gloria” in 1979, using the word “Gloria” and the fragment of a melody sung with that word from Ludwig van Beethoven’s setting of the Latin Mass, Missa solemnis.
It was a big hit in Europe. Here’s Tozzi, with some oddly but rather endearingly awkward dance moves, lip-syncing his own song. But the song and even the arrangement sounds exactly the same to me as its later (1982) American iteration with Branigan, although the words in translation are very different. Tozzi sings about a love with a perhaps imaginary but idealized woman named Gloria:
Powerhouse Branigan made it grittier and very 80s, but the music itself sounds remarkably similar:
Unfortunately, Branigan died at the age of 52. But Tozzi still goes on. Here he’s singing “Gloria” in 2022, no longer trying to dance, and looking and acting nothing like his earlier self. I’ll have to take it on faith that it’s actually him. He seems barely there, but the audience is having a great time:
ADDENDUM:
I certainly don’t want to leave out Beethoven. I thought it might be hard to find the phrase that was the inspiration for the pop song, but it wasn’t hard at all. I’ve spotlighted it here:
Here’s the whole piece:
Branigan.
What about ‘Gloria’ by Them written by Van Morrison and covered by the Doors?
Gloria:
Yes, I remember that one, too. Not especially keen on it, but it’s okay.
Van the Man’s Gloria occasionally covered by the good old Grateful Dead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYvQMK8cNpc
BTW Van is one of the few big rock stars who resisted the Covid insanity.
I have put Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis on the CD player, but not for now, as I am expecting a call.
Gringo:
I added an addendum highlighting the part that inspired the pop song.
I recall the Gloria by Them/Van Morrison etc. song quite well. Fun song. I didn’t associate it w Van Morrison, as my first recollection of Van Morrison was from Brown Eyed Girl, circa ’67, and Gloria was a year or two before. I found out that Van Morrison had written the song in 1964.
The LImeliters first album said that they liked Alex Hassilev (sp?) voice because it was “musically opaque”, a term I can only guess at. But perhaps it would apply to Branigan as well.
I really prefer the original by Them. Great 3 chord song a beginner can easily learn and play.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AhYTb5J2rNc&pp=ygULR2xvcmlhIHRoZW0%3D
Note . . . no “t” in “Branigan”!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Branigan
Must be generational thing; I’ve never heard of your three versions. Van Morrison and Them is what came to mind. My favorite Gloria is by Patti Smith.
Branigan’s ‘Gloria’ came out in that early 1980s time frame when the music industry was in it’s post disco searching phase between disco and the next big thing that would turn out to be Michael Jackson/Prince/Madonna. This was about the same time as ‘Physical’ by Olivia Newton-John and ‘Flashdance’ by Irene Cara which all were of the same tempo.
Branigan had another song written by Bigazzi that went top 5 in 1984 called ‘Self Control’ that I like better than ‘Gloria’ which seemed to be everywhere there for a while.
M J R:
Don’t know how that “t” crept in there, but I fixed it. Thanks.
Sonny on May 10, 2025 at 5:40 pm said:
Must be generational thing; I’ve never heard of your three versions. Van Morrison and Them is what came to mind. My favorite Gloria is by Patti Smith.
_______________________________________________________
Sonny:
Not so sure about the generations, but also love the Patti Smith version. Loved it even more in 1975. Was living in New York, East Village and was lucky enough to hear her play it a few times. Never knew the history.
Just in case — Van Morrison’s Gloria and Brannigan’s are entirely different songs.
@Sonny
yeah, that one is primal
Umberto’s outfit makes me wonder if Mozart would have been more popular if he moved around more, instead of just sitting at the piano.
The Doors had a song Gloria too. https://youtu.be/9ZpPhXLdyAc?si=16Cw6EE0aGNVuG68
I had a 45 rpm version of Gloria (the Them/Morrison version) by the Shadows of Knight. I thought they were a one-hit wonder band, but per Wiki they recorded several albums and had more commercial success than I remembered.
I’ve always enjoyed the Branigan “Gloria,” great voice.
Re: Patti Smith, “Gloria”
Van Morrison’s “Gloria’ is a classic, sexy rocker. Smith adds some of her own lyrics and transforms the song into a crucible — the story of a butch lesbian after a femme. I remember the shock of the first line. I never quite got over it:
____________________________
Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine
Melting in a pot of thieves, wild card up my sleeve
Thick, heart of stone, my sins, my own
They belong to me
Me
People said beware, but I don’t care
Their words are just rules and regulations to me
Me
I walk in a room, you know I look so proud
I move in this here atmosphere where anything’s allowed
Then I go to this here party and I just get bored
Until I look out the window, see a sweet young thing
Humping on a parking meter, leaning on the parking meter
Oh, she looks so good
Oh, she looks so fine
And I’ve got this crazy feeling that I’m going to, ah-ah, make her mine
____________________________
Patti had her strong masculine side, but she really wasn’t the character in that song. She lived with Robert Mapplethorpe, the notorious 80s gay photographer. He would show her his photos of naked gay men in leather.
And Patti would be shocked.
Apparently there is something about “Gloria” that inspires good music. Two great pop songs (or was that three) in many iterations–one inspired by Beethoven. Here is one more glorious Gloria work of music. Vivaldi – Gloria
Here is a YouTube surprise. At least it was a surprise for me. Porter Waggoner & Dolly Parton: The Last Thing on My Mind. Well done.Love the harmonies.
Apparently this was Dolly Parton’s first big hit, in 1967. Several years before 1967, I had heard Judy Collins singing Tom Paxton’s The Last Thing on My Mind. I didn’t realize until today, nearly 6 decades after the fact, that Dolly Parton had also recorded it.
I once worked for several weeks with an accountant (the accountant quit) who had worked with Dolly Parton. Dolly made a good impression on her— kind, unpretentious.
In looking up Laura Branigan on Wiki, I found out she graduated from the same high school that two of my cousins did. I’ll have to ask them about her.
Gringo,
I have a Dolly Parton cd box set that has all of her early stuff as well as the big hits. ‘Last Thing’ was her first top ten but she had a couple of minor hits before with songs she wrote like ‘Dumb Blonde’ and ‘Just Because I’m A Woman’.
It’s pretty interesting how she had established her persona that she has cultivated for 60 years so early on her career.