Laura Branigan dead at 47

[lynnzop[$]]

Bet nobody's Dead Pool had her name on it. Initial indications are that the cause of death was a brain aneurysm.

"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.
She also made television appearances, including guest spots on "CHIPS," and in the films "Mugsy's Girls" and "Backstage."
Branigan 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.

Solitaire is a great song, one of the segments has a wickedly long sustaining note that was always a "challenge" for me to see if I could keep it as long as Branigan. And her rendition of How am I Supposed to Live Without You is much more gritty than Bolton's piece of pap.

Lynn

[theworm[$]]

Aneurysms take so many too soon. This is sad. Most people who are taken by aneurysms don't suffer, which is good, but she went much too soon.

[frazzledspice]

We loved Laura Branigan and have several of her albums.

She really knew how to deliver a song on sheer energy and vocal talent without using all the affectations that are so common among today's female vocalists.

One of my favorite songs of hers was "Mamma's Got a Squeeze Box."

Sheryl Crow Squeeze Box lyrics
Mama's got a squeeze box
She wears on her chest
And when Daddy comes home
He never gets no rest

'Cause she's playing all night
And the music's all right
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night

Well the kids don't eat
And the dog can't sleep
There's no escape from the music
In the whole damn street

'Cause she's playing all night
And the music's all right
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night
She goes in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out

She's playing all night
And the music's all tight
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night

She goes, squeeze me, come on and squeeze me
Come on and tease me like you do
I'm so in love with you
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night

She goes in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out

'Cause she's playing all night
And the music's all right
Mama's got a squeeze box
Daddy never sleeps at night

They don't make songs like that anymore

We loved Laura Branigan, but, as I have a friend who has been in a nursing home with a feeding tube for three and a half years after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm, I know that death is sometimes only the second worst outcome. As much as I love my dear friend, I believe that if she could have foreseen her future she would asked that no extraordinary measures be taken to save her life.

But Branigan's fate is a warning to all of us not to ignore persistent headaches.

[theworm[$]]

Wasn't Squeeze Box originally by The Who?

[jgibson2[$]]

Frazz,
She very likely had NO SYMPTOMS.

From the Brain aneurysm foundation:

Although people with unruptured brain aneurysms may have headaches, this is often not associated with the actual aneurysm. Most people with unruptured brain aneurysms are completely asymptomatic have no symptoms

Localized headaches are on the list of possible symptoms, but most people don't have them.

Once the aneurysm ruptures, it's another matter. It's quite common for the person experiencing a ruptured aneurysm to state that they're having the "worst headache of my life" That's why anyone presenting to the ER with their first sudden onset severe headache will get a CT scan in a big hurry.

[frazzledspice]

USA Today said her brother said she'd been complaining of severe headaches for two weeks but hadn't gotten any medical treatment.

And yes, apparently The Who did Squeeze Box first, but I only remember Laura Branigan's version.

[theworm[$]]

I'd love to hear Branigan's version. Is is SUCH a Who song in my mind, that I'm having difficulty imagining it in a woman's voice.

[lynnzop[$]]

It's good. I'd forgotten that she did it.

[drmomentum[$]]

Just fired it up in iTunes. Any excuse to listen to The Who is a good reason. Never heard the LB version. But I remember "Gloria" of course. Last time I heard it was at a local roller skate rink early in the summer with the kids.

-JP