Gloria (Umberto Tozzi Song)

"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 (RIAA).

Umberto Tozzi version

Background

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. The love song stayed four weeks at number one in both Switzerland and—in a translated version—Spain. That same year, Tozzi's "Gloria" reached number four in Austria, number five in Belgium, number eight in West Germany and number 29 in the Netherlands.

In 2011, the song was brought up to date with a set of new house mixes by Alex Gaudino and Jason Rooney. The music video stars Umberto and Natasha Tozzi.

Tozzi's original version of "Gloria" appeared on the respective soundtracks to the 2013 films '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' and '' Gloria''. It was also played during the Parade of Nations in the 2019 Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony as Italy, the host nation of the Universiade at the time, entered the stage.

Track listings

Personnel

* Umberto Tozzi – vocals, chorus
* Greg Mathieson – conductor, piano, keyboards
* Barry Morgan – drums
* Mats Björklund – guitar
* Les Hurdle – bass
* Filarmonica Di Monaco – strings
* Euro Cristiani – chorus

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Jonathan King version

The first English rendering of the song was recorded by its original English-language lyricist Jonathan King in November 1979, which reached number 65 on the UK Singles Chart. Tozzi later recorded and performed King's translated version of "Gloria".

Lyrical content

In Jonathan King's English lyrics, Tozzi, who takes the role of the song's main character, tells that he is dreaming about an imaginary woman named Gloria. He describes his living days as misery, but when he dreams of Gloria, he says his nights are liberty. The protagonist describes Gloria as his queen imagination that comes from his fascination, not from any kind of fantasy. He further elaborates that he has always set Gloria free from him, just as he has set freedom from reality. He then tells that his friends think he is crazy, but he argues his point that they have never met Gloria (so far, he has no proof of her actual existence); but one day when he finds her, he says his friends will talk about Gloria's beauty and her loyalty. To accomplish the goal of realizing his dreams despite everyone else's protests, the protagonist sets all his life to search for Gloria until he meets her in reality, and then promises to hold her, to touch her, and to keep her because he loves Gloria.

Laura Branigan version

Background

Atlantic Records' managing director Doug Morris suggested that Laura Branigan work with producer Jack White, who suggested that she record an English version of Tozzi's hit "Gloria". Branigan recalled that on hearing the Tozzi track, "We gave it the American kick and rewrote the lyrics and off she went."

Branigan told ''People'' magazine that she and her producers had at first attempted an English version of Tozzi's "Gloria" in the romantic mode of the original (changing the title to "Mario"), but that it seemed ineffective. Ultimately, Branigan recorded an English re-invention of "Gloria" as a character study of, in her words, "a girl that's running too fast for her own steps".

In 2003, Branigan characterized "Gloria" as her "signature song". She added, "I always get the same reaction wherever I go, and whenever I perform it ... I have to end every show with that song, and people just go crazy."

Commercial performance

The most successful version of "Gloria" was featured on the 1982 album '' Branigan'', the first album released by Laura Branigan. Although another track, " All Night with Me", was chosen as the album's lead single, Branigan performed "Gloria" during her promotional television appearances at the time of the album's release. "Gloria" was chosen as the album's second single in June 1982, first becoming a disco favorite and gradually accruing radio support to enter the pop charts in July. The single reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 27 November 1982, behind Lionel Richie's " Truly", and remained there the following two weeks, through 11 December—when Richie had been supplanted by Toni Basil's " Mickey".

"Gloria" earned Branigan a nomination for the Best Pop Vocal Performance Female Grammy Award for the year 1982. The song remained in the Top 40 for 22 weeks, and its total Hot 100 residency of 36 weeks established a new record for a single by a solo female act. The song also topped ''Cash Box'' magazine's chart. Certified platinum for sales of over two million in the United States alone, "Gloria" was also an international success, most notably in Australia where it held the top position for seven consecutive weeks, from 7 February to 21 March 1983. "Gloria" also reached number one in Canada, number four in Ireland, number six in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and number nine in South Africa.

Notable inclusions

In January 2021, the song was heard playing during Donald Trump's "Save America" rally, as captured in a video shared by Donald Trump Jr. The backstage video went viral after rally participants attacked the United States Capitol. Branigan's legacy manager Kathy Golik responded to the video, calling it "absolutely appalling to hear 'Gloria' being played in the background of a widely-circulating video of Pres. Trump ..given the tragic, unsettling, & shameful happenings that occurred at the US Capitol."

Use by the St. Louis Blues

The National Hockey League's (NHL) St. Louis Blues began using Branigan's cover version of "Gloria" as its unofficial victory song when they went on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak during the 2018–19 season; on January 6, a couple of Blues teammates were at a bar with a DJ, and according to defenceman Joel Edmundson, "this one guy looked at the DJ and said, 'Keep playing "Gloria"!' so they kept playing it. Everyone would get up and start singing and dancing. We just sat back and watched it happen. Right there we decided we should play the song after our wins." The following day, goaltender Jordan Binnington made his first start for the Blues that season and won the game with a shutout.Spiegel, Jackie
"How 'Play Gloria' became the rallying cry of the St. Louis Blues"
sportingnews.com. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019. The song was played at Enterprise Center every time the Blues won a game in the season, leading to "Play Gloria!" becoming both a meme and victory chant for Blues fans. "Gloria" reappeared on the iTunes singles chart thanks to the trend, reaching number three after the Blues won the Stanley Cup. "Gloria" also re-entered the ''Billboard'' charts in the wake of the Blues' championship, landing at number 46 on the Digital Song Sales chart for the week of 22 June 2019.

Track listings

Personnel

* Laura Branigan – vocals
* Michael Boddicker – synthesizer
* Joe Chemay – background vocals
* Bob Glaub – bass guitar
* Jim Haas – background vocals
* Jon Joyce – background vocals
* Michael Landau – guitar
* Greg Mathieson – synthesizer, keyboards
* Lisa Sarna – background vocals
* Stephanie Spruill – background vocals
* Julia Tillman Waters – background vocals
* Carlos Vega – drums
* Trevor Veitch – guitar
* Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Other versions and inclusions

Early years

A Czech rendition of "Gloria", titled "Dívka Gloria", was a local success for Vítězslav Vávra in 1980; as well as for the Estonian rendering of "Gloria" recorded by Mait Maltis in the same year. In 1982, Sheila released a French language version with lyrics by Claude Carrère and Jean Schmitt; the single, "Glori, Gloria" rose to number 8 in France on 15 January 1983. Also in 1982, Lena Valaitis had a single release of "Gloria" with new German lyrics written by Michael Kunze, and production by Jack White. In 1983, Carola Häggkvist recorded a Swedish rendering of "Gloria"—with lyrics by Ingela Forsman—for her album '' Främling'', and Mona Carita recorded a Finnish version of the song for her album ''Mikä Fiilis!''

"Gloria" has been used internationally in television commercials for products as diverse as beer and flour; while another version of the song, amended into an advertising jingle with lyrics to suit the product, and soundalike vocalist to Branigan, was used in an Australian TV commercial for the 1984 Mitsubishi Cordia.

Prior to the commercial success of Branigan's version in the United Kingdom, British singer Elkie Brooks recorded her version of "Gloria", which was unreleased prior to inclusion in the 1986 album '' The Very Best of Elkie Brooks''. Australian singer Julie Anthony also recorded "Gloria" for her 1983 covers album ''What a Feeling''.

Later years

Debbie Reynolds sings a snippet of "Gloria" in the "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" episode of the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' (broadcast on 23 November 2000), performing the song as the character "Bobbi Adler" in a sequence set in 1985. Australian Young Divas included "Gloria" on their self-titled album in 2006.

David Civera recorded a Spanish rendering of "Gloria" for his album ''A ritmo de clasicos'' in 2011, the same year that Sergio Dalma recorded another Spanish version of "Gloria" on his album '' Via Dalma II''; the album lasted five weeks at number 1 in Spain, and earned quadruple-platinum status. Airing in December 2011, Sergio Dalma also performed the song on an RTVE special called ''Via Dalma'', where Tozzi was also among the guests. In 2012, Mexican singer Gloria Trevi recorded a version of the song and released it as the first single for her eponymous, Gloria Live album.

On 12 June 2019, while in St. Louis, Phish covered the song following the St. Louis Blues' win over the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals. In 2021 Angel Olsen released a cover of the song on her EP ''Aisles''.

See also

* Music of Italy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloria (Umberto Tozzi Song)
1979 songs
1979 singles
1982 singles
2004 singles
2011 singles
Umberto Tozzi songs
Jonathan King songs
Laura Branigan songs
Atlantic Records singles
Cashbox number-one singles
CBS Records singles
Compagnia Generale del Disco singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Spain
Number-one singles in Switzerland
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by Giancarlo Bigazzi
Songs written by Umberto Tozzi
St. Louis Blues