Gloria (Umberto Tozzi song)

"Gloria" () is a 1979 love song written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and afterwards translated to English by Jonathan King. A 1982 cover version by American singer Laura Branigan 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. The 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.

"Gloria" is a love song, as is the first English rendering of the song, recorded by its original English-language lyricist, Jonathan King, in November 1979, reaching number 65 on the UK Singles Chart. Tozzi later recorded and performed King's translated version of "Gloria". He also re-recorded the song with Trevor Veitch's and Laura Branigan's English lyrics; this version appears on his 2002 album ''The Best of Umberto Tozzi''.

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.

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.

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

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's remake of "Gloria" was produced by White and co-produced by Greg Mathieson, who had been the arranger of, and the keyboardist on Tozzi's original song, while also being the primary keyboardist on the '' Branigan'' album.

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 this 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", the cover lyrics of which were written by Trevor Veitch, the contractor for the ''Branigan'' album, to which he also contributed guitar work; while Branigan also did her part in co-writing of the cover song's lyrics.

In 2003, Branigan characterized "Gloria" as "Certainly my signature song. And 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."

Branigan later released a hi-NRG re-recording of the song just a few months before her death. "Gloria 2004" was released with several remixes on 26 April 2004.

Commercial performance

"Gloria" attained its highest profile via a re-working featured on the 1982 album '' Branigan'', the first released album by Branigan. Although another selection, "All Night with Me", was chosen as the album's lead single, Branigan also performed the cover song during her promotional television appearances at the time of the album's release, and the track 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 November 27, 1982, behind Lionel Richie's " Truly", and remained there in the following two weeks, through December 11—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 Top 100 Singles chart. Certified platinum for sales of one 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 February 7 to March 21, 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

Branigan's cover of "Gloria" appeared in the musical drama ''Flashdance'' in 1983, though it was not included in the film's soundtrack. In a nod to her hit, Branigan's rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" performed on the '' Solid Gold'' Christmas special featured the background vocalists singing the name "Gloria", evoking both Branigan's signature song and the Latin refrain of the Christmas carol "Angels We Have Heard on High".

Branigan's "Gloria" is also used as the signature tune of the Alan Jones radio show.

The cover song was also incorporated into the score of '' Flashdance the Musical'' in a scene where the character named Gloria performs a pole dance routine; sung by Djalenja Scott and Carryl Thomas in Ruthie Stephens' 2008–09 national tour of the musical, and by Twinnie-Lee Moore and Hannah Levane in the 2010–11's play at West End theatre, where Charlotte Harwood assumed the role of Gloria.

The song appears in the 2015 video game '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'' as a collectible cassette tape.

The song is featured on the Flash FM station playlist in the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories''.

In 2017, the first episode of the BBC/Netflix series ''White Gold'' began with the song.

Chilean screenwriter and director Sebastián Lelio utilized Tozzi's rendition of "Gloria" in the 2013 film ''Gloria''; Lelio's 2019 English-language remake '' Gloria Bell'' features the title character (played by Julianne Moore) dancing to Branigan's take on the song in a sequence hailed as an essential highlight of the film.

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. The origins of "Gloria"'s association with the Blues came from when a few Blues players visited a bar in South Philadelphia

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