"Gloria" was a song released by Laura Branigan in 1982 as a part of her first album simply titled Branigan. It is widely considered to be the song that launched her career, and held its position at the top of Billboard's Top Ten for 22 weeks.

There are several other pop songs of note with this title, not to mention a number of tunes in the Christian sacred genre. Among the pop tunes are:

• "Gloria", a famous doo-wop song written by Leon René in the 1940s and later revised by Esther Navarro , with notable performances by The Mills Brothers, The Modernaires , The Cadillacs, The Manhattan Transfer (The Manhattan Transfer, 1975), and The Passions (Just to Be With You, 1992).
• "Gloria" by Van Morrison, memorable for its "G-L-O-R-I-A" chorus. Many artists have covered this seminal rock and roll tune, several making it onto the Billboard charts, including:
  • Them, Morrison's band, in a B-side single that became the group's signature hit, charting #93 in 1965 and #71 in 1966.
  • Shadows of Knight (from Gloria), #10 in 1966, topping the original.
  • Enchantment (from Enchantment, 1976), #5 on Black Singles and #25 on Pop Singles in 1977.
  • The Doors (from Alive, She Cried, a concert performance featuring late original lead singer Jim Morrison [no relation to Van]), #18 on Mainstream Rock and #71 on Hot 100 in 1983.
  • Van Morrison himself (from Too Long in Exile), returning the song to #36 on Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1993.
  • Other covers of the Morrison song include those by notable artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, Rick Springfield, R.E.M., Rickie Lee Jones, and even a disco version by Santa Esmerelda .
• "Gloria" by Patti Smith, from her 1975 album Horses. This is based on the Morrison tune, but its lyrics are reinvented for the nascent punk rock movement, retaining only the chorus, and adding possibly ironic allusions to the sacred versions.
• "Gloria" by U2, from their 1981 album October.

External link

• Lyrics to Branigan's "Gloria"