to St. Louis to publicly represent Branigan among the Blues fanbase during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, later stating her belief that Branigan and "Gloria" "will forever be intertwined" with the Blues and the city of St. Louis. Biography 1952–1970: Early life Laura Ann Branigan was born on July 3, 1952, in Mount Kisco, New York, near New York City, the fourth of five children born to Irish-American parents Kathleen O'Hare Branigan and James Branigan Sr., an account executive and mutual funds broker; they later separated. Branigan's maternal grandparents were William O'Hare Jr. (son of William John O'Hare and Agnes B. O'Connor) and Mary Conway (daughter of Francis J. Conway and Mary Teresa McGuiness). Branigan was raised in Armonk, New York, and as a child attended a Catholic school in nearby Chappaqua. She attended Byram Hills High School from 1966 to 1970, starring in the high school musical The Pajama Game in her senior year. Between 1970 and 1972, Branigan attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, and supported herself by working as a waitress. 1972–1980: Career beginnings In 1972, Branigan met acoustic guitarist Walker Daniels and his future wife Sharon Storm, and acoustic guitarist Chris Van Cleave, forming the folk-rock band Meadow. In 1973 the group, with bass player Bob Valdez, released their debut album The Friend Ship, featuring the singles "When You Were Young", and "Cane and Able", which featured the hook line "Throw away your cane and you are able". The record was not properly promoted and never re-released. The band broke up, after which Walker Daniels committed suicide. Branigan preferred not to discuss her involvement with Meadow publicly. During the years after Meadow broke up, Branigan had various jobs, including a stint as one of Leonard Cohen's backup singers for his European tour in April–August 1976. Branigan met attorney Larry Ross Kruteck (1936–1996) at a party in Manhattan in 1978, and they married in December of that year. He died of colon cancer on June 15, 1996. In 1979, after a chance meeting with manager Sid Bernstein on her return from Europe, Branigan was signed by Ahmet Ertegun to Atlantic Records. For several years Atlantic had difficulty classifying Branigan's powerful voice. Her pop single "Looking Out for Number One", from her unreleased album Silver Dreams, made a brief appearance on the U.S. dance chart, reaching No. 60. Two other early Atlantic singles,