A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

I THINK THEY GOT THE ALIAS: Besides producing what was one of the more inscrutable lines in a pop song to my adolescent ear (of course, for a while I thought "Our Lips Are Sealed" was "Honest Cecile"), what else is there to say about the news that, in the words of the Times Laura Branigan, 47, Pop Singer, Is Dead. Well since I like the lists, here are five things you might not have known (or really didn't remember) about Branigan:

1. She began her career as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen on his 1977 European tour.
2. "Gloria," the 1982 hit for which she will always be remembered, was actually a remake of an Italian song. It spent 36 weeks on the charts, peaking at No. 2, and was a huge hit in Germany where it was perched at No. 1, while the Italian version was at No. 2.
3. Germans must have wet themselves then with the release of 1994's "Baywatch" soundtrack, which featured a Branigan-David Hasselhoff duet, "I Believe."
4. Branigan made a memorable guest appearance on "CHiPS," playing herself giving a concert at an outdoor mall, which is interrupted by a high speed chase.
5. After spending some time away from the industry to care for her ailing husband, Branigan recorded a remake of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" in 2002 and then starred in the Broadway bio-play "Love, Janis."