Laura Branigan -- How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?

 

When I heard that Michael Bolton had international success with "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" in 1989, I was slightly miffed although at the time I hadn't known that he was also the original songwriter along with Doug James. After all, the ballad was a song that I'd long associated with one of my favourite 80s chanteuses.

Yup, Laura Branigan has always been and will always remain the one singer for "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" for me anyways. Bolton's version is perfectly fine but Branigan's take seems much more intimate and nostalgically 80s; plus, Laura's voice just hits me right and then there's the electric guitar solo near the end. The lyrics can also punch holes in hearts about a romantic opportunity lost forever.

It was six months ago that I brought Branigan into the blog for her most famous tune "Gloria" and it was the song that I used to hear on the radio for one of the residents in the townhouse complex where I was painting fences for much of that summer of 1983. But afterwards, "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" also got a lot of radio airplay not just among the fences of the complex but also on our own home radio. 

"How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" was Branigan's 6th single released in July 1983 which hit the top of the Adult Contemporary charts for both Canada and the United States. The ballad was also included in the singer's second album "Branigan 2" from March of that same year. Incidentally, the thumbnail photos at the top and bottom of the article come from my own copy of "The Best of Laura Branigan" that I bought in Japan years ago, so it comes with its own Japanese liner notes and "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?" is translated into the Japanese title "Ai wo Shitte"（愛を知って...Know Love）.

So, what was on the top of the Oricon chart for July 1983?

1. Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語）

2. Tomoyo Harada -- Toki wo Kakeru Shojo （時をかける少女）

3. Akina Nakamori -- Twilight - Yugure Dayori （トワイライト -夕暮れ便り-）