Hold Me (Laura Branigan album)

Hold Me is the fourth studio album by American singer Laura Branigan, released on July 15, 1985, by Atlantic Records. The album peaked at number 71 on the US Billboard 200, though it fared better internationally, reaching the top 10 in Sweden and Switzerland, and the top 15 in Norway.

The album's lead single, "Spanish Eddie", earned Branigan her sixth top-40 entry in two and a half years, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was moderately successful outside the United States. Subsequent singles "Hold Me" and "I Found Someone" failed to make an impact, peaking at numbers 82 and 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Nevertheless, "Hold Me" reached number 39 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart, while "I Found Someone" reached number 25 on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart.

The track "When the Heat Hits the Streets" was used in a television advertising campaign for the Chrysler Laser, with Chrysler serving as a sponsor for Branigan's 1985–1986 Hold Me tour (a Chrysler Laser was prominently displayed in the "Spanish Eddie" music video).

According to Branigan, she said "the album is such a growth from my other albums. I really feel it’s the direction I want to go. My voice is definitely stronger and the material is just incredible. I honestly don't feel there are any fillers."

Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hold Me.

Musicians

 * Laura Branigan – vocals
 * Harold Faltermeyer – arrangements (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7); all keyboards and synthesizers (including programming, electronic drums and bass)
 * Mark Spiro – arrangements (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, 10); all keyboards and synthesizers (including programming, electronic drums and bass), background vocals
 * Eddie Arkin – arrangements (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9); all keyboards and synthesizers (including programming, electronic drums and bass)
 * Tom Keane – arrangements (track 5)
 * Gary Usher – arrangements (track 8)
 * Jerry Hey – horn arrangement, horn (track 9); flugelhorn (track 6)
 * Dann Huff, Michael Landau, Craig T. Cooper – guitars
 * Gary Herbig, Marc Russo – saxophone solos
 * Gary Grant, Larry Williams, Bill Reichenbach Jr. – horns (track 9)
 * Nathan Alford Jr. – percussion
 * Brian Malouf – percussion, all keyboards and synthesizers (including programming, electronic drums and bass)
 * Nathan East, Larry Ball – bass
 * Bo Tomlyn, Michael Boddicker, Alan J. Pasqua, Steve Williams, Richard Ruttenberg, Michael Egizi, Michael Mason – all keyboards and synthesizers (including programming, electronic drums and bass)
 * James Ingram, Jon Joyce, Richard Page, Joe Pizzulo, Jim Haas, Tom Kelly, Phillip Ingram, Beth Andersen, Maxine Anderson, Leslie Spiro, Kelly Bruss, Edie Lehmann, Andrea Robinson, Rod Burton, Kevin Dorsey, Tommy Funderburk, Kyle Henderson, George Merrill, Susan Boyd, Rosemary Butler, Jill Colucci, Angie Jaree – background vocals

Technical

 * Jürgen Koppers, Brian Malouf, John Kovarek, Brian Reeves, John Van Nest, Ed Thacker, Dave Concors, Tom Whitlock, David Devore – engineering
 * Steve Krause, Rick Butz, Peggy McAffee, Samii Taylor – engineering assistance
 * Jürgen Koppers – mixing
 * Brian Gardner – mastering
 * Jack White – production (tracks 1–9)
 * Harold Faltermeyer – production (tracks 1, 7)
 * Mark Spiro – associate production (tracks 2, 3, 6, 9); production (track 10)

Artwork

 * Aaron Rapoport – photography
 * Bob Defrin – art direction