Singer Laura Branigan [ tickets ], best known for her 1982 hit "Gloria," died of a brain aneurysm at her New York home on Thursday (8/26). She was 47.

Her brother, Mark Branigan, told reporters that the singer, shortly before her death, told a friend she had been suffering from headaches for about two weeks, but she didn't seek medical treatment.

Branigan, who went solo after touring as a backup singer with Leonard Cohen, received four Grammy nominations over the course of her career. Her other hits included "Solitaire," "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" and "Self Control."

Singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson [ tickets ] will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during this year's CMA Awards ceremony, which will be broadcast live on CBS-TV on Nov. 9. Former music-industry executive Jim Foglesong (whose resume includes stints with Columbia, Dot, RCA and MCA Nashville) will be inducted in the hall of fame's non-performer category.

" Ray Charles [ tickets ] Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony," a concert film shot in 1980 at Edmonton, Alberta's Jubilee Auditorium, will be released Sept. 21 on DVD.

The DVD includes Charles' performances of "Georgia on My Mind," "What'd I Say," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "I Can See Clearly Now," among many others.

New York experimental-rocker/poet/actress Lydia Lunch [ tickets ] is set to release "Smoke in the Shadows," her first full-length album since 1999, in November.

Lunch recorded the new album in Los Angeles over the last two years during sessions with producers Nels Cline, Len Del Rio and Tommy Grenas.