Gino Vannelli
| Gino Vannelli | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
June 16, 1952 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, soft rock, R&B, Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | A&M, Arista, Dreyfus, Sony |
| Website | www |
Gino Vannelli (born June 16, 1952) is a Canadian singer-songwriter.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons (Joe, Gino, and Ross) born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing percussion at an early age. By the age of 15, Vannelli began writing songs. Just out of high school, he signed his first recording contract with RCA under the pseudonym Vann Elli, but went on to study music at McGill University.
After a stint in New York City, Vannelli and his brother, Joe, went to Los Angeles. Desperate and broke, they waited outside the gate of Herb Alpert, the "A" in A&M Records, in order to audition. Alpert liked what he heard, and two days later he signed Vannelli to A&M, releasing his first album, Crazy Life, in 1973. Joe Vanelli served as arranger and keyboardist for most of Gino's career. At a time when polyphonic synthesizers were non-existent, Joe overdubbed multiple parts to create a texture of sound that was progressive for the early 1970s. It is not widely known, but Vannelli played drums on the entire Crazy Life album. Gino and Joe performed all of the instruments except for flute and marimba.
In 1974, "People Gotta Move" made it to No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100 (No. 21 in Canada). On February 15, 1975, Vannelli became the second Caucasian performer to appear on the television show Soul Train (Dennis Coffey appeared on January 8, 1972). This was his television debut. With his records climbing the charts, Vannelli toured as the opening act for Stevie Wonder. In 1978, the song "I Just Wanna Stop" earned Vannelli a Grammy Award nomination and was a number No. 1 single in Canada (No. 4 in the U.S.) Vannelli's album Brother to Brother was certified platinum in early 1979. He won Canada's Juno Award for Best Male Artist. He also won Juno Awards in 1976 and 1979. Vannelli met his wife Patricia in 1974 and they were married soon after.
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