Vannelli was born to an Italian family in Montreal , Quebec. His father, (Joseph) Russ Vannelli, sang with the Montreal dance bands of trumpeters Bix Belair and Maynard Ferguson.[3][4] His early ambition was to be a drummer. He admired Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, and he played drums in a pop band while he was in high school. In 1969, at the age of seventeen, he signed a contract with RCA Records, using the name Vann Elli.[5][6] He studied music theory at McGill University in Montreal.[7]
Vannelli and his brother, Joe, moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Desperate and broke, they waited for hours in the parking lot outside A&M Studios, hoping to get a record deal. When Herb Alpert, the co-owner of A&M Records, finally emerged, Vannelli ran toward him and gave him a demo tape while being chased by security guards.[8] Alpert signed Vannelli and released his debut album, Crazy Life, in the summer of 1973.[9]
Vannelli was one of the first Caucasians (Dennis Coffey being the very first in January 1972) to appear on the television dance program Soul Train. In 1974, he was invited to tour with Stevie Wonder.[10] That same year, he released his second album, Powerful People, which contained his first major hit, “People Gotta Move”.[11]
Gino Vannelli live, Hilversum, De Vorstin, 10. Oktober 2018
He received the Juno Award for Most Promising Male Vocalist in 1975. In 1976, and in 1979, he received the Juno Award for Best Male Vocalist. He and his brother Joe, his musical partner during those years, shared the Juno Award for Best Production for Brother to Brother in 1979.[3]
Despite the success of singles "Black Cars" and "Hurts to Be in Love" (1985), from his album Black Cars, as well as "Wild Horses" (1987) from the album Big Dreamers Never Sleep, Vannelli only appeared live sporadically throughout the 1980s.
Departing from the jazz-pop idiom, Vannelli released two mostly acoustic jazz discs, Yonder Tree (1995) and Slow Love (1997). After producing the album Hitek Hiku for Danish jazz pianist Niels Lan Doky, Vannelli revisited his interest in western classical music with the song "Parole Per Mio Padre" (Words For My Father), dedicated to his late father, and composed in the style and tradition of Schubert.[citation needed] The recording came to the attention of Pope John Paul II who requested a performance of the song at the Vatican. Televised in Europe, the event caught the attention of the head of BMG Records who subsequently asked Vannelli to record a contemporary classical disc in the style of "Parole per Mio Padre". Canto, released by BMG in 2003, features songs sung in English, Italian, Spanish, and French (Tracklist: Canto, Parole Per Mio Padre, The Last Dance, Dea Speranza, Una Sola Voce, Wayward Lover, Mala Luna, Joli Cœur, Una Rosa A Dicembre, Il Viaggio, The Last Days Of Summer), as is considered by fans and Vannelli himself to be one of his strongest musical accomplishments.[13][self-published source] In 2008, Vannelli became a symbol of sorts for the National Basketball Association championship run by the Boston Celtics. After each blowout home victory during the 2008 season, the video crew at the TD Banknorth Garden played a clip from Dick Clark's American Bandstand that featured a bearded disco dancer clad in a tight Gino Vannelli T-shirt. The tradition became known in Boston as "Gino Time" and Gino T-shirts became common at Celtics games.[14] The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 that the dancer in the Gino shirt was a young man named Joseph R. Massoni, and that he died of pneumonia in 1990. He was 34 years old.[15]
"People Gotta Move" became a small hit again in the Netherlands in 2008 after this song was used in a commercial on TV and radio of the ANWB (Dutch road assistance).
On May 13, 2014, Vannelli's Live in L.A. CD/DVD compilation was released by the Sono Recording Group. The presentation was recorded live onstage at the historic Saban Theater in Los Angeles on November 8, 2013, which represented Vannelli's first performance in Los Angeles in more than 15 years. The recording also marks the first on-stage collaboration in many years between the three Vannelli brothers (including Ross Vannelli as producer, editor, and mixer).[citation needed]
Vannelli resides in Troutdale, Oregon, where he is active as a music teacher. He continues to perform throughout North America.[16]
Awards and honors
Grammy Award nomination, "I Just Wanna Stop", 1978
Juno Award, Best Male Artist, 1976, 1979
Juno Award, Recording Engineer of the Year, with Joe Vannelli, 1986, 1987, 1991
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
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Joe Vannelli is a Canadian musician, composer and record producer. He was credited on most records of his brother, Gino Vannelli, and in collaboration with youngest brother Ross Vannelli, the three have won many awards.
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Brother to Brother is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Gino Vannelli. Despite its success - the biggest of Vannelli's career - it was also his last for A&M Records. The album was released in 1978 and featured "I Just Wanna Stop", Vannelli's highest-charting single to date in both the US and Canada, where the single reached #4 and #1 respectively. Two other singles were released from the LP, "Wheels of Life", and "The River Must Flow".
"I Just Wanna Stop" is a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Gino Vannelli. Released as a single in August 1978, it remains his biggest hit single to date, reaching No. 1 in his native Canada and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It appears on his sixth album, Brother to Brother. The recording was produced by Gino and his brothers, Joe and Ross Vannelli; the song was written by Ross. It received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Living Inside Myself" is a song written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gino Vannelli. It appears on his seventh album, Nightwalker. The song was produced by the three brothers Gino, Joe, and Ross Vannelli.
"Hurts to Be in Love" is a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Gino Vannelli. Released as a single in 1985, the song was his seventh Top 40 hit in his native Canada, peaking at #19. In the U.S., the song reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It appears on his eighth album, Black Cars. The song was produced by the three brothers Gino, Joe, and Ross Vannelli, and written by Gino. It finished at #100 in the Canadian Year-end Chart.
Storm at Sunup is the third album and opening track of Italian-Canadian jazz-pop singer-songwriter, Gino Vannelli, and was produced by Vannelli and his brother Joe. Unlike his other albums, Storm at Sunup is a jazz fusion album with much less pop influence, though earlier hits such as People Gotta Move and Powerful People do show jazz influences. The album features contributions by Graham Lear, who would go on to be Santana's drummer in the 1980s.
Crazy Life, originally released in 1973 by A&M Records, is the debut album by Canadian singer and songwriter Gino Vannelli.
"Wild Horses" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gino Vannelli. Vannelli came up with the track's basis during a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to meet a shaman. He co-wrote the lyrics with Roy Freeland and produced it with his brothers, Joe and Ross Vannelli. The song is about a man who promises never to leave his partner no matter what they experience together. It was included on Vannelli's ninth studio album, Big Dreamers Never Sleep, and released as its lead single in 1987.
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