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Gino Vannelli
Vannelli c. 1980s
Background information
Born	(1952-06-16) June 16, 1952 (age 72) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Pop, rock, soft rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1969–present
Labels	A&M Arista Dreyfus Sony
Website	www.ginov.com

Gino Vannelli (born June 16, 1952) is a Canadian rock singer and songwriter who had several hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s. His best-known singles include "People Gotta Move" (1974), "I Just Wanna Stop" (1978), "Living Inside Myself" (1981) and "Wild Horses" (1987).

Career

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. 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. He studied music theory at McGill University in Montreal.

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. Alpert signed Vannelli and released his debut album, Crazy Life, in the summer of 1973.

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. That same year, he released his second album, Powerful People, which contained his first major hit, “People Gotta Move”.

Vannelli released an album, The Gist of the Gemini, in 1976 through A&M Records. His 1978 album Brother to Brother, also with A&M, produced the single "I Just Wanna Stop", which reached No. 4 on the Billboard magazine chart, No. 1 in Canada, and received a Grammy Award nomination. His next album, Nightwalker, also produced a top ten hit, "Living Inside Myself".

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.

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. 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, and is considered by fans and Vannelli himself to be one of his strongest musical accomplishments. 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. 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.

"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).

Vannelli resides in Troutdale, Oregon, where he is active as a music teacher. He continues to perform throughout North America and Europe.

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
• "Wild Horses", 1987, Best Video, Best Song

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

1. Bush, John. "Gino Vannelli". AllMusic. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
2. ^ "Gino Vannelli Biography". musicianguide.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
3. ^ Gauthier, Chantal. "Gino Vannelli". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
4. ^ "All those nights in Montreal with Gino Vannelli". Montreal Gazette. November 1, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
5. ^ "Proudly Canadian: Gino Vannelli". cashboxcanada.ca. May 14, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
6. Yarborough, Chuck (December 2, 2014). "Gino Vannelli brings 40 years' worth of music to the Hard Rock Rocksino". cleveland.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
7. Valcourt, Keith (December 20, 2016). "Gino Vannelli, singer of hit 'I Just Wanna Stop' on new live album and DVD". The Washington Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
8. Nowlin, Rick (May 19, 2014). "Gino Vannelli says fans keep him moving forward". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
9. Osborn, Dave (December 2, 2015). "Gino Vannelli doesn't wanna stop making music". Naples Daily News. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
10. Powerful People - Gino Vannelli | Album | AllMusic, retrieved March 20, 2024
11. Martin Melhuish (October 2, 1976). "Striving for Success without Leaning on Government". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 60–. ISSN 0006-2510.
12. "Gino Vannelli Biography and Career Highlights | GinoV.com". Gino Vannelli. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
13. "Gino night fever". Boston.com. January 13, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
14. "'Gino' dances in disco Heaven". Boston.com. June 7, 2008. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
15. "Gino Vannelli avoids spotlight in Oregon where he lives, but draws crowds elsewhere". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
16. Canadian Albums:
    • "Gino Vannelli - Powerful People" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Storm at Sunup" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - The Gist of Gemini" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - A Pauper in Paradise" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Brother to Brother" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Nightwalker" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Black Cars" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Big Dreamers Never Sleep" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
    • "Gino Vannelli - Inconsolable Man" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 320. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
18. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961" (in Finnish). Sisältää Hitin - Suomen listalevyt (Timo Pennanen). Retrieved July 31, 2016.
19. German Albums:
    • "Gino Vannelli - Big Dreamers Never Sleep" (in German). Gfk. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
20. Italian Albums:
    • "Gino Vannelli - Big Dreamers Never Sleep" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
21. "Dutch Albums". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
22. "Swedish Albums". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
23. "US Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
24. ^ "Canadian Certification". Music Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
25. "RIAA Certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
26. "Gino Vannelli - Top Singles". RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
27. "Gino Vannelli - Adult Contemporary". RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
28. "Ultratop > Gino Vannelli in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
29. "Discographie von Gino Vannelli" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
30. "Dutch Charts > Gino Vannelli" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
31. "charts.nz > Gino Vannelli in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
32. "Gino Vannelli - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
33. "Gino Vannelli - Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
34. "Gino Vannelli - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Gino Vannelli discography at Discogs
• Gino Vannelli at IMDb
• Entry at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
• Entry at canadianbands.com
• Entry at 45cat.com as Vann-Elli
• Entry at 45cat.com

• 1952 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Canadian male singers
• 21st-century Canadian male singers
• 21st-century Canadian singers
• A&M Records artists
• Anglophone Quebec people
• Arista Records artists
• Ballad musicians
• Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States
• Canadian male singers
• Canadian people of Italian descent
• Canadian pop singers
• Canadian rhythm and blues singers
• Canadian rock singers
• Canadian male songwriters
• Canadian soft rock musicians
• Canadian soul singers
• Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award winners
• Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners
• Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners
• Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year winners
• McGill University School of Music alumni
• Mercury Records artists
• People from Troutdale, Oregon
• Polydor Records artists
• RCA Records artists
• Singers from Montreal