Gino Vannelli

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Gino Vannelli


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Background = solo_singer
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Born = birth date and age|1952|06|16
Origin = flagicon|Canada Montreal, Quebec Canada
Instrument = Vocals, percussion, piano, guitar
Genre = R&B, soul
Occupation = Singer, composer, lyricist, conductor
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URL = [http://www.ginov.com/ www.ginov.com]
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Gino Vannelli (born June 16, 1952) is an Italian-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and composer.

Early years

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons 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, Gino 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.

1970s - Early career

After a stint in New York City, Vannelli and his brothers went to Los Angeles, California. He signed with Herb Alpert's A&M Records, releasing his first album under that label in 1973. Gino's brother, Joe, served as arranger and keyboardist for most of his recording 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.

In 1974, "People Gotta Move" made it to #22 on the Billboard Top 100. On February 15, 1975, Vannelli became the first Caucasian performer to appear on "Soul Train". This was his television debut. In 1978, the song "I Just Wanna Stop" earned Gino an American Grammy Award nomination and was a number #1 single in Canada (#4 in United States). Vannelli's album "Brother To Brother" was certified platinum in early 1979. Gino won Canada's Juno Award for Best Male Artist. Vannelli also won Juno Awards in 1976 and 1979. Gino's additional recordings of the 1970s include: "Crazy Life," " "Powerful People," "Storm at Sunup," "The Gist of the Gemini" and "A Pauper in Paradise".

1980s

In April 1981, "Living Inside Myself" was on Billboard's Top 100 at number 6. Canadian comedy legend, Eugene Levy satirized Gino in Episode 4 of SCTV/Network 90 also in 1981. The Vannelli brothers shared the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year in 1986 for "Black Cars". The prestigious Juno Award was again shared by the Vannelli brothers in 1987 for Recording Engineer of the Year for "Wild Horses" and "Young Lover". Gino's additional recordings of the 1980s era include: "Nightwalker" and "Big Dreamers Never Sleep."

Vannelli broke away from the stereotypical role of sex symbol by removing himself from the media spotlight.

1990s and beyond

In 1990, the album "Inconsolable Man" delivered new releases by Vannelli to excellent reviews. In 1991, the Vannelli brothers shared the Juno Award once again, for "The Time of Day" and "Sunset on L.A.", both from the "Inconsolable Man" CD. In 1993, Québécoise singer Martine St. Clair recorded "Wheels of Life" as a duet with Vannelli as well as a French-language version called "L'Amour Est Loi". On Vannelli's next CD release, "Yonder Tree", he pays homage to his roots in jazz. On "Yonder Tree", Gino sings a musical tribute to the renowned poet, author and humanitarian Walt Whitman, in "Walter Whitman, Where Are You?" Vannelli's additional recordings of the 1990s include: "Live in Montreal," and "Slow Love".

The latest recordings released by Vannelli are "Canto" and "These Are the Days". He surprised the music world by revealing his operatic license in "Canto", which heralds Vannelli's "superlative vocals" in Italian, French, Spanish and English. The Northwest Orchestral Assembly is also featured on the "Canto" recording, which aired on CBC in Canada. Vannelli was commissioned by the Vatican to perform for Pope John Paul II. On the "Canto" recording is a loving tribute to Vannelli's father titled, "Parole Per Mio Padre", which was also a favorite of Pope John Paul II. Vannelli's electrifying vocals and music garnered rave reviews for "Canto". "These Are the Days" made yet another hit; a wonderful combination of Vannelli's new releases and classics.

Gino Vannelli lives and works in Holland as well as the United States. [http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/may/22/566689844.html?gino%20vannelli Las Vegas Sun article 05/22/2007] ] His music is also heard on popular European television and radio commercials. When not in concert, Gino is actively working on various projects and teaching Master classes. Gino's next CD release is scheduled for 2008.

In March 2007, Vannelli performed in Las Vegas to sold-out shows. By request, encore performances were given two months later at the Flamingo Showroom. In November 2007, Vannelli gave three sold out performances in New Orleans, Louisiana. The concerts were a humanitarian effort with proceeds benefiting local charities. By popular demand, Vannelli continues to tour globally. [http://ginovannelli.tripod.com/tour/data.html]

In June 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported on a recent phenomenon involving "Gino" at Boston Celtics basketball games. When a Celtics win is in the bag, the PA monitor will project a mid-1970s clip from the popular dance program American Bandstand with one of the dancers wearing a Gino Vannelli tour T-shirt from 1976. This "Gino" is a well known figure in Boston Celtics lore, regarded by some as an unofficial mascot for the team. In the clip a bearded young man noticeably dances his tail off, dressed in bell bottoms and a shirt -- from Vannelli's mid-1970s Gemini tour -- that simply says "Gino" on it. He has forever been a cult favorite of Garden fans. A Boston Globe sports columnist created a semi-spoof documentary entitled Finding Gino that attempts to track down the man shown in the archival clip, but has yet to meet with success in finding him. However, the identity of the man has since been determined with some certainty by the Wall Street Journal ("'Gino' Fever Grips Boston", June 6, 2008, p. B10). The article identifies him as Joseph R. Massoni, from Southern California, who appeared on the 1977 episode of American Bandstand; he died of pneumonia in 1990 at age 34.

Albums

* "Crazy Life" (1973)
* "Powerful People" (1974)
* "Storm At Sunup" (1975)
* "The Gist of the Gemini" (1976)
* "A Pauper in Paradise" (1977)
* "Brother to Brother" (1978)
* "Nightwalker" (1981)
* "Black Cars" (1985)
* "Big Dreamers Never Sleep" (1987)
* "Inconsolable Man" (1990)
* "Live in Montreal" (1992)
* "Yonder Tree" (1995)
* "Slow Love" (1998)
* "Canto" (2003)
* "These Are the Days" (2006)

ingles

References

External links

* [http://www.ginov.com/ Gino Vannelli's official website]