Gino Vannelli
Gino Vannelli (born June 16, 1952) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and composer.
Early years
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.
1970s
After a stint in New York City, Vannelli and his brother Joe went to Los Angeles in a financially distraught and desperate state to wait outside trumpeter Herb Alpert's locked gate for an audition. Alpert was Vannelli's last hope prior to heading back to Montreal the next day. Alpert liked what he heard and two days later signed Vannelli with A&M Records, releasing his first album in 1973. Vannelli'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. it is not widely known, but Vannelli played drums on the entire Crazy Life album. In fact, Gino and Joe performed all of the instruments except for flute and marimba.
