Canadian-Italian artist Gino Vannelli has a glittering career spanning five decades and has sold many millions of records – performed for The Pope, worked with Stevie Wonder, signed a record deal with A&M’s boss Herb Alpert after pitching him in the record label’s car park and is still touring worldwide and releasing new music at the age of 72.
The Grammy-nominated and Juno award-winning (Canada’s Grammy) singer, songwriter and producer perhaps best known for his smash hit single, “I Just Wanna Stop” which reached #1 in Canada and #4 in the USA on Billboard’s Hot 100, released his debut album, “Crazy Life” in 1973. Gino’s 22nd album, “The Life I Got (To My Most Beloved)” is slated for release in February next year (2025)
In 2019 he released his 20th album, “Wilderness Road”: a collection of songs written on his acoustic guitar. In 2021 he released a new remastered compilation “(More Of) A Good Thing”, which contains a contemporary remake of “The River Must Flow”, (a song from the 1978 “Brother to Brother” record), featuring Brian McKnight on backing vocals and Michael Phillips on talk box.
The single “Keep on Walking” was originally written by Gino for his 1975 “Storm At Sunup” album. Its stirring lyrics embody the acceptance stage of grief with an uplifting message: “I love you in my loneliness/And it keeps me hangin’ on/I gotta, I gotta keep on walking.” He heard the song again recently and it resonated with him so much that he decided to re-arrange and re-imagine the song, to include it on the forthcoming album.
Gino says, “Even after all these years it struck me as a melody and lyric that held up quite well. So much so, I started composing a whole new arrangement in my head as it played on. Being a fan of Miles Davis and Gil Evans, I thought this horn arrangement would suit the new version perfectly.”
Whether performing concerts in theatres, singing before symphony orchestras in concert halls, big bands or a pop ensemble, to throngs of enthusiastic fans, Gino Vannelli remains a powerful and innovative live performer. From rock, to jazz, to soul and classical, Gino’s output is a broad church. His “Live in LA” concert shot at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, California, was number one on Amazon for some time.
The Life I Got (To My Most Beloved) Track Listing:
Gino Vannelli’s “Track Record”…
1. First song you recall hearing as a child?
“Teddy Bear” by Elvis Presley.
2. First single you owned?
“One Fine Day” by the Chiffons.
3. First LP/album you owned?
Beach Boys: “Little Deuce Coup”.
4. First CD you owned?
“Night Walker” by Gino Vannelli.
5. Last music you bought and in what format (CD/vinyl/digital download)?
Bill Evans. Keith Jarrett. “Native American Folk Music” – all CD’s.
6. Which album would you be happy to receive as a gift?
Keith Jarrett: “Standards”.
7. Favourite album? (Choose more than one if need be…)
Frank Sinatra: “Strangers In The Night”, Bob Dylan: “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, Stan Getz & João Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto”, The Beatles: “Beatles ’65”.
8. Best record ever made (can be single/album/EP – and choose more than one if need be)?
The Beach Boys: “Pet Sounds”, The Beatles: “Abbey Road”, The Rolling Stones: “Let It Bleed”, The Dave Brubeck Quartet: “Time Out”, Miles Davis: “Kinda Blue”.
9. Guilty secret (or anything unusual or perhaps unexpected) in your music collection?
No secrets!
10. What does music mean to you and how does it make you feel?
Different things at different times: Music to eat to, music to love to, music to fill the dead air space, music to listen attentively to, music to mourn to.
11. Which song or album is a guaranteed mood booster?
“Sinatra At The Sands” with Count Basie & The Orchestra – Arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones.
12. Which song or album would be the soundtrack to a film about your life?
“Ravel Piano Works.”
13. Your favourite driving track – or music to exercise to?
Tears for Fears: “Everybody Wants To Change The World”. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: “Carry On”.
14. Best song or album for a romantic moment?
Miles Davis: “Kinda Blue”.
15. Which song was played for the “First Dance” at your wedding (if you are married) or which song would you choose if you did get married?
Don’t remember, but we did play Debussy and Ravel.
16. Your choice of song to sing at karaoke?
Nope!
17. Which song takes you back to your childhood – and to which specific memory/memories?
“Young At Heart” by Frank Sinatra, “April In Paris” by Ella Fitzgerald and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” by the Platters. Although I still love and appreciate them all, the Platters song “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” does something special to my memory bank. Many emotional scenes come up from the hidden depths…
The house we lived in, the green kitchen tile, the new born kitties in my bed, the yellow wading pool in the backyard, having a boy’s crush on the little girl upstairs. All clear as day when the song plays.
18. Favourite band (or bands)?
Duke Ellington, Take 6, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Crosby, Stills & Nash.
19. Favourite singer (or singers)?
Luciano Pavarotti, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Donnie Hathaway, Sarah Vaughan.
20. Which song would you like played at your funeral?
I do not intend to have a funeral.
- PRE-SAVE THE ALBUM “THE LIFE I GOT (TO MY MOST BELOVED)” : https://orcd.co/ginovannellithelifeigot
