Gino Vannelli: From cars to horses and more

When I was growing up, there were certain singers who just always seemed to be around. They were Canadian performers such as Gordon Lightfoot, Burton Cummings and Anne Murray. Long before I knew any of their music, I knew their names.

Gino Vannelli was another such singer. I had heard his name around, long before I got into music.

Then, when I did get into music, it coincided with the release of his latest album, which became one of his best. In fact, I thought he had sort of drifted away when he released that album.

Interestingly, some announcers commented on how it had been awhile. The last time they saw him, he had this long, thick curly hair. Now, he had a substantial reduction and was clean cut.

All these memories came to mind today when I heard it was Gino Vannelli’s birthday.

Black Cars
When I started really getting into music in 1984, I started listening to LA 107 FM, broadcasting from Lethbridge. It was an album-oriented rock station, that would focus more on albums than singles.

One day in 1985, they played this really catchy tune that stood out. It had a really neat introduction, and a cool chorus.

It was called “Black Cars”, and it was by Gino Vannelli who had been on the Canadian music scene for awhile. I had heard his name, and would find out more about his music and history later on. At this point, “Black Cars” was my introduction to Gino Vannelli.

And it was a great first impression.

“Black Cars” peaked at number four in Canada, and went all the way to number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. I recall there was also a re-mixed version that had more of a synth-pop sound. For his efforts, Vannelli was nominated for a Juno in 1986 for Male Vocalist of the Year for “Black Cars”. Gino and his brother Joe Vannelli also won the Juno for Recording Engineer of the Year for the song.

The song came from the album “Black Cars”, which yielded another top 40 hit, the soulful ballad “Hurts to be in Love”. That song peaked at number six on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, number 19 in Canada, and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

There would be a third single, “Just a Motion Away”, that peaked at number 79 in Canada, and did not chart in the States.

High school hijinx
I remember taking Accounting 30 in Grade 11, so the Fall of 1985, and we had a lot of class time to do this project. I had a crush on one of the girls in class, and talked to her a lot during those free periods. One day, I made reference to a slow song, then another. She started making a list, and was going to try and make a story by just stringing together all the names of these love songs and ballads.

It was near the end of class. When I was walking down the hallway at class change, I passed her talking to a friend. She was reading the story she made out song titles.

“Hurts to be in Love” was one of them.

It must have been a dark story.

Wild Horses
Given the success, especially in Canada, of “Black Cars”, it was only a matter of time before Gino Vannelli would be back with a new album.

That album, “Big Dreamers Never Sleep”, came out in 1987. Just like “Black Cars”, a catchy debut single permeated the radio waves.

It was called “Wild Horses” and went all the way to number seven in Canada and peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also hit number one in South Africa. For their efforts, Gino and his brother Joe Vannelli won the Juno for Recording Engineer of the Year in 1987 for “Wild Horses”.

There would be two more singles from “Big Dreamers Never Sleep”. “In the Name of Money” peaked at number 29 in Canada, while “Persona Non Grata” did not chart in Canada. Neither song charted in the States either. Interestingly, I recall hearing “Persona Non Grata” on the radio, but not “In the Name of Money”.

The early years
Over time, as I listened to more music, I learned more music history. I learned a lot about the history of Canadian music from a special aired over a few weeks in the summer of 1984 or 1985.

“Heart of Gold” was on CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial. It aired in a few parts and was narrated by Donald Sutherland. A few years later, I found a companion book to the TV show also called “Heart of Gold”.

It was on “Heart of Gold” that I heard “I Just Wanna Stop” for the first time. That's where I put the name of the artist with the song.

Only in doing research did I realize how big Gino Vannelli really was all over the world in the 1970s. His breakout hit was “I Just Wanna Stop”, which came out in 1978. It peaked at number one in Canada and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Vannelli was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “I Just Wanna Stop”.

He had another major hit in 1981 with “Living Inside Myself”. It peaked at number two on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart; number 13 on the Canadian chart; and number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Parting thoughts
It seemed like Gino Vannelli had two careers. The first one, in the ‘70s, established himself as a force with some major success in the States. The second was less successful Stateside, but it was good music at a time when I was really getting into music.

Through it all, Gino Vannelli, like Gordon Lightfoot, Burton Cummings, Anne Murray and others, was a staple and an icon in the home-grown Canadian music scene.

He also provided another stone in the mosaic of music for me in the ‘80s.