From a musical family, his father was a big band musician. Gino Vannelli played drums at a young age and after finishing high school studied musical theory at McGill University.
In the late 60s, he signed to RCA Canada under the name Van Elli. He eventually went to Los Angeles, California where he signed with Herb Alpert's A&M Records after chasing Alpert down in the parking lot of A&M Studios. He released his first album with that record 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 largely progressive for the early 1970s. Gino's 1978 song, "I Just Wanna Stop," written by his brother Joe, earned him an American Grammy Award nomination and reached #4 on the Billboard charts and #1 in Canada. He won Canada's Juno Award for Best Male Artist in 1976 and 1979. Also, Gino and Joe Vannelli shared the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year three times: in 1986 for "Black Cars," in 1987 for "Wild Horses"/"Young Lover," and in 1991 for "The Time of Day"/"Sunset on L.A.". Gino is also noted for being the first Caucasian singer to appear on Soul Train in 1974.
Vannelli's other hits include "Living Inside Myself" (1980) and "Wild Horses" (1987).
In 1990 Gino recorded the album 'Inconsolable man' and toured extensively for the first time in well over a decade. His 'Live in Montreal' album was released in 1991.
In 1993, Québécoise singer Martine St. Clair recorded "Wheels of Life" as a duet with Vanelli as well as a French-language version called "L'Amour Est Loi".
It was some 4 years since his last 'Live' album before Gino released one of his best albums ever, the heavily jazz influenced album 'Yonder Tree'. Issued in 1995 the album received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
Never one to stand still in terms of style, Gino subsequently released his 'Slow Love' album in 1998. A collection of beautifully crafted romantic songs, slightly more MOR than his previous album.
We had to wait until 2003 for the release of Gino's 'Canto' album. A collection of classical and operatic songs which exemplified his compositional skills as well as his incredible voice. With a symphonic Orchestra he sings in English, Spanish, Italian and French. This album reflected an artist freed from the shackles of commerciality and one able to concentrate on just the music. The result was acclaimed around the world and proved particularly successful in Europe. From the album, Parole Per Mio Padre" (Words For My Father), was so loved by Pope John Paul II that Gino performed the song live at the Vatican in a televised event.
In 2006 Gino released a best of album but again not one to follow the norm, this album entitled 'These are the Days' contained many of his previously best known songs together with 7 completely new pop songs.
He has since released four more albums, the latest of which was released in 2019.
Gino now lives in Oregon with his family where he actively teaches music. He continues to perform across the country today.
Gino Vannelli's official website
Wikipedia entry on Gino Vannelli
IMAGINATION
Gino Vannelli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sweat and shame till the sun comes through
I think of things I ought not to
I've hung your memory on the wall
A life-size portrait ten feet tall
I feel my skin begin to crawl
And out of the cameras you come through
Is it you
Must be my imagination
Must be my imagination
Must be the shock waves of the moon
The entertainment of a lonely room
The devil playing that same old tune
'cause something strange is happening to me
Feel in the land of make believe
Please look me up and swallow the key
'cause I feel your fingers running through my hair
I feel the human touch of you
Must be my imagination
Must be my imagination
The song "Imagination" by Gino Vannelli is a haunting and introspective ballad that explores the dangerous and obsessive nature of memories and how they can be distorted by time and emotion. The lyrics speak of a man who is haunted by the memories of a former lover and cannot seem to escape them, even though he knows that they are dangerous and destructive.
The first verse speaks of the man looking at photographs of the woman, and feeling intense shame and sweat as he remembers their time together. He admits that he thinks of things he should not, acknowledging that his memories are not entirely healthy or beneficial. He has even hung a life-size portrait of the woman on his wall, ten feet tall, where he can continue to stare at her and remember her.
The second verse speaks of the same memories, but here the emotional stakes are higher. The man feels as though some strange force is taking over him, as if he is trapped in a world of make-believe where his memories are more real than the present. He pleads for the woman to "look him up and swallow the key" - he wants to forget her, but cannot, and he knows that he is dangerously close to losing himself in his own imagination.
Line by Line Meaning
I look at photographs of you
I carefully observe pictures of you
Sweat and shame till the sun comes through
I feel anxious and regretful until the morning sun enters
I think of things I ought not to
I imagine things that I shouldn't be thinking about
I've hung your memory on the wall
I've put a huge image of you on my wall to remember you by
A life-size portrait ten feet tall
A portrait of you that is life-size and ten feet tall
I feel my skin begin to crawl
I feel really uncomfortable and nervous
Suddenly I see you take a breath
Suddenly I start hallucinating that you're taking a breath
And out of the cameras you come through
You appear to be coming out of the cameras
Is it you
Am I seeing you for real
Must be my imagination
It must be just my mind playing tricks on me
Must be the shock waves of the moon
It must be the weird effects of the moon's gravitational pull
The entertainment of a lonely room
The result of being bored and lonely in a room
The devil playing that same old tune
The devil could be behind what I'm experiencing
'cause something strange is happening to me
Something unusual is happening to me
Feel in the land of make believe
I feel like I'm in a fantasy world
Please look me up and swallow the key
Please come and rescue me and make this stop
'cause I feel your fingers running through my hair
I sense that you're touching my hair
I feel the human touch of you
I feel like you're physically near me
Must be my imagination
It must be just my mind playing tricks on me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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