1973 was the year work began on the CN Tower, Montreal
announced Canada’s first lottery and Eric Lindros was born. It was also the year Gino Vannelli started his illustrious
career. Gino’s story is unlike many of the modern day artists; he earned the
fame himself. Sure, he grew up in a musically oriented family but that didn’t
make things any easier on him. Gino is the poster boy for showing kids that
dreams can come true, if you work for them.
At a young age Gino and his brother Joe moved to New York and
then Hollywood, hoping to realize his dream. None of the big American
labels would sign him. They were down
to their last $5 bill and Gino saw one more opportunity. They waited patiently
outside of the gates at A&M Records in Hollywood until owner Herb Alpert
exited the building. Gino said “When
I saw Herb Alpert across the parking lot, I just decided to take my chances and
run. I was chased by Johnny the guard, and it was quite an incident. But Herb
kind of knew what I was coming from, though he was a little shocked at first.”
Herb decided to let Gino come back later that day to audition and Gino got his
break.
Gino’s dreams came true and look where he is today. He has
written multiple top hits including “Wild Horses”, “I Just Wanna Stop”, and
“Black Cars.” 40 years later and he is still going strong. Gino had this to say
when asked about perseverance “You try to earn a PhD, a Masters, or just Bachelors or
whatever. You try and raise a family… you’re trying to get from point A to point
B and sometimes in traffic... and sometimes it just takes a little
determination.”
After a sold-out performance 2 seasons ago, Gino Vannelli returns to the Rose Theatre Brampton on October 26, at 8PM. Come out for a fun-packed night with a music icon! Click here for more details.
