Gino Vannelli came out of Montreal in the early 1970s with a voice that could handle both pop hooks and soulful stretches. He signed with A&M Records and put out his first album, 'Crazy Life,' in 1973. The song that really stuck was 'It Hurts To Be In Love,' a ballad from his 1975 album 'Storm at Sunup' that got up into the Billboard top ten.
That record also had 'Living Inside Myself,' another track that showed his knack for melodic, introspective pop. He wasn't just a balladeer, though. Songs like 'I Just Wanna Stop' and 'Brother To Brother' had more of a groove, pulling from the soul and jazz he'd grown up hearing.
By the late 1970s, after a run of successful albums, Vannelli stepped back from music for a while. He returned later, but those early A&M records, with their clean production and his clear, expressive voice, are what a lot of people remember.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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