Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Gino Vannelli: Toronto Mike'd #453

Episode Date: April 19, 2019

Mike chats with singer songwriter Gino Vannelli about his career in music.

When I think about those nights in Montreal I get the sweetest thoughts of you and me Memories of love above the city lights It took so long to make it But oh no, my heart won't fake it I just wanna stop And tell you what I feel about you, babe I just wanna stop

I never wanna live without you, babe I just want to stop For your love For your love Welcome to episode 453 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Propertyinthe6.com, Palma Pasta, Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair, Camp Ternasol, and our newest sponsor, Sticker U. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me this week is a singer-songwriter who has sold 20 million albums worldwide, Gino Vanelli. Welcome, Gino.

Good to be here. Gino Vanelli, that's Irish, right? Yeah, Sicilian Irish. Thanks for being here, man. I know you came straight from Montreal, is that right? As the sun goes down on the Arizona plain The wind whistles by like a runaway train It's a beautiful thing

It's me and you in a flatbed truck My heart kicking like a whitetail buggy Middle of spring I think it would be cool, my friend, if you sang this entire conversation. Just put it all to music. But that's fantastic. Wild horses could not drag me away from you. Not you personally, but just kind of the royal you.

Oh, I love it, Gino. Anytime you want to break into song, just do it, man. Firstly, right off the top, I want to let people know, you're playing April 24th. Where are you playing April 24th? Blue Mapel Theater. It's a nice, intimate theater, and we're introducing some new songs from the Wilderness Road record.

Bringing my whole group with me. We're going to be eight, nine people on stage. And my brother, of course, Ross, is doing the soundscape. And I'm very anxious to play it because we haven't played Toronto proper. I mean, Toronto City, you know, for quite a while. We played around the area, but we haven't been downtown. My daughter had a dance recital at the Markham Theatre. And big, big poster, Gino's coming, sold out.

So I'm like, it's sold out. But yeah, so you're definitely hitting the road here now. So April 24, though, there's tickets still available. Is that the good news? I'm lost. I love it. Living. Okay.

Honestly, it's just a joy to be with you, Gino. But you're living in Oregon now, right? Yeah. This is where you call home these days. Yeah, the Columbia Gorge in Oregon. Gino. But you're living in Oregon now, right? This is where you call home these days. Yeah, the Columbia Gorge in Oregon. And how long have you been living in Oregon? About 20 years, actually. We, of course, were born and raised in Montreal,

and then moved to New York for about a year, a year and a half, and then Los Angeles for about 14, 15 years, and then outside of Portland, Oregon, in the Cascade Mountains. And I actually lived for a couple of years in the Netherlands, too, in 07, 08, 09. Did you bike in the Netherlands? This is what people do. Yes, I did. I had two bikes, one for show, one for blow.

I won't even ask what that one means. But I know every time I've been to Amsterdam, lucky enough to be in Amsterdam, it's just crazy there if the cycle is. And I cycle, but I'm, like, afraid to cycle in Amsterdam. It's just crazy there if the cycle is. And I cycle, but I'm like afraid to cycle in Amsterdam. It's a whole different kettle of fish. Yeah, they say don't buy an expensive bike, of course, because, you know, you get it stolen. But that's the way you get around in Amsterdam.

And it's, you know, it's not too, things are not too far. It's not a huge city, so cycling is okay. Yeah, I know. It makes sense. And I try to get people doing that here, but I'm having a little bit of an uphill battle getting people to just bike everywhere here. Gino, I want to hear about growing up in Montreal,

and then I'm going to play some great Gino Vanelli tunes, and I got some tunes from your new album I want to play, and I want to hear you play, and I want to talk to you about all the above. But first I'm going to have... Under the cover of night She crawls into sight Her skin is cold, tan and white

She's a dark angel with dark glasses Dark shadows and long false lashes. Black cars, they look better than I said. Woo! Honestly. That's a jam right there. Man, is it true, though, black cars, they do look better in the shade? Well, it's actually not about a car at all.

It's about a lady that I perceived walking up and down Hollywood Boulevard in a fake black fur coat with a black kerchief, dark sunglasses pointed upwards, ruby red lips with yarrow root on her face. And she looked like a very interesting sight and like she was waiting to be discovered since 1955. And I noticed that she walked on the shady side of the street because she really avoided the sun like a vampire would.

And I noticed that my black Z20 had the same kind of attributes. It looked better in the shade. I think that song's been misunderstood for many years now. For 30 years now. And every time I tweeted that Gino's coming over, I can't tell you how many jokes about black cars in the shade or I bet you wild horses, they couldn't keep me

away from this episode. I mean, the same jokes over and over again. Well, they get old, don't they? They never get old. So what I'm going to do quickly here, and then we're going to get right to it here, but I'm just going to play the first question. It's coming from a gentleman named Brian Gerstein at PSR Brokerage. So you'll hear it in the headphones here. This is

Brian. Hi, Gino. Brian Gerstein here, sales representative with PSR Brokerage and proud sponsor of Toronto Mike. Phase one of the Galleria Mall redevelopment plan and its condos are being sold exclusively by PSR and myself in a month or so, all ready to move in for 2023. Contact me now by phone or text at 416-873-0292 and I can put you on my VIP first access list for these both investor-friendly and end-user suites. G-Note, this is a real thrill for me to be able to ask you a question. As an ex-Montrealer born in 64, you were there during my informative years and your music was a mainstay of my youth. I am sure the two upcoming concerts at renowned Place Des Arts in Montreal, your first local concerts in five years there, are going to be especially meaningful to you,

not to mention your appearance right here next Wednesday at the Bluma Appel Theatre at St. Lawrence Centre. Quick question on your health. As I've lost 25 pounds the past three months, I'm in the best shape since my 30s and I feel great. You look as fit as ever. How hard do you work at it and what tips can you pass along to me so I can look and feel as good as you do at 66? Okay, am I talking to a robot or a real person? He'll be here in the recording. Let's put it that way. Okay. Well, you know, it's important not to get obsessive about anything. It's important to develop a lifestyle that doesn't feel like it's a strain

or you don't feel like you're dieting or you don't feel like you're missing out on something it's just really a state of mind so if you you see yourself a certain way and you feel good a certain weight you know certain posture certain way of walking exercising all that you kind of just stick to it because no matter what i mean if if if some people are okay with being 10 pounds overweight. They feel great, even better. Some people feel great being 10 pounds underweight. But any more than that,

and then it's kind of a strain on your body, and as you get older, you diminish your likelihood of having a good life. And you need to be spry on stage, right? This is not an easy thing. You put on these shows and you've got to be fit. You can't just... Well, you know, I do something called the rebounder a lot.

So the rebounder is, you know, I've got two rebounders, one in the studio, one at the house, and it's a small trampoline, so you jog on it, you do all kinds of exercise on it. You know, while you're doing, while my wife and I have a conversation, one of us is on the rebounder, and one of us is bopping up and down looking at the other person. Sounds fun. I'm going to look into one of these rebounders.

It sounds cool. But thanks so much for answering Brian's question. Growing up in Montreal, so Brian, by the way, the biggest Expo fan that I know. He's a huge Expo fan. He just wants them to come back to Montreal. Were Brian, by the way, biggest Expo fan that I know. He's a huge Expo fan. He just wants them to come back to Montreal. Were you a baseball fan? No. No. So you don't care if they come back?

I mean, as a kid, I mean, I knew who the Pittsburgh Pirates were and the New York Mets and the New York Yankees and all that. Right. And Lou Gehrig. But, you know, when we were touring so much, my brothers and I, we kind of fell out of it. By the time the Expos got to Montreal, we already were living in Los Angeles recording. So we kind of fell out of it before we fell into it. What was it like growing up in Montreal with a love for music? Can you just bring me back there before we dive into the tunes?

Well, the city had not much to do with it. It was more my dad. My dad was really, really deeply into music. I mean, the city had a little bit to do with it because R&B was big in Montreal, and we used to go to places called the Uptown, Esquire Show Bar, and there were a lot of blues and R&B acts

that used to come there. But really, it's family upbringing that really did it mostly. Now, there's a story you shared about down to your last dollar, you're in Los Angeles, and Herb Albert is in the parking lot of A&M Records. Can you share that story with us? In the movie, I think that's going to be the climatic scene.

Well, it was just a question of being in L.A. for three, four months, being out of money, and I just decided to park myself in front of the gates of A&M and wait for Herb to get out of his office and ran through the gates, accosted him, and he was kind enough enough courteous enough to give me some some time and i i played a few songs for him and uh he just said welcome to the family

i do not suggest to do this at home if you did that today you'd probably end up in jail probably that or a bullet in your back which Oh, no. Which might probably worse. But it worked for you. I mean, he must have seen something in you that day in the parking lot that he saw something, like a spark, something that said future star. Oh, brother to brother Now we must join our hearts in hand Now we must join our hearts in hand.

Think of all that we've been through. I have some clips I think you're going to dig. Okay, so thanks to Mark Wiseblood at 1236. I have some clips of Casey Kasem on America's Top 40, you know, doing the intro and the outro to some Gino Vanelli songs. Like, I don't know how long it's been since you've heard this or if you ever even heard this, but I'm going to start playing those. But I'm just going to do a little housekeeping. Thanks to some sponsors.

Firstly, there was a case of beer right here. Somebody ran off with it. But there's a six-pack for you from Great Lakes Brewery. That's for you to share or enjoy. They're a local craft brewery, and they've been a proud supporter of this program for years. Brewed for Ontario, but you can take that back to Oregon with you. My Aussies love beer.

Yeah, no, it's the best beer you can find. So thank you, Great Lakes Brewery. I'm pointing to a red box here that you got your stuff on top of. But that, believe it or not, that is, and you're Gino Vanelli. I think you would know a good Italian sauce when you tasted it. But that is a meat lasagna from Palma Pasta. They got the sauce right. You know they can get everything else right if they getma Pasta. They got the sauce right. You know they can get everything else right

if they get the sauce right. They've been doing that for 30 years. Palmapasta.com for everyone listening if they want to check out Palma Pasta. I want to thank StickerU. That's where you make your customized stickers, labels, decals. I'm getting a new decal for the back wall so that it can show up on the

live stream, but go to sticker you.com and support them. They support us. Uh, remember the time they're, they repair watches and jewelry. They've been in business for almost 40 years. If you mentioned,

you heard about them on Toronto Mike, they'll give you a 15% off any battery watch installation. And then one more, I want to thank, I want to thank camp turn a to thank Camp Tournesol. They're French camps. So if you want to watch your child's French skills blossom over the summer,

go to campt.ca, see the camps offered by Camp Tournesol. And when you sign your child up for a camp, use the promo code Mike2019. You'll get $20 off and lets them know you heard about them on Toronto Mike. So please do that. Now, Gino, in your headphones now,

I'm going to play the very first time that Casey Kasem on America's Top 40 mentioned your name. You ready? Now, it's time for the tune that comes in at number 22. It's been on the chart for five weeks and it's by Gino Vanelli from Montreal, Canada.

People Gotta Move. That was 22-year-old Gino Vanelli at number 22 on the countdown, moving up a couple of notches with his first hit record, People Gotta Move. People Gotta Move. Now I've got to play People Gotta Move while we talk about it. Is it fair to say this is your first hit record, People Gotta Move. People Gotta Move. Now I gotta play People Gotta Move while we talk about it. Is it fair to say this is your first hit?

It was. It was a top ten R&B hit, which was really very interesting for me. And that's why I got the chance to open for Stevie Wonder for eight shows. And then I did Soul Train. Don Cornelius asked me personally

to do Soul Train. And so it kind of introduced me to an audience that a lot of white cats were not used to playing for. Well, I believe you're the first Caucasian to get on Soul Train, right? What did you call me?

Caucasian? Is that okay? You're the first guy to break the color barrier. Well, Don Cornelius said that they considered me off-white at Soul Train, so that's why they put me on. That's the color of the walls in here, I think, off-white. What can you tell me about writing People Gotta Move and that era?

And the whole Stevie Wonder thing is amazing. Did he know you were Caucasian? That's not a good joke. People Got a Move was written because my girlfriend didn't, at the time when I was 17 or 18 years old, didn't want me to go into show business. Thought it was too risky and probably would put her out of the picture. So she wanted me to continue with college and all that kind of stuff.

And I said, well, I'll go home and write you a hit song out of the picture so she wanted me to continue with college and all that kind of stuff and i said well i'll go home and write you a hit song and prove to you that i could you know i could survive in this business so the next day i um i showed her people got a move on the on the guitar and um she kind of looked at me quizzically but her father walked in And started clicking his tongue His tongue warning her not to marry me Makes me want to dance Still makes me want to dance People gotta move

I actually wrote it this way I wrote it kind of People come on Do it right Shake your cakes with all of your might More that kind of style. And then it turned out to be more synthesizing on the record. Shortly thereafter, and again, I'm going to play another Casey Kasem clip

before I play the jam, but your first number one in Canada comes shortly thereafter. And again, I'm going to play another Casey Kasem clip before I play the jam. But your first number one in Canada comes shortly thereafter. But let's hear Casey Kasem introducing I Just Want to Stop. I'm Casey Kasem in Hollywood and the countdown continues. Now with a song called I Just Want to Stop.

The second hit song for Gino Vanelli, the Canadian at number four for the second week in a row. I just want to stop Gino Vanelli at number four again this week with I Just Want to Stop. Well, now before we hear the three most popular songs in the nation, let's see what's at the top of the other chart. I Just Want to Stop. You've got to take me back to when this thing starts to break. Here, I'll play it in the background while we talk about it.

But this is a massive hit for you. Well, yeah, if you play it too loud, I get distracted. I keep listening to what I should have done. Well, let me know what you should have done. Oh, you know, a singer always said, I could have sung it better. I could have done this better, that better. But after Popper in Paradise,

playing with the Royal philharmonic um my brother ross showed me i just want to stop and um i thought it really had incredible potential and so we got to it with the band and it was just one of those things where didn't think much about it we just did it. And record company heard it, smelled blood in the water, and it's kind of like I was just watching it happen. And as it was happening, I was both elated and dreaded it. Oh, no, what am I going to do to follow up? That's always the tough part when they want another one, right? Give me another one.

I'm just going to put it up a little bit. If you start to play, I'll bring it down. It's a big jam. That was an E, wasn't it? When I think about the way the world must turn I get the saddest thoughts for you and me You and me Memories of life So who's singing background there?

Um, the sisters, what was the name? The Water Sisters, that's it, the Water Sisters. That's it, The Water Sisters. I remember it very well because it cost us $18,000. Worth every penny. No, they were great. Stephanie and everybody. They really added something to the record.

For sure. When I was a younger man, I had this box set called, I think it was called O Canada or something. Something like that. The Junos put it out. It was supposed to be like a four disc collection of huge

Canadian hits or whatever. And this song was on there and that's like how I just, because I'm a little young for when this first hit the charts. What are you saying? Just a little bit. I'm more of a black cars man i'm a black cars guy we'll get to that though but uh yeah right away you're like that's that's a cool tune man i just want to stop and it was a hit in the states too right didn't get to number one but it was like top five or something right number two number two

yeah and number one ac and i mean you know it's all the same at that level and once you get i don't know i have uh i understand that once you got that one big us hit it really helps you open up markets right for touring and stuff like what how did that change your professional life yeah i mean yes it it really kind of put me into the mainstream before that people didn't realize though for at least five years when we toured my brother Joe and my brother Ross and I I mean we sold out every theater

there was in America and Canada so there was a real solid career happening before that but I just want to stop just kind of doubled it tripled it and quadrupled it. And quadrupled it, maybe.

Yeah. I have a question from Basement Dweller. He's a big Gino Vanelli fan. And he wants to know, he wants some more detail on the Soul Train appearances. He says, what was it like appearing on Soul Train several times in the 70s? And then he also adds on the Arsenio Hall show in 92. He wants to know if you have any interesting backstage stories or any color you could add to the... He wants dirt.

Yeah, if you have any dirt for us, Gino. Real talk. Well, as far as Soul Train is concerned, I was in Cleveland, and I was about to open up for Stevie Wonder, and I got a call from Don Cornelius. And Don Cornelius, I mean, I immediately recognized his voice and asked me to do Soul Train.

And I said, Don, do you realize I'm a white guy? And that's when he said, of course, but we consider you off-white here. And I said, would you do me also a favor? And he said, what is that? I said, can we do a live version of it? So if you Google Soul Train, you'll see it's not the record version. It's sort of a live version.

in those days we were recklessly how can I say, wild and I wanted to take chances. We were risk takers. Take a risk, man. It all worked out. It worked out okay.

And at this time, where are you living at this time when I just want to stop breaks? Are you still in Montreal? Are you in New York? Where exactly in the world are you living? Oh, I was living in some little suburb house somewhere. You know, my wife and I always lived a very, very, very simple lifestyle. We always preferred not being noticed. You got to spend all the money on the hair, right? Making sure the hair looks good.

That was the least expense. It was the chest I had to worry about. Yeah, thanks a lot for that. I was looking at some old pictures of Gino Vanelli just because I'm preparing for the app and I'm seeing old pictures. i'm feeling bad i got like six strands here okay i got six strands in my chest i'm like yeah gino got all the got all the chest hair anyway one more case of case so there's one more jam where he talks about you that i could

find anyways and we'll play that and then play one more song before we get to my black cars okay so and i have a special message from friend of the show, Steve Anthony about black cars too. So first there's this. If you have a record from the late sixties by a singer named Van Ellie, then you've got a collector's item because that was a stage name used by Gino Vanelli when he was 15 as Van Ellie, he recorded several singles for RCA of Canada.

He's had much more success, though, under his real name. Here's Gino Vanelli at number six, Living Inside Myself. 28-year-old Gino Vanelli from Canada on American Top 40. His home is in Montreal, and he's at number six second week in a row with Living Inside Myself. Okay, again, let's get that jam going while we talk about it. Firstly, can you tell me a little bit about teenage Gino as Vanelli? What can you share about that? I learned that there from Casey. Well, Vanelli was a huge mistake. You could smell the Parmesan

cheese a mile away from me. You know, it was the age where we were being invaded by the Brits and there were no ethnic names, you know. All the ethnic names were from the 40s and 50s,

the Franks and Autras and the Dean Martins and Nick Damones. So I figured I'd try to hide my Italian heritage by being Van, Ellie, and that was very short-lived. By the time I was 18, I said, screw it, I'm Gino Vanelli. Yeah, I mean, by the time People Gotta Move hits the chart, you're Gino. Well, no, it happened long before that. I moved to New York when I was 18 and a half,

and I just accepted whatever name was given to me. So, like, teenage Gino Vanelli living in New York, you knew you wanted to sing since the very beginning, so this has just been your calling for as long as you can remember yeah I mean by the time

I was three or four years old I knew that the path was clear to me a lot of stories I bet you we don't

hear about are the same as that except they never go anywhere you know what I mean

we only hear the stories when they make it like yourself well I mean there are many many points in even a successful career where you're going nowhere.

I mean, I tell you, I went more nowhere than I went somewhere until I got to where I was going. So living inside myself. What can you tell me about coming up with this jam? I wrote it at a party, a very swanky party in Benedict Hills, Benedict Canyon, I should say, which is near Beverly Hills, and a big whoop-de-doo, a lot of stars and people there. I was very, very bad at parties. Those were my really, really painfully shy days.

So I think I was 27 when I wrote that, and I asked the host of the party if there was a piano anywhere. So I went to the third floor and closed the door and wrote that song. Wow. Just kind of spilled out of you? Just kind of fell out of your fingertips? That's the way a lot of songs happen. I mean some songs

spill out like that. Some songs you gotta jack up the car and see what's under the car. Well it's a great song. I mean it's no's i guess it's a great song i mean it's no black cars but it's a great song oh there you go you gotta understand we're gonna get to it in a minute but i'm like 10 years old when i'm like i had like uh it was called a hit album i think or the hits album it was a compilation cassette i bought it like sam the record man

and it had black cars on it and i freaking loved that cassette i played that thing till it like wore out and that black cars was like a was a big part of my uh childhood if you will so well you're allowed to have your preferences are you um you don't have any at all any shame when people kind of sing the praises of black cars it's uh you're not a you're proud of that jam no i know it was it was a huge single for me worldwide and uh it was a very um deliberate single my brother my brothers and i decided to produce something that was going to be very very very contemporary at the time and to use different instruments that we had used in the 70s. So you basically wanted to make a hit. Well, yes, that was the first intention. But I went through hoops before I finished the lyrics to that song

because I really couldn't finish the lyrics to that song. I had Black Cars Look Better in the Shade and I didn't know what the hell the song was about for a year until I talked to a friend Roy Freeland and he said he he he just asked me to go sit um on Hollywood Boulevard and I I did what I was told to do and I just stared at people and that's when um I saw that lady all dressed in black fur and white cake makeup and she drew my attention and i went back home and i started waxing my car my black c28 and i noticed that i just couldn't get the sunny side i couldn't get the streaks out of the sunny side and i noticed i remember that she kept to the shady side of the street too and i thought

that a comparison between my car and that strange mystical lady um was really, was all there for me to write about. Let's play it and I'll let it go for a little bit before I bring it down to chat you up. All right. Let's hear it. I'm going to go. It's cold, China white. She's a dark angel with dark glasses, dark shadows, and the long false lashes.

Hey! The light exposes the cracks. She wears a makeup like wax. To hide her stretch She's a dark angel Dark horses Set to the deal In little corners I say

Black cars Look better in the shade Don't call it a comeback Black cars Black cars Look very strange Don't call it a comeback Black cars Of all your, you know, great songs This is the song that got the largest response on Twitter When I kept, I would be chatting on Twitter Gino's coming in

I'll just read some of the questions and comments about black cars here So there's a gentleman named Rock Golf who says, Black Cars is one of my favorite 80s tracks. In retrospect, did the transvestites in the video harm it on the US charts? No, that was a whole different thing. It's a very complicated subject, but the song was just rising like a bullet in united states and the record company that the song was affiliated with went bankrupt

right before it got in the top 30 top 20 and um i got a call from someone with a crooked nose and said sorry we can't push your single anymore. That's why I don't have a Casey Kasem clip. It was a very strange story. But you know, the silver lining was that it was the biggest single

I had in the world. So yeah, in Europe, Australia, Japan, and all those countries. Man. So thank you,

Rock Golf. Al Grego says, and and again some of these have already answered with your story about how you wrote black cars so pardon some of the repeats here but al grego says please ask gino my question do black cars actually look better in the shade so anyway if he's been listening he knows the answer he's got the answer now all right friend of the show steve anthony he was a VJ on Much Music for many, many years. He wrote me when he heard you were coming in. He's been in a couple of times.

He says, when he had disappeared for a long time, he finally reemerged with Black Cars, an actual 12-inch import vinyl. I was music director at CKGM in Montreal and was one of the only two, and he puts in quotes, important radio stations in North America to immediately add it. Remind him of that, please. So Steve's trying to take some credit

for your success here. Well, thank you, Steve. I mean, I appreciate that. What do I owe you? That's right. Yeah, Steve's got a good thing going. He's in Prince Edward County, I think uh in prince edward county i think in uh his largest state so i'll let him know i'll find out if he wants to send you an uh an invoice

or something and make that right thank you steve jake the snake uh says a follow-up if i may uh did gino write that song while washing his porsche under a tree so you've explained no i had a red porsche but i had a black z28 28 okay and d eastwick says uh please tell him that his hits of 1985 take me back to that summer working in banff so a lot of people i had a lot of like that yeah i guess that's a nice place to work if you got to work a summer at least uh banff is there any shade in banff at all other than the winter itself it's the worst places to be. That's for damn sure. And here is it.

Oh, yeah. So also Dee Eastwick. Oh, no. Sorry, this is coming up. I had a very interesting Twitter exchange with a woman regarding wild horses,

but we'll get to that in a couple of jams here. Oh, you're playing something? I love it. Well, that's a show. Ask me the question and we'll do wild horses. I was going to actually,

because I tried to go in chronological order here. As the sun goes down on the Arizona plain The wind whistles by like a runaway train It's a beautiful thing It's me and you

in a flatbed truck A photo-written mom and just my love In the middle of spring Now what did she want to know? I want to know if you, at the time, regarded black cars as any sort of Can we get off Black Cars?

My God. There was only half an hour more on Black Cars before. We can move on to another cut from the same album here. I got more Black Cars questions. You know what? You're breaking my heart, Gino. Can we get off Black Cars? I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night tonight in a cold sweat.

Did Gino really say that? You remind me of my parish priest. Get off of it, I said. I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night tonight in a cold sweat. Did Gino really say that? You remind me of my parish priest. Get off of it, I said. Here's another song. This song, I feel, is a little underrated. It's a great jam from there. Let's play this one. Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Ain't no turning back for me and you. Don't look over your shoulder. No time for regrets. You got your demons, I got mine. I passed the cross at a crucial time. Suddenly we're all done Scared of what's ahead We were looking for the answers

In all the wrong places But now the chance is knocking on our door Right up on our own To what we're reaching for Now back to black cars for a moment. Oh, just kidding, just kidding. Tell me about Just a Motion Away. It's a beautiful song, by the way. It's a good song.

We still do it once in a while live. We take it down a little bit, and then we just do it more like... Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Do it a little bit more, a little more folky like that. That was more of an 80s style thing. And I know that's right up your alley. Guilty as charged. You'd be lucky.

When I had Gord Depp from The Spoons in here, man, we didn't leave the 80s. We did the whole thing in the 80s. At least we're going to leave the 80s. It was a good era. I mean era there were a lot of new discoveries there were some definitely good artists Michael Jackson had a great couple of albums and Prince

had some great albums there were some great groups that came out of course Police came out of that whole era so there were some good things about the 80s before I get to Wild Horses can I ask you about the fact you are born and raised in Canada, but now you've been living in Oregon for a long time. Do you still identify as Canadian?

Or have you been Americanized? Well, you know, you have to understand. I mean, when I was a kid, I was of Italian heritage. I had Italian grandparents who died very early my parents spoke french and they spoke italian and sometimes english i went to english school but i went to catholic church which was french so it was like you talk about diversity it was more confusion than anything else and i remember my dad said, you know, when they asked us to fight in World War II,

we didn't really know what to do because we never felt like we belonged to England. So Canada was very, you know, and on top of that, my two grandfathers were sent to concentration camp here in Canada. Wow. Okay, because there was an alliance between Mussolini and Hitler, right?

No, I'm just saying that it's almost like if you ask a Japanese person who lived during World War II, do you feel American? And they were thrown into a concentration camp by FDR, so they're going to kind of feel like, well, maybe, maybe not. But to really look at it, by the time I was 10 or 11, I loved the Canadian Navy. And I had real aspirations to join the Canadian Navy. Oh, wow.

You could have, I don't know, been the entertainer for the Navy. No, I had no aspirations of that. And then, you know, I figured I'd make a living doing music though. But I did have that one inkling that was rather Canadian. For sure, for sure,

for sure. You know, ask David Suzuki, man. We threw, unfortunately, we threw the Japanese, Canadians in concentration

camps too. Did you do that, really? Well, I didn't personally do it. You did that? My countrymen did it. I can't be responsible

for that. But I've heard Suzuki tell stories. See, the guy who likes black cars is a monster. Yeah, we've taken it on as our anthem, that's for sure. All right, Wild Horses.

Let me play Wild Horses. Wild Horses. Crickets. We'll be right back. The Sun Goes Down Like a white tailed buck In the middle of spring You can cut me deep You can cut me down You can cut me loose Don't you know it's okay Hey You can kick and scream

You can slap my face Set my wheels on a high speed Chance on you No matter what you do Wild horses could not drag me away from you Wild horses could not drive me away from you So I had a Twitter exchange with a woman on Twitter, obviously, that she thought this was a cover of the Rolling Stones song.

She is so wrong. I told her. I mean, other than the melody and the words, yeah. But was there any thought of a different title just to avoid confusion with people? You know what?

I just didn't realize that the Stones had written a song called Wild Horses. But you know, you can't copyright a title. So there's not one iota of music or words. It's anything like the Stones.

I can confirm it is a different song. Yes, it is a different song. Well, the main thing I remember about Wild Horses was the girl in the Stones. I can confirm it is a different song. Yes, it is a different song. Well, the main thing I remember about Wild Horses was the girl in the video. The crickets. Did you ever think about maybe we start with... I just wondered if that was something you debated on how to...

No, that was Ross' idea. It had nothing to do with it. Crickets. So what inspired the song? Tell me about writing Wild Races. Driving. Driving through New Mexico. I was going to see someone after being in Peru for a couple of weeks. And I really wanted to meet with this lady, this shamaness,

who lived in New Mexico. And I rented a convertible, and I just had this, I started tapping my steering wheel, and I thought, as the sun goes down on the Arizona, wait a minute, I didn't know, I didn't say that, as the sun goes down on the New Mexico. And I was thinking, something about that doesn't scan. So I said, I know I'm in New Mexico, but Arizona sounds better. So that's when the song was basically written, driving my car or rented car to see this shamanist who lived in a trailer. Did you, I don't know, take some drugs on this visit?

No, it has nothing to do with drugs. It had something to do with like you know finding the guru up in the mountain is life a fountain or something like that you know or looking for the answers

to unanswerable questions and she was no different were drugs ever a part of your your life as a musician a lot of musicians get really into drugs and some stay kind of straight edge you know

when you're a kid you experiment a little bit you know and you decide you decide when you're a kid you experiment a little bit you know and you you decide you decide when you're a kid uh what you're gonna do when i was growing up and by the time i got into third and fourth high you know mescaline lsd hash coke and all not so much coke but there's a weed it was all getting very popular and so you kind of dabble and you say, you know what, I think I'm going to opt, I'm going to opt out and go for the health thing. Go for a soda,

as Kim Mitchell said. Well, you know, there's always, you know, you can always drop an aspirin here and there. And a smart move, you know, because it's kind of the key to two things.

One is keeping that voice strong and being healthy enough to be performing. You know, you could perform into your 80s if you live right. What are you saying? I'm saying you have a long way to go. Decades from now, my friend. Decades from now.

Listen, people can see us right now and they're thinking, why does this guy look younger than the host? I thought the host was in his 40s. Because the host is full of drugs. I only do drugs when I listen to Black Cars. That's why I wrote it. It's been a rough week for me. Steve Moella on Twitter.

First of all, he says, Gino Vanelli, amazing! With an exclamation mark. So he's excited you're on. And he says, ask him about Felicia with three exclamation marks. He says,

this jam still cracks me up mostly because my wife's name is Felicia and when Ilamation marks. He says, this jam still cracks me up, mostly because my wife's name is Felicia, and when I sing it to her, I get the best reactions. Is this a song about Steve Moella's wife? Well, before we talk about Felicia, I just want to say, black cars. I mean, not black. Please, you brought up black cars this time.

Please. Wild horses, we do a version on stage. We open up with that on the show. And people have no idea that it's Wild Horses until I say, as the sun goes down. And then we get into the record, of course. But there's about a two-minute intro to it, trying to build me up as much as I tell them to.

And it really shows off the band's great technical ability. And so you don't forget, just I'm going to be at the Bluma Pell Cedar. That's April 24th. April 24th. I know you've forgotten because of the drugs already. No, I would never forget, my friend. Now, I always liked it when a musician

just kind of changed it up enough that you're not quite sure what it is until they give you the reveal. It's sort of like a surprise. It's a velvet slap. That's what he called it, the velvet slap. Okay. You don't do those like hers, though. Felicia.

Okay. What can we say three times? He's just excited to let you know that his wife's name is Felicia and he sings it first. Why is he excited? Because he gets a good reaction. He didn't elaborate on this reaction. Well, I know, but the song is really a dig on Felicia.

I just can't hack you no more. Well, talk to Steve. He's listening. Tell Steve he's got it all screwed up. Felicia, you're gonna cry when I'm gone. And that's all I remember. I don't know. I should have pulled it from.

All right. So thank you, Steve. Michael Nigro. I don't want to N-I-G-R-O. I think it's Nigro. What are your thoughts on the Boston Celtics Geno time celebration? And where can we buy those awesome Geno shirts? So are you aware of the Boston Celtics

Gino time celebration I can't talk about it because it's a pending lawsuit is that right I gotta I said we had a scoop here so I went to YouTube you know I don't see a lot I don't go to a lot of Celtics games I went to YouTube and I have no idea why that happened I mean it just it was a Dick Clark moment where people were dancing with my you know with with a dude the kind of like the way I used to YouTube and saw it. I have no idea why that happened. I mean, it just was a Dick Clark moment where people were dancing with my, you know, with a dude kind of like the way I used to wear it in the 70s. And someone, there was a T-shirt with a lightning bolt made, I think, for the Gist of the Gemini tour in 1976. And somehow, you know, it's kind of like how sometimes

a fire starts in an apartment by the stupidest thing. Kind of the same thing. But you must have some sense of, you're honored at some level that there's still here, it's still very relevant, the Gino Vanelli of the 70s. No, just maybe half delighted. You know, he had me on the lawsuit pending. I was like, this guy really has no sense of humor. What's going on here?

I'd be honored. So thank you, Michael, for that question. Derek says, can you ask him if he heard the Taggart and Torrens parody of him and his brother Joe? Are you aware of this? Well, he better tell me what it is because I'm going to get really mad. So Jeremy Taggart is a drummer with, was a drummer with Our Lady Peace, which was a big Canadian rock band in the 90s.

I don't know if you remember Jono Vision or Street Sense or any of these CBC shows, but that's Jonathan Torrens. Anyways, Jonathan Torrens and Taggart,

Jeremy Taggart, do a podcast called Taggart and Torrens and they often go into like these bits where they kind of go into characters and some of the characters they parody are Gino and Torrens. And they often go into like these bits where they kind of go into characters. And some of the characters they parody

are Gino and Joe Vanelli. Really? I can't imagine anybody parodying Joe. What the hell are they going to do? I believe... Me, I understand. If Jonathan and Jeremy are listening, there's another lawsuit pending.

Are you aware that... I should have pulled this one. But there's a... Did, but there's a, did you know there's a song by Tyler, the creator, which samples, I think it's Find Your Wings, I think is the name of the song,

but there's a, you've been sampled in a modern rap song. Are you aware of this? Inform me so I can get my lawyer on that one. Tyler, the creator, featuring Roy Ayers,

Sid the Kid, and Jameel Kirk Bruner, called Find Your Wings. And I did a terrible job hosting because I didn't pull that clip. But I just wondered, if you, being sampled, like, you know, nowadays they pull a lot of jams from the 70s and they sample it, like big hits. I know.

Right? And the fact that Tyler did this, I just wondered if this is something you encourage because then you get a writing credit, right? And then I'm sure at some point there's something. Well, I respect Roy Ayers a lot, so I'm sure whatever he did is fine by me. Pope John Paul II. Did he do it to it?

He sampled some Geno gems as well, I think. His late hip-hop career. Can you tell me what it was like performing for the late Pope John Paul? How does that come to be? It came to be, I got a call one Sunday morning. 7 o'clock in the morning and I just didn't

want to get the phone because of course you're trying to wake up at 7 o'clock and you're having your cup of coffee and the phone's going downstairs in the office and it's the business phone. I said, Tricia, forget it. Who can it be on Sunday morning? Nothing important, nothing good will come of this.

It's got to be the IRS or something like that. So it kept ringing, it kept ringing and so I decided to mosey on downstairs, picked up the phone, I went, hello. And it was, Signora Gino Vanelli. He says, il Papa would like you to come to Roma, the Vatican, to sing. And I just said, you know, are you allowed to say fuck on this? Yep.

So I said, Vinnie, fuck you. So, and I shut the line. And then the phone rang again. He said, please, please, don't tell me to go. It really, truly was a bishop. Oh, man. Yeah, he said, the Pope would like you to sing for him. And I said, why?

He said, because he heard, he says, una canzona, a song of yours, called Parole per mio padre, which is a word to my father. And so it seemed like the Pope took a liking to a song that I did on an album, on a Swedish piano player's album. And so I went to Rome and had an audience with the Pope, which was really great. I mean, all kidding aside, I spoke with him for 10 or 15 minutes. And before that, I did a real study on Pope John Paul, and he was some special dude. He did his part in World War II, and of course he did his part to free Poland

and to stop the terrible constraints of communism there. And he was a good playwright. He was a good poet. And he tried to unify a lot of religions in this world. And he was just a very, very cool guy. And we had a very cool conversation. Now, sadly, he's long gone, but I still... Oh, his legacy lives on.

I wish it would have continued. When people say something to me that's an emphatic yes, I often still reply with, is the Pope Polish? That's my reply, which makes no sense anymore. I've got to update that reference. I still say it, though. Let's talk about the new album, Wilderness Road. This is your 20th album.

Uh-huh. Milestone album. Now, if I were going to play a jam right now, would you rather hear A Road to Redemption or Ghost Train? Well, as you like it. Surprise you? Yes, as you like it.

All right. It's a long road to redemption Back to the life I've left in disrepair this repair It's a long hard climb Till your lips meet mine But I swear Sweet darling I'll give in

Oh Sweet darling, I'll give in. Oh, it's a far cry to forgiveness. So much in this world to set square Lots of fences to mend Till I hold you once again But I swear, sweet darling, I'll get there So that's Road to Redemption from Wilderness Road. Can you tell me a little bit about putting out this new album and writing it and just the whole process there?

I had tons of stories, you know, 30, 40 stories, poems written, and I wanted to set it to music, and I wanted to do it in a way that I never did before. If you notice in Wilderness Road, I'm singing a little bit more in a baritone range, and find a way to state these narratives in a way that I had never done before, as in Ghost Train, in a way that I had never done before, as in Ghost Train and Old and Wiser and Yet Something Beautiful. The Woman Upstairs is about a battered woman who used to live upstairs in the house,

and I wanted to write about her circumstance in a way that was respectful, but in a way that would be entertaining, too. Now, the obvious question is the dramatic changes in your music industry since you're putting out jams like I Just Wanna Stop or Black Cars and Now. So in your experience,

how is this better or worse for singer-songwriters like yourself? The new way. It's better for some and it's worse for others. It's better for those who love to make music. We just continue making music without constraints. And no matter what, the human condition is the human condition.

We can say things change. We can say we got iPhones. We can say we're going to the moon, to Mars. But people still get lonely. People still have sentiments. People still like to share. People still like good times. People still cry. I'm going to do a kind of an unplugged version of Older and Wiser on a reissue very, very soon.

Once I was a gambling man But now my gambling days are done Once I was some loosey cowboy Might say I've holstered my gun That kind of style. Nice, nice. I've hosted my gun. That kind of style. Nice, nice. Now, Ghost Train.

I like Ghost Train. Yeah, me too. I wondered, though, about the fact that if Ghost Train were streamed a billion times today, you might get a check for $1.47 or something like that. Does that at all irk you as a songwriter, singer? I sell cheese on the side, too. I sell cheese on the side, too. Rolling down the line I'm going to rescue This heart of mine Hear the rumbling roar Of the moonlight express

A warm last chance A better world than this A better world than this Every traveler's side Silent as a storm A large line but not quite Flesh and bone Yet I would not be daubed

Or driven to faint By a trainload of lost souls In the high flat Then a voice From a hooded road went back Whispered pilgrim here we go

There ain't no turning back All aboard cried the train guard Make ready for your magic mountain ride Say goodbye to the world down below us Here's your one-way ticket to the other side

Oh, the ghost train Drop all your trappings out the door Wave goodbye to the boy in the window You won't be seeing hell anymore So what's Ghost Train about? Deciding to stay in this world or not. You considered leaving this world? That was a period of time when things were difficult.

We always, being a human, it's a human condition to think about, do I stay or do I go, or when do I go, or how should I stay if I do stay? And the ghost train, to me, represented just that train that will take you away. And at one point, I figured I wanted to take that train. And I went on with the story, as my imagination ran wild with itself. And I take the train and last minute I hear a boy crying and that boy

I look back down to the world below and I don't recognize the boy but that weeping makes me jump off the train and tumble back into my skin back to a cottage

in the woods and into the arms of a woman who held my head to her belly and said, you're going to have a son. Whoa, that's heavy, man. That's heavy. I'm so glad you didn't take the ghost train

because here you are, making people happy with your music, fit as a fiddle and looking great. And you performed back on the road. You got your 20th album. Thank goodness you did. Your 20th pablum? Pablum?

That's something else entirely. That's back to the Black Thursday, thank you, my friend. Gino, this has been an absolute pleasure. Wilderness Road, people can get it now. This is a couple of jams from it.

And again, April 24th, people can see you live. And this has been a fantastic conversation. I really appreciate you. I've had a lot of fun. Thank you. And that brings us

to the end of our 453rd show. Gino, don't stand up until, you know, you're going to hit your head here. I'm just warning you right now. I need to hit it. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Gino, do you know your Twitter handle?

That's a pop quiz for you. My Twitter what? I will tweet this at you and people can learn Gino's. Just go to GinoV.com or my Facebook. GinoV.com or find Gino Vanelli on Facebook. Yeah, I really am involved with my or my Facebook. GinoV.com or find Gino Vanelli on Facebook. Yeah, I really am involved with my Facebook a lot.

Okay, good. So Facebook's for Gino. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Propertyinthe6.com is at Raptor's Devotee. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Fast Time Watch and Jewelry Repair is at Fast Time WJR. Camp Turnisole is at Camp Turnisole. And Sticker U is at Sticker U. I'm going to

sign off now and listen to Black Cars. I'll see you all next week when my guest is Jerry Howarth. ¶¶ today and your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away because everything is rosy and green well you've been under my skin for more than eight years it's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears