Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons (Joe, Gino, and Ross) born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing percussion at an early age. By the age of 15, Gino began writing songs. Just out of high school, he signed his first recording contract with RCA under the pseudonym Vann Elli, but went on to study music at McGill.

After a stint in New York City, Vannelli and his brothers went to Los Angeles, California in a financially distraught and desperate state to wait outside trumpeter Herb Alpert's locked gate for an audition. Alpert was Vannelli's last hope prior to heading back to Montreal the next day. Alpert liked what he heard and two days later signed Vannelli with A&M Records, releasing his first album in 1973. Vannelli'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 progressive for the early 1970s.

In April 1981, "Living Inside Myself" was on Billboard's Top 100 at number 6. Canadian comedy legend Eugene Levy satirized Gino in Episode 4 of SCTV/Network 90 also in 1981. The Vannelli brothers shared the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year in 1986 for "Black Cars". The Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year was again shared by the Vannelli brothers in 1987 for "Wild Horses" and "Young Lover". Gino's additional recordings of the 1980s era include: "Nightwalker" and "Big Dreamers Never Sleep."

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