Gino Vannelli -- I Just Wanna Stop

From YouTube

The first time that I'd ever seen or heard Canadian singer-songwriter Gino Vannelli was through a K-Tel record commercial on television. The Montreal-born heartthrob was sexily beckoning at the camera in what must have been one of the earliest examples of a bona fide music video, but unfortunately, I've forgotten through the deteriorating windmills of my mind which song it was. One impression that has stayed with me though is that Vannelli didn't suffer from any lack of hair, and as such, he would be the prime representative for TV Tropes' "Carpet of Virility" entry.

But back then, I didn't appreciate his music as I do very much now. He's always had the music chops and the hits that he brought back in the 1970s have become a touchstone for the AOR that I've enjoyed. In fact, I'd say that Vannelli has probably been a similar influence like Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers for what has appeared on the City Pop and J-AOR scene, and I recall that the current urban contemporary duo Blue Peppers（ブルーペパーズ）has listed Vannelli as a target of admiration on their website.

For me, one of my favourites by Vannelli is "I Just Wanna Stop" which was written and produced by his brothers, Joe and Ross. Released as his 7th single in August 1978, and the strange thing about this one is that before I even fell in love with his vocals and the relaxing melody, I had been thrilled by the fact that he gave a shoutout to his hometown of Montreal right in the first line. Along with those lyrics about greatly missing the love of his life, it's all about those keyboards and then the sax solo. I'm not surprised that it did hit No. 1 on Canada's RPM Singles chart, and it also broke into the Top 10 of America's Billboard by placing in at No. 4. 

The above video supposedly was produced in 2015, and Vannelli has aged very well indeed.

This is a bit of a cameo on the weekly Reminiscings of Youth article but I just had to include Sing Like Talking's rendition of "I Just Wanna Stop". If there's any band that can do right by this one, it would be SLT, although the tempo is a bit peppier than I'm used to.

So, what were the singles coming out back in August 1978?

Yuka Kamebuchi -- Whiskey Night（ウィスキーナイト）

Yoshitaka Minami -- Hizuke Henkosen（日付変更線）

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Cinderella Honeymoon (シンデレラ・ハネムーン)

And to finish off, I also ought to include this parody below by the incomparable comedy legend Eugene Levy.