Gino Soccio
Gino Soccio | |
---|---|
Born | Verdun, Quebec, Canada | September 9, 1955
Origin | Canada |
Genres | Disco, funk, post-disco |
Instruments | Keyboards |
Years active | 1977–present |
Labels | Celebration, Warner Bros. Records, RFC Records, Atlantic |
Associated acts | Kebekelektrik, Witch Queen |
Gino Soccio (born September 9, 1955)[1] is a Canadian disco record producer based in Montreal. His only US Billboard Hot 100 entry was the #48 hit single "Dancer" in 1979, but he did hit #1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart twice ("Dancer" / "Dance to Dance" in 1979, and "Try It Out" / "Hold Tight" in 1981, six weeks each). "Dancer" peaked at #46 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1979.[2] Soccio's third biggest hit, "It's Alright" / "Look At Yourself", from his album, Face to Face, reached #2 for 5 weeks also on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. "Turn It Around" was released only as a single in 1984.
Early life[]
Soccio was born in Verdun, Quebec, of Italian descent.
Career[]
Soccio got his start in disco when Montreal producer Pat Deserio called him and asked if he would play keyboards and help compose for the Kebekelektrik album.[3] Prior to this, Soccio was working as a local session musician. The Kebekelektrik album helped to launch Soccio's career, as his composition "War Dance" became a hit on U.S. dance floors, a song Soccio himself had deemed "filler".[1] In Canada, the Kebekelektrik song Magic Fly reached number 69 on the pop charts, October 8, 1977.[4]
In 1978 Soccio released a dance single, "The Visitors", which was later remixed by Ouimet.[5] That year he also played keyboards on the Bombers album Bombers.
His debut solo album "Outline" was released in 1979 and contained the hit "Dancer"; the album received critical acclaim and brought him international recognition.[6][7]
In 1979, Soccio also recorded a disco album with Guy Lafleur which cost CAD$100 000 to produce.[8]
In the UK he received airplay from Robbie Vincent on BBC Radio London, and Greg Edwards on Capital Radio on imported RFC Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records.
He also assembled and produced the disco studio group, Witch Queen, best known for their hit, "Bang A Gong" / "All Right Now" (1979). It peaked at number eight on the US Hot Dance/Disco chart.[9]
Discography[]
Gino Soccio discography | |
---|---|
Studio albums | 4 |
Compilation albums | 3 |
Singles | 17 |
The discography of Gino Soccio consists of four studio albums, three compilations and seventeen singles.
- Studio albums
Year | Title | Chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAN | US [10] |
US R&B [10] |
AUS [11] | ||
1979 | Outline
|
12 | 79 | 34 | 78 |
1980 | S-Beat
|
– | – | – | – |
1981 | Closer
|
– | 96 | 26 | – |
1982 | Face to Face
|
– | – | 45 | – |
- Compilation albums
- Remember (1984, Celebration)
- Greatest Hits (1989, Unidisc)
- The Best Of Gino Soccio (1994, Unidisc)
- Singles
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAN | US [10] |
US Dance [10] |
US R&B [10] |
UK [12] | ||||
1977 | "Sauve Qui Peut" | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
1978 | "The Visitors" | – | – | – | – | – | Outline | |
1979 | "Dancer"[13] | 6 | 48 | 1 | 60 | 46 | ||
"Dance To Dance" | – | – | – | – | ||||
1980 | "S-Beat" | – | – | 4 | – | – | S-Beat | |
"Heartbreaker" | – | – | – | – | ||||
1981 | "Try It Out" | – | – | 1 | 22 | – | Closer | – |
"What You Feel Is Real - Hold Tight" | – | – | – | – | ||||
1982 | "It's Alright"[14] | – | – | 2 | 60 | – | Face to Face | – |
"Remember" | – | – | – | – | ||||
"You Move Me" | – | – | – | – | ||||
1983 | "Get It Up" | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
1984 | "Turn It Around" | – | – | – | – | – | Remember | |
"Out Of My Life" | – | – | – | – | – | |||
1985 | "Human Nature" | – | – | 50[A] | – | – | ||
"Temptation Eyes" | – | – | – | – | – | |||
1986 | "Magic" | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
1988 | "Love The One You're With" | 79 | – | – | – | – | – |
- Notes
- A^ "Human Nature" actually charted at #50 on Billboard Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart.
See also[]
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Griffin, John. "Disco alive and well and living in Verdun". The Montreal Gazette - Aug 15, 1981
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 513. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "The 30 Best Disco Songs That Every Millennial Should Know". SPIN, June 18 2019
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 8, 1977" (PDF).
- ^ "GREG WILSON'S DISCOTHEQUE ARCHIVES #24". DJ Mag, May 23, 2018.
- ^ Brewster, Bill (2014-01-14). Last Night a Dj Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Grove Press. ISBN 9780802146106.
- ^ "Greatest of All Time: Top 10 Dance Club Songs Year-by-Year, 1976-2015". Billboard, 12/1/2016
- ^ Rodriguez, Juan (September 12, 1979). "Guy Lafleur Slips a Disc". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 282.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "allmusic ((( Gino Soccio > Awards )))". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company - Gino Soccio". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
- ^ Tim Lawrence (2 February 2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970–1979. Duke University Press. p. 363. ISBN 0-8223-8511-2.
- ^ Brian Chin (12 June 1982). Billboard: Dance Trax. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 75. ISSN 0006-2510.
External links[]
- Gino Soccio discography at Discogs
- Gino Soccio at IMDb
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Canadian dance musicians
- Canadian disco musicians
- Canadian record producers
- Canadian keyboardists
- Canadian people of Italian descent
- Musicians from Montreal
- People from Verdun, Quebec