Gino Soccio
born September 9, 1955 in
Verdun, Quebec, Canada
Do you know this about the Disco legend Gino Soccio?
He is a record producer that is often misrepresented as an Italian artist, but while he is of Italian descent, he most certainly is French Canadian.
His bio brings to light his grand love affair with disco, his zero compromises on quality, and of course, his legendary, lavish mustache.
Gino's career spanned just over a decade, his music is as relevant today as when he first stepped into the disco scene in the 1970s. He began his career as a local session musician, with a keyboard as his weapon of choice. Lesser known is that he also played drums and guitar and even dabbled in strings and horns.
Thanks to Montreal Producer Pat Deserio, Soccio got a break into disco, playing keyboards for the Kebekelektrik album. Mic drop moment - the name Kebekelektrik is pronounced "Quebec Electric." A clever play by fervid artists!
Soccios composition on the Kebekelektrik album, War Dance, launched Soccio's career. It became a hit in the United States, with his hit "Dancer" rising to fame in the USA and The UK.
He also played keyboards on the Bomber Album in 1978, all while laying the groundwork for his great coming out the following year.
Soccio's highly acclaimed debut solo album, Outline, was released in 1979, and through it, he finally had his name written in shining lights on the world disco stage.
He did a collaboration disco album with Guy Lafleur in 1979. Shockingly, this album cost Can $100,000 to produce, a rather large some for struggling artists back in the day.
This multi-talented singer/songwriter also co-produced Witch Queen, a disco group well known for their 1979 hit "Bang a Gong." Witch Queen went on to peak at #11 on CKLG's Vancouver Chart for seven weeks in 1979.
Soccio’s discography is quite impressive, with four albums, 17 singles, and three compilations. His studio albums were all released a year apart, with Outline in 1979, S-Beat in 1980, Closer in 1981, and Face to Face in 1982. His compilations included Remember (1984), Greatest Hits (1989), and The Best of Gino Soccio in 1994. All his singles were produced between 1977 and 1986.
Gino Soccio received two nominations during his career; both Juno Awards for singer/songwriter and instrumental album of the year. Soccio seems to have been MIA since 1989,
Soccios top 3 hits
His only hit to have made it onto the US Billboard Hot 100 was "Dancer," which earned him 48th.
Dancer also emerged at #46 on the UK singles chart in 1979.
However, he hit #1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart twice, with Dancer in 1979 and "Try it out" in 1981. Both songs stayed at #1 for six weeks.
His third most significant hit, "It's alright," stayed at #2 for five weeks on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.