Gino Vannelli - "Hurts to Be in Love"

(Debuted September 21, 1985, Peaked #57, 12 Weeks on the Chart)

American listeners know Gino Vannelli best for his 1978 hit "I Just Wanna Stop" and his lesser 1981 single "Living Inside Myself." The Montreal native had been working steadily since the early 1970s, however, and racked up several hit singles in his home country as well as a handful of lesser-charting songs in the U.S. By 1985, the music business had been changed by the advent of MTV and his LP Black Cars features layers of synthesizers (a Yamaha model, specifically) on every track. Vannelli had been an early proponent of the synthesizer -- his first Top 40 hit "People Gotta Move" featured one in 1974 -- but the sound and production style of the album definitely dates it as a 1985 artifact.

There was a song by Gene Pitney in 1964 called "It Hurts to Be in Love," but this is not a remake. It's a new song written by Vannelli.