Powerful People is the second studio album of Canadian singer Gino Vannelli. The album was released in 1974, and was produced by Gino and his brother Joe Vannelli. Herb Alpert (who produced Vannelli's first album) is credited as associate producer, and Alpert's future wife, Lani Hall, sang background vocals.
After his debut Crazy Life had failed to chart due to poor record company promotion,[3] Vannelli assembled a band to record his second album. He and brother Joe had played all the instruments on Crazy Life, but Powerful People is characterized by Joe Vannelli's first experiments with synthesizers and the use of session musicians.
The funky "People Gotta Move" was Vannelli's first hit in the United States, when disco music was gaining popularity. The song reached #22 on Billboard Hot 100 and #21 in Canada.[4] "Powerful People" reached #34 in Canada.[5] The last track, "Poor Happy Jimmy", is a tribute to American singer Jim Croce, who died in an airplane accident a year earlier. The album was on the Canadian charts four separate times totalling 28 weeks between November 16, 1974, and August 14, 1976.
^DeCurtis, Anthony; George-Warren, Holly and Henke, James; The Rolling Stone Album Guide – Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist, p. 733 ISBN0679737294
