Vinny Vero

I write songs, not bios. So I left this space to be filled in by someone who knows what he's doing. Hopefully, that makes it a far more interesting read than if the words came from my pen...or, as is the case in cyberspace, my fingertips.For Vinny Vero, his career as a songwriter, producer and record executive is continuously fueled by his massive music library. Spanning the entire Rock n’ Roll era, it’s a 25,000 piece collection of CDs and vinyl that includes everything from the obvious to the obscure. This musical energy source provides the soundtrack to his past, present and future.Vinny began collecting the records that started his passion for popular music while studying as a classically trained concert clarinetist. Seduced and intrigued by the radio, the first singles he bought were “Waterloo” by ABBA, “California Dreaming” by The Mamas And The Papas and “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” by The Temptations which shaped the foundation of his musical tastes. Fascinated by how these and other records sounded coupled with the fever of viewing every episode of “American Bandstand”, his near-obsession with the early years of MTV, and a collection of Billboard magazines that now stretches back over twenty five years, Vinny began to realize his direction and what his future would hold.Julliard, Berkeley, and New York University started knocking down his door, not only for his Classical and Jazz performance skills, but his music writing ability as well. Not only was Vinny gifted at scoring and arranging, but he was quite adept at writing pop songs. Eventually, NYU’s music business and technology program led to stints at various top Manhattan studios. At college, Vinny also began his passionate involvement with entertainment law, the marketing of contemporary music, and the psychology of the music consumer. This knowledge prepared him for the next phase of his career and continues to make him a valuable commodity in the music industry.In 1990, the new decade launched Vinny into a six year career as a marketing and a&r executive at EMI Records working with multi-platinum international acts like Roxette, Pet Shop Boys, Jon Secada, Robert Palmer, Huey Lewis And The News, Go West and Queensryche among others. It was during this time that he developed Brilliant!, a successful dance/pop oriented imprint under the EMI umbrella of labels which produced several international, chart topping singles. He also became one of the creative pioneers behind the then burgeoning compilation market.Resigning his post at EMI, Vinny vigorously pursued his production and songwriting career that he had been developing since his late teens. Today, Vinny has seen his production abilities leant to the Grammy-nominated hit “To Step Aside” by Pet Shop Boys and the worldwide smash single “In The Springtime Of His Voodoo” by Tori Amos. He co-wrote and produced six songs for Billie Ray Martin on “18 Carat Garbage”, the follow-up to her smash, debut album which included the international hit “Your Loving Arms”. Vinny has also produced records for Ace Of Base, Bananarama, Blondie, Judy Cheeks, Cut N' Move, Bryan Ferry, Frida (from ABBA), Shara Nelson and Rozalla. Vinny's successful remixes for Blondie were instrumental in bringing them back together for their 1999 reunion album, "No Exit".Based in New York, Vinny has spent many years honing his craft. He divides his time between his home, Los Angeles, Nashville, London and Stockholm writing songs, working on productions and developing arrangements. In the last five years alone, Vinny has had top 10 albums and singles with international, major label acts including B3, Yvonne Catterfeld, Latik, Tania Moran, Sandra Oxenryd, Paulini, Rosa, Vanessa S, and Wei Wei. In fact, Wei Wei, China's biggest star with album sales of over 200 million, will be hosting the 2008 Olympics in Bejing and performing a selection of Vinny's songs in front of billions of people across the globe.Additionally, the rapidly growing list of hit artists Vinny has been asked to pen hit songs for includes Paula Abdul, Oleta Adams, Peter Andre, Another Level, Marc Anthony, Rick Astley, Toni Braxton, Jim Brickman, Five, Eric Gadd, Robin Gibb, Tony Hadley (of Spandau Ballet), Joe Dee Messina, Mandy Moore, Ultra Nate, N’Sync, Orfeh (the female lead in the Broadway show “Saturday Night Fever”), React, Robyn, Anna Sahlene, Jon Secada, Donna Summer, and Tina Turner.Ever challenging himself further, Vinny’s entrepreneurial side saw him start his own independent record label in 1998, the appropriately named Finetune Recordings. The label saw the signing, development and success of new material by Boy George, Black Box and Billie Ray Martin. In fact, the label went from strength to strength with its biggest success having come from New York native Caprice with her smash hit “There Goes Your Heart” which became a top 20 hit and a radio staple in many major metro markets across the US.Also, Vinny has been tapped by Time Life for his marketing expertise and knowledge of popular music. Currently, he is producing compilations and television programs hosted by legendary performers including Air Supply, Peabo Bryson, Roger Daltrey, KC And The Sunshine Band, Huey Lewis, Kenny Rogers and Vanessa Williams.