About The Lillo’s
From the pen of Corinne Lillo….
Music was a big part of growing up in the Lillo family. We were always surrounded by musicians and as children we took lots of music lessons. My brothers and I were constantly singing together, singing harmonies when driving on road trips to the farm, singing at family functions, singing at church and eventually at paid performances. By the time I was 15, I joined my parents in our family band playing rhythm guitar. My brothers were younger and joined the band when they were 12 and 14 years old. My Dad Vic Sr played saxophone, my Mom Doreen played keyboards, my brother Vic played trumpet and percussion, my brother Les played drums and I played rhythm guitar. My sister Danielle was too young to join us at that time as most of our gigs were in the evenings. Our band was booked steady and we played every weekend for parties, weddings and special events. We were even flown to Norman Wells Caribou Days and to Seattle for a special wedding as well as performing at Scandapades at the Jubilee Auditorium.
My brothers and I also had our own band called the Lillo’s. We would do show sets for Klondike Days, concerts, special events, malls, telethons and tv shows. My sister Danielle who was 6 at the time would be our special guest for some of our performances. I was writing songs and we were performing original material as well. In 1976 my Dad purchased a recording studio for our basement where my brothers and I started recording several songs.
We continued recording and in the fall of 1977 my Dad hired Glenn to play bass & electric guitar and help us with arranging and recording our original songs. Glenn was 20 years old when he first started working with us. He turned 21 in September, I was 18 and my brothers were 12 and 14 with their next birthdays quickly approaching. We were an enthusiastic, dedicated young band! We had a 4 track reel to reel recorder so my Dad and my brother Vic worked the recording gear, mixing board and effects with the help of Glenn. We did a lot of practicing, singing, arranging, recording, overdubs, multi tracking and mix downs.
I would drive Glenn home after the recording sessions and we would talk for hours. Glenn wanted to pursue our relationship further and go out on a date. After many requests I finally agreed to go to a staff Christmas party with him. Love blossomed. We spent many great hours together listening to music, practicing, recording and enjoying each others company. I wrote the song “Love Me Gentle” for Glenn in 1978.
When the recording project for the Lillo’s was completed my Dad went to New York to see if he could get some interest for our group with some of the major record labels. The response was good and they requested more material. Unfortunately, the priorities changed in our band and though we continued to play dance jobs and perform for special events we did not follow up with more original recordings at that time.
