84 Facts About Vince Gill

Vincent Grant Gill was born on April 12,1957 and is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.

Vince Gill played in a number of local bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after taking over as lead singer of the soft rock band Pure Prairie League.

Vince Gill recorded for RCA Records Nashville from then until 1988 with minimal success.

All of Vince Gill's albums released in the 1990s were certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America, with the highest being 1992's I Still Believe in You at quintuple-platinum.

Vince Gill has won 22 Grammy Awards, the most among solo male country music artists.

Vince Gill was a member of Western swing group the Time Jumpers from 2010 to 2020, and joined the rock band Eagles in 2017 following the death of longtime member Glenn Frey.

Additionally, Vince Gill has written songs for Alabama and Ty Herndon, and holds a number of credits as a backing vocalist and session musician.

Vince Gill's music is known for his songwriting, his tenor singing voice, and his lead guitar work, with many critics noting his prolificacy in both ballads and up-tempo material.

Vincent Grant Gill was born April 12,1957, in Norman, Oklahoma, as the youngest of three children to Jerene and Stan Gill.

Stan Vince Gill worked as a judge and played guitar and banjo, both of which he taught his son how to play.

Additionally, Vince Gill brought his guitar to school for show and tell a number of times, where he would entertain students by playing "The House of the Rising Sun".

Vince Gill learned how to play Dobro, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and bass guitar during his teenage years.

Vince Gill developed an interest in bluegrass music after becoming friends with the son of his father's friend, who was a fan of the genre and played mandolin.

Vince Gill attended the auditions at the recommendation of a friend, as he had served as an opening act for the band while in Mountain Smoke.

Vince Gill appeared on their 1979 album Can't Hold Back in addition to writing several songs on it.

In 1982, Vince Gill was invited by singer Rodney Crowell to play guitar in his backing band, the Cherry Bombs.

Vince Gill had previously been offered the opportunity to do so during the success of "Let Me Love You Tonight" and declined, but chose to accept Crowell's offer the second time because the following singles and albums had not been successful.

Shortly before his signing with RCA, Vince Gill appeared as a guest vocalist on David Grisman's Here Today, and sang backing vocals on Steve Wariner's "Midnight Fire", on which Brown was a producer.

Vince Gill debuted on RCA in 1984 with a six-song extended play titled Turn Me Loose.

Delbert McClinton wrote the former of these, while Vince Gill wrote the title track.

The Things That Matter accounted for another top-ten in "Oklahoma Borderline", which Vince Gill wrote with Crowell and Guy Clark.

Vince Gill selected Richard Landis, who had previously worked with Juice Newton.

Vince Gill recalled Landis as being "outspoken" and initially thought Landis would make a "slick pop record", but ultimately noted that Landis was open to production suggestions from Vince Gill.

Sgammato thought this decision was made due to most of the songs written by Vince Gill having not been as successful as those written by others.

Vince Gill had remained in contact with Tony Brown, who by 1988 was president of MCA Nashville Records and helped him sign a contract with that label in 1989.

The success of When I Call Your Name led to Vince Gill touring in support of the album, which included a concert at SeaWorld San Antonio and one opening for McEntire at Caesars Palace, along with an induction into the Grand Ole Opry.

Follow-up "Liza Jane", which Vince Gill wrote with Nielsen, reached the same peak.

Vince Gill told Bob Paxman of the blog Sounds Like Nashville that he allowed Brown to select songs for the album, as he "trusted [Brown's] song sense".

In October 1991, Vince Gill hosted the CMA awards telecast with Clint Black.

Vince Gill went on to host the awards ceremony every subsequent year through 2003.

Vince Gill had originally intended to record the song with Kenny Rogers, but after proving unable to find a key in which both of them could sing the song comfortably, she instead chose Gill.

Vince Gill praised the lyrics of "I Still Believe in You" and "No Future in the Past" in particular.

AllMusic writer Johnny Loftus considered Vince Gill to have a "smooth" voice, while finding influences of soul music on the title track and of bluegrass music on "No Future in the Past".

Vince Gill won five CMA Awards in 1993, including Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Song of the Year, the last of which went to "I Still Believe in You".

Vince Gill had begun writing "Go Rest High on That Mountain" in 1989 as a tribute to Keith Whitley following his death that same year, but did not finish it until four years later when the death of Vince Gill's half-brother Bob Cohen inspired him.

Vince Gill was inspired to write "Pretty Little Adriana" after reading a news story about a girl named Adriana Dickerson, who was shot to death outside a Nashville supermarket in 1995.

Vince Gill continued to tour in 1997, with his tours that year being the fourth most profitable among country artists.

In turn, Vince Gill sang backing vocals on Hill's "Let Me Let Go" and Evans's "No Place That Far", both of which were number-one country songs between late 1998 and early 1999.

In 2000, Vince Gill released the studio album Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye.

Amy Grant, to whom Vince Gill would become married during the recording of the album, co-wrote and provided duet vocals on the track "When I Look into Your Heart".

Vince Gill did not issue another studio album until 2003's Next Big Thing.

Vince Gill wrote its lead single and title track "Next Big Thing" with John Hobbs and former NRBQ member Al Anderson; the song would become Gill's last solo top-20 country chart entry upon release.

Vince Gill wanted the album to include more humorous material than his previous works.

Vince Gill's review highlighted the singles in particular, additionally noting the contributions of Grant and Michael McDonald.

Vince Gill co-produced with Justin Niebank and John Hobbs, and wrote most of the songs by himself.

In 2010, Vince Gill joined the Time Jumpers, an informal collection of musicians who play bluegrass and Western swing concerts at various venues around Nashville.

Vince Gill would continue to perform with the Time Jumpers until 2020.

Two years later, Vince Gill collaborated with session steel guitar player Paul Franklin on the cover song project Bakersfield.

Vince Gill released Down to My Last Bad Habit through MCA in 2016.

Vince Gill wrote the song with Richard Marx and Jillian Jacqueline.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Vince Gill "maintains an elegant, soulful air throughout the record", while highlighting the number of guest artists and considering the sound to be influenced by Memphis soul.

Vince Gill accepted the offer, as he considered himself a fan of not only the Eagles, but of Frey's solo material.

Vince Gill debuted as a member of the band at a concert held in Dodger Stadium in 2017.

Once again, Vince Gill produced with Niebank, in addition to playing guitar alongside Jedd Hughes and Tom Bukovac.

Vince Gill is known for a large number of collaborative works as a duet partner, session musician, songwriter, and backing vocalist.

One of his first collaborations came in 1987 when Emmylou Harris chose Vince Gill to appear on her album Angel Band, a compilation of gospel music standards.

Vince Gill played mandolin and sang backing vocals on the project, which included Emory Gordy Jr.

On two occasions, Vince Gill collaborated with Asleep at the Wheel on a cover of a Bob Wills song.

Vince Gill sang backing vocals on her 1987 self-titled debut album, and on her 1989 hit "Timber, I'm Falling in Love".

Vince Gill had originally wanted to wait until after "Go Rest High on That Mountain" to release the duet version of "I Will Always Love You".

However, demand from radio caused the duet to chart prematurely and ascend the charts simultaneously with "Go Rest High on That Mountain", and Vince Gill chose not to intervene.

Vince Gill co-wrote and provided backing vocals on the track "You Just Get One", recorded in 1995 by Ty Herndon on his debut album What Mattered Most.

In 1998, Vince Gill won another Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance, as a featured performer on Randy Scruggs's "A Soldier's Joy" from his album Crown of Jewels.

Vince Gill was featured on Kelly Clarkson's 2012 single "Don't Rush" as well.

Between late 2016 and early 2017, Vince Gill was credited for his backing vocals and lead guitar on Chris Young's "Sober Saturday Night", which went to number one on the country charts.

Vince Gill charted in 2017 as a guest vocalist on Maren Morris's promotional single "Dear Hate", written in response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.

Vince Gill's music is defined by his tenor voice, guitar playing, and breadth of influences.

Vince Gill characterizes Gill's early work as influential in the neotraditional country movements of the late 1980s to early 1990s, but thought his membership in both Pure Prairie League and the Eagles showed an interest in his music outside of country music as well.

Vince Gill was not a paint-by-the-numbers kind of country performer.

Vince Gill cites Merle Haggard as one of his main influences.

Outside of country, Vince Gill has named Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty as influences, as he considered their works to have "honesty".

Vince Gill said that he characterized his own songwriting by "simplicity", a characteristic he thought was present in the works of Hank Williams.

Additionally, Sgammato observed that Vince Gill tended to have hits with ballads more frequently than with up-tempo material, although she cited "Liza Jane" and "One More Last Chance" as successful examples of the latter.

Vince Gill has been named as an influence by other artists.

In 2018, Vince Gill gave Worsham a custom-made guitar, which Worsham played on his second album Beginning of Things.

Vince Gill wrote both "Everybody's Sweetheart" and "The Radio" about his relationship to her.

Vince Gill began dating contemporary Christian music singer Amy Grant in 1999 following her divorce from singer Gary Chapman.

In 2023, Corrinna Vince Gill began releasing her own music online.

Vince Gill is known for his pleasant demeanor and frequent involvements in charity works, leading many publications to refer to him as the "nicest guy in Nashville".

Vince Gill received a 2003 Distinguished Service Award from Professional Golfers' Association of America to honor this charity.

In 1995, Vince Gill held a concert to benefit the American Red Cross following the Oklahoma City bombing.

One charity to which Vince Gill contributes is All for the Hall, an annual benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Vince Gill has won eight Academy of Country Music awards and 18 Country Music Association awards, out of 37 nominations from the former and 54 from the latter.

Vince Gill has won 22 Grammy Awards, accounting for the most wins among solo male country music singers.