Vince Gill paid nearly a decade and a half of dues en route to becoming one
of the most popular country stars of the '90s. Starting out as a bluegrass
singer and
multi-instrumentalist, he initially made his name with country-rockers
Pure Prairie League, and spent the '80s as part of country's new
traditionalist wing before finding massive success as a contemporary country
hitmaker.
Vince Gill had strong mainstream appeal, yet enough songwriting chops and
grounding in tradition that he could maintain his artistic credibility without
being branded a crossover-happy hack. That balance made him the kind of
performer that awards ceremonies can feel good about honoring, and honor him
they did --
Vince Gill has won more CMA awards than any performer in history, and his 14
Grammys tie him with
Chet Atkins for the most ever by a country artist.
Vincent Grant Gill was born April 12, 1957, in Norman, OK. His father, a
judge, played banjo and guitar, and
Vince picked up both by his teen years; he later added fiddle, dobro,
mandolin, and bass to his repertoire. In high school,
Gill played in the bluegrass band Mountain Smoke, which gained enough of a
local reputation to open a concert for
Pure Prairie League.
Vince Gill graduated in 1975 and moved to Louisville to join the band
Bluegrass Alliance, with whom he stayed for a year. He then briefly played
with
Ricky Skaggs'
Boone Creek outfit before setting out for Los Angeles, where he joined
fiddler
Byron Berline's group
Sundance. In 1979, he accompanied a friend to audition for
Pure Prairie League, mostly out of curiosity as to whether they remembered
his high-school band, and they wound up hiring him as their lead singer.
Vince Gill recorded three albums with the band, helping them land a Top Ten pop
hit with "Let Me Love You Tonight," and also began writing songs for them. He
departed in 1981 to join
Rodney Crowell's backing band, the Cherry Bombs, where he met
Emory Gordy, Jr. and
Tony Brown, both of whom would later produce his solo records. In 1982, he
appeared on the
David Grisman album Here Today, and the following year he landed a solo deal
with RCA thanks to his connection with
Brown.
Vince Gill, his wife Janis (née Oliver, a member of
the Sweethearts of the Rodeo), and their young daughter moved to Nashville.
With
Gordy producing,
Vince Gill issued his debut mini-album, Turn Me Loose, in 1984, with a style in
keeping with his recent country-rock past. He notched his first charting country
single with the minor Top 40 entry "Victim of Life's Circumstance," and the
following year completed his follow-up, The Things That Matter. A duet with
Rosanne Cash, "If It Weren't for Him," gave
Vince Gill his first Top Ten hit, and his next single, "Oklahoma Borderline,"
duplicated its predecessor's success. 1987's The Way Back Home gave
Vince Gill his biggest RCA hit in the Top Five "Cinderella." In the meantime, he
also worked as a session guitarist, wrote songs for other artists, and toured
with
Emmylou Harris.
In 1989,
Vince Gill left RCA to sign with MCA, where he reunited with
Tony Brown, now a successful producer. Though he'd enjoyed some success in
his own right,
Gill wasn't really a star. That all changed with the release of his label
debut, 1989's When I Call Your Name. A duet with
Reba McEntire, "Oklahoma Swing," made the Top 20, but the title track was
the true breakout hit, climbing to number two and winning
Vince Gill his first Grammy. Its follow-up, "Never Knew Lonely," hit number three,
and the album went on to sell over a million copies. Perhaps partly as a result,
Gill declined an offer from
Mark Knopfler to become a full-time member of
Dire Straits.
Gill's follow-up album, 1991's Pocket Full of Gold, was another platinum
smash, giving him four Top Ten singles in "Liza Jane," the title track, "Look at
Us," and the number two smash "Take Your Memory With You." 1992's I Still
Believe in You made
Vince Gill an outright superstar; the title ballad was an enormous hit that became
his first number one single, and its follow-up, "Don't Let Our Love Start
Slippin' Away," also topped the charts. The album took only a few months to go
platinum, and still spun off more hits: two more number ones in "One More Last
Chance" and "Tryin' to Get Over You," and the number three "No Future in the
Past." Additionally, "The Heart Won't Lie," another duet with
McEntire from her It's Your Call album, went to number one in 1993. Over the
next few years, I Still Believe in You would sell over four million copies.
Vince Gill issued the stopgap holiday album Let There Be Peace on Earth in late
1993, and returned with When Love Finds You in 1994, which became his first
album to break the pop Top Ten. It, too, sold over four million copies, and gave
him five Top Five country hits: "What the Cowgirls Do," the title track,
"Whenever You Come Around," "Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn)," and
"You Better Think Twice."
Vince Gill was clearly a country hit factory by this point, but instead of
coasting into the inevitable decline, he got more ambitious with his next
project, 1996's High Lonesome Sound. Returning to his bluegrass roots,
Vince Gill crafted a tour of American roots-music styles that earned him some
positive critical attention, even if overall reviews were mixed. It proved
commercially potent as well, giving him several more hits, including the Top
Fivers "Worlds Apart," "Pretty Little Adriana," and "A Little More Love." In
1998,
Vince Gill released his most universally acclaimed album, The Key, which was both
a return to hardcore country and a chronicle of the breakup of his marriage to
Janis Oliver. Although country radio shied away from its more traditional
approach (save for the Top Five hit "If You Ever Have Forever in Mind"), it sold
well, going platinum and becoming
Vince Gill's first album -- surprisingly -- to top the country charts.
Rumors about
Vince Gill's relationship with pop singer and onetime Christian star
Amy Grant proved to be true, and the couple married in early 2000.
Vince Gill's next album, Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye, was largely a tribute to
his new romance that many critics found overly sentimental. It gave him another
Top Ten hit in "Feels Like Love," but it was uncharacteristically snubbed come
Grammy time, despite securing four nominations.
Vince Gill returned to critical favor with his next outing, 2003's Next Big Thing,
which marked the first time he produced an entire album on his own. ~ Steve
Huey, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Vince Gill for your next corporate or private event.
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