Contemporary country celebrity Vince Gill is one of the greatest honored musicians of his genre winning the most CMA awards in history. Some of his most memorable hit singles include, “
When I Call Your Name”, “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”, “Take Your Memory With You”, “One More Last Chance”, “Tryin’ to Get Over You”, “Pretty Little Adriana”, and “
A Little More Love”. Initially earning his place in the music scene as a member of
Pure Prairie League, Gill eventually went solo becoming one of the most popular country stars of the 1990s. Born April 12, 1957
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in Norman, Oklahoma, Vince developed an interest in music learning to play the guitar and banjo in his teenage years. He later adopted the fiddle, mandolin, dobro, and bass. His high school band, Mountain Smoke, gained local recognition when they landed a gig as the supporting act for Pure Prairie League. Gill later auditioned for the popular group once he graduated and was immediately asked to join as the lead vocalist. He recorded three albums with the band delivering their Top Ten hit “
Let Me Love You Tonight”. In 1981 he split from Pure Prairie League and joined the Cherry Bombs, then a year later appeared on David Grisman’s album Here Today. In 1983 he signed a solo deal with RCA Records.
His debut Turn Me Loose saw release in 1984 including his first charting single “Victim of Life’s Circumstances”, while his sophomore album The Things That Matter appeared the following year. Gill’s first big hit was with “
Cinderella” off of the 1987 release The Way Back Home. Switching to the MCA Records label in 1989, Gill issued When I Call Your Name which sold over one million copies. The popular title track earned the singer his first Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. While his fourth album, Pocket Full of Gold was certified platinum, Gill achieved his first number one hit the following year with the title track off of I Still Believe in You. The 4x platinum album also spawned two additional number one singles, “One More Last Chance” and “Tryin’ To Get Over You”. The 1994 release, When Love Finds You became his first to peak in the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 album chart featuring the popular singles “What the Cowgirls Do”, “Whenever You Come Around”, “Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn)”, and “
You Better Think Twice”. High Lonesome Sound appeared in 1996 sporting a heavier bluegrass style familiar to Gill’s earlier work.
The country star’s most admired album, The Key, saw release in 1998 spawning the sentimental track, reminiscent of his broken marriage with Janis Gill, “
If You Ever Have Forever in Mind”. The album peaked in the number one spot on the Top Country albums and at number eleven on the Billboard 200. Let’s Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye followed in 2000 scoring the Top Ten hit “Feels Like Love”. Next Big Thing, which was produced entirely by Gill, appeared in 2003. In October 2006, he is expected to release These Days, a 4 CD set of 43 new and original tracks featuring collaborations by major artists
Sheryl Crow,
Diana Krall,
Bonnie Raitt,
LeAnn Rimes, his wife
Amy Grant, and
Emmylou Harris to name a few.
