Vince Gill

Vince Gill

Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a vocalist and musician have placed him in high demand as a guest vocalist, and a duet partner. Gill has recorded more than twenty studio albums, charted over forty singles on the U.S. Billboard charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold more than 22 million albums. He has been honored by the Country Music Association with 18 CMA Awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male Vocalist Awards. Gill has also earned 20 Grammy Awards, more than any other male Country music artist. In 2007, Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life

Gill was born in Norman, Oklahoma. His father, J. Stanley Gill, was a lawyer and administrative law judge who played in a country music band part time and encouraged Gill to pursue a musical career. His homemaker mother, Jerene, played the harmonica. At the encouragement of his father, Gill learned to play several instruments, including the banjo and guitar, before he started high school at Oklahoma City's Northwest Classen High School. He first played with a teenage band called Bluegrass Revue in the late 1970s. The other members were: Billy Perry on the banjo, Bobby Clark on the mandolin and Mike Perry on the bass. (Bobby Clark plays with Jerry Butler and the Blue Js now.) While in high school, he performed with "Mountain Smoke," a bluegrass band that once opened for Pure Prairie League. After he graduated, he played in a number of bluegrass bands, including Ricky Skaggs' "Boone Creek" and Byron Berline and Sundance; later, he became a member of Rodney Crowell's road band, The Cherry Bombs.

Career

Gill debuted on the national scene with the country rock band Pure Prairie League in 1979, appearing on that band's album Can't Hold Back. Gill is the lead singer on their hit song "Let Me Love You Tonight".

Vince Gill is scheduled to appear at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on Nov 10, 2010.

Personal life

Gill married country singer Janis Oliver of Sweethearts of the Rodeo fame, in 1980. The couple have one daughter, Jennifer Jerene Gill, born May 5, 1982. Gill occasionally mixed sound for his wife's band at concerts. Vince and Janis separated in the mid-1990s and eventually divorced in June 1998. Vince married Christian/pop singer Amy Grant in March 2000. They have one daughter, Corrina Grant Gill, born March 12, 2001.

Gill, along with his wife Amy, are fans of the Nashville Predators. They have been season ticket holders since the opening season and are often shown on the jumbo screen. In the 2007 playoffs, he and Amy sang the national anthem for each game.

Though Gill never attended college, he's a big fan of the University of Oklahoma football team. He also attends nearly every men's basketball game at Belmont University in Nashville.

Discography

Main article: Vince Gill discography

Selected awards

Academy of Country Music

• 1984 Top New Male Vocalist
• 1992 Song of the Year with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe In You"
• 1992 Top Male Vocalist
• 1993 Top Male Vocalist

Country Music Association

• 1990 Single of the Year - "When I Call Your Name"
• 1991 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1992 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1992 Song of the Year with Max D. Barnes - "Look At Us"
• 1993 Album of the Year - "I Still Believe in You"
• 1993 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1993 Song of the Year with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe in You"
• 1994 Entertainer of the Year
• 1994 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1995 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 1999 Vocal Event of the Year with Patty Loveless - "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man"

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

• Inducted in 2007

Grammy Awards

• 1990 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "When I Call Your Name"
• 1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Ricky Skaggs and Steve Wariner - "Restless"
• 1992 Best Country Song with John Barlow Jarvis - "I Still Believe in You"
• 1992 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "I Still Believe in You"
• 1993 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Asleep at the Wheel, Chet Atkins, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble, Marty Stuart, and Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield - "Red Wing"
• 1994 Best Country Vocal Performance, Male - "When Love Finds You"
• 1995 Best Country Song - "Go Rest High on That Mountain"
• 1995 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Go Rest High on That Mountain"
• 1996 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Worlds Apart"
• 1997 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Randy Scruggs - "A Soldier's Joy"
• 1997 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "Pretty Little Adriana"
• 1998 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "If You Ever Have Forever In Mind"
• 1999 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Tommy Allsup, Asleep at the Wheel, Floyd Domino, Larry Franklin, and Steve Wariner - "Bob's Breakdowns"
• 2001 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Douglas, Gen Duncan, Albert Lee, Steve Martin, Leon Russell, Earl Scruggs, Gary Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Paul Shaffer and Marty Stuart - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"
• 2002 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Next Big Thing"
• 2006 Best Male Country Vocal Performance - "The Reason Why"
• 2007 Best Country Album - "These Days"
• 2008 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Brad Paisley, James Burton, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner - "Cluster Pluck"

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

• Inducted in 2005

See also

• Best selling music artists

External links

• Official website
• Official Vince Gill UMG Nashville Artist Page
• How to Capture Vince Gill’s Guitar Tone
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Gill, Vince