Vince Gill

The Oklahoma-born neotraditional country singer and guitarist whose "Go Rest High on That Mountain" won the Grammy for best country song in 1996.

From bluegrass to Nashville

Vincent Grant Gill was born on April 12, 1957 in Norman, Oklahoma, and is based in Nashville. A tenor, he plays guitar, mandolin, banjo, Dobro, fiddle and bass. After high school he founded the bluegrass band Mountain Smoke, which opened for Kiss on March 4, 1976, then played in Bluegrass Alliance and in Boone Creek, which also included Ricky Skaggs, and briefly in Byron Berline's backing band, Sundance. He sang lead for Pure Prairie League from 1978 to 1982, including the top-ten Hot 100 hit "Let Me Love You Tonight", and played guitar in Rodney Crowell's band in 1982.

At RCA from 1983 he made the EP Turn Me Loose (1984), The Things That Matter (1985) and The Way Back Home (1987), and won the ACM's top new male vocalist award in 1984. He signed with MCA in 1989, and When I Call Your Name was the breakthrough; its title song won the CMA single and song of the year and a Grammy. Pocket Full of Gold (1991), I Still Believe in You (1992, five-times platinum) and When Love Finds You (1994) followed, with four solo number ones on Hot Country Songs in 1992 to 1994. He won the CMA male vocalist award in 1991 and 1993 to 1995 and co-hosted the CMA telecast with Clint Black through 2003.

Honors

Gill has won 22 Grammys, the most among solo male country artists, and 19 CMA Awards, including a record four song of the year awards. He played in the Western swing band the Time Jumpers from 2010 to 2020, and joined the Eagles in 2017. His later albums include Guitar Slinger (2011), Bakersfield (2013, with Paul Franklin), Down to My Last Bad Habit (2016), Okie (2019) and Sweet Memories (2023, a Ray Price tribute with Franklin). He announced a lifetime contract with MCA in October 2025, and the CMA announced its Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award for him on November 10, 2025.