What's Vince Gill up to These Days?
By
Darryn Simmons
dmsimmons@gannett.com
Vince Gill is no stranger to doing things a little different. While most people like to release an album a year, Gill was motivated to release a four-CD set called "These Days."
He'll also be doing a bit more than average tonight at Jubilee CityFest with a special two-hour performance starting at 9 p.m.
"We're very lucky to have Vince Gill coming to give this special performance for us," said Marianne McLeod, executive director of Jubilee CityFest.
Thanks to Gill's long and successful career, plus his most recent release, he'll have no shortage of material for the concert.
On the four-CD set, "These Days," Gill showcases a variety of range. Each CD represents a different facet of country music -- traditional, ballads, contemporary and bluegrass.
Not only is the music eclectic, but the subject matter is, too.
Songs go from sacred tunes like "Tell Me One More Time About Jesus," a duet with Gill's wife, Amy Grant, to the more naughty "Cowboy Up," a duet with Gretchen Wilson.
Putting together an ambitious project like this is just one of many highlights in Gill's career. He spent more than a decade paying his dues before becoming one of the most popular country music stars.
Gill started out as a bluegrass singer in the band Mountain Smoke as a high schooler. He later left his native Oklahoma and moved to Louisville to join the band Bluegrass Alliance.
While with Mountain Smoke, Gill opened for Pure Prairie League. He accompanied a friend in 1979 to an audition for the band just to see if they remembered him.
The group ended up hiring him as their lead singer and he recorded three albums with the group and had a Top 10 hit with "Let Me Love You Tonight."
Gill left the group in 1981 to join Rodney Crowell's band and got a record deal with RCA in 1983.
Gill had his first hit in 1984 with the Top 40 single "Victim of Life's Circumstances." The following year, he had his first Top 10 solo hit with "If It Weren't For Him," a duet with Rosanne Cash.
Gill left RCA to sign with MCA in 1989 and his career really began to take off with chart toppers like "When I Call Your Name," "Never Knew Lonely," "Take Your Memory With You," "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away" and more.
He married Grant in 2000 and his next album, "Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye," was a tribute to their relationship.
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