Image: Richard Binckley via YouTube
About This Quiz
With a closet full of Grammy Awards and the ability to play a veritable orchestra of musical instruments, Vince Gill is a musician's musician—someone who made his bones before autotune and synthetic sounds could cover up a multitude of sins. Gill has released an amazing 18 studio albums, including periods where he was putting out one every year! 67 of his songs have made it onto the Billboard charts. Meanwhile, on top of his very successful solo career, he has played in a number of bands, starting in high school.
However, while some of the biggest country stars—from Johnny Cash to George Strait to Carrie Underwood—become household names even among those who have never heard a country song, Vince Gill is not quite in this category, even despite a couple of forays into pop music. He is, however, a giant of his genre. This means that while his career has had the occasional lull, he has a vast and extremely loyal fanbase on which to depend.
Of course, only the most dedicated fans really know Gill's career in detail, from the number one hits to which bands he joined and when, to how he first became a musician in the first place. Are you a true Vince Gill fan? Let's find out!
Frank
Merle
Merle Haggard was more than a musical inspiration to Vince Gill. He was also a good friend who, in Gill's words, "Made me proud to be an Okie." He even taught Gill how to write a country song.
Shep
Tom
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"Oh Carolina"
"Til The Best Comes Along"
"My Kind Of Woman"
"When I Call Your Name"
This hit song was the title track from the album on which it was released, as the third single from the album. It only made it to number two on the Billboard chart, but it still went double platinum eventually.
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Janis Oliver
Gill and Oliver met during a stint in California and were married for 17 years in total. They had one daughter and divorced in 1997. Oliver continues to perform with her sister Kristine Arnold as the band Sweethearts of the Rodeo.
Reba McEntire
Leanne Rimes
Bonnie Raitt
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Christian pop singer
Vince Gill and his first wife divorced in 1997. He met Amy Grant, herself a divorcee and mother of three. They married in 2000 and had a further daughter together, Corinna. Like Gill, Grant has also departed her usual genre to enjoy some success in pop music, though she is most noted for her contemporary Christian music.
Doctor
Lawyer
Hairdresser
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American Eagle Recordings
Glitterhouse Records
Carnival Music
RCA records
RCA Records is probably most noted for its biggest artist, Elvis Presley. These days it is a subsidiary of Sony and has all sorts of artists on its books, including Britney Spears and Alicia Keys. Gill's deal with RCA helped to launch him as a solo artist.
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Tenor
While many of the biggest country stars in history are noted for their deep and manly baritones, from Johnny Cash to Blake Shelton to plenty of performers in between, Vince Gill is a notable tenor. His higher range works with the gentler bluegrass and jazz sounds that he mixes into his music.
Baritenor
Baritone
Bass
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Kenny Rogers
Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs played with Gill long before either of them ever knew they would become members of the Hall of Fame. Ricky Skaggs (and Patty Loveless) sang backgorund vocals on "Go Rest High On That Mountain," a single of Gill's released in 1995.
George Strait
Randy Travis
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Kentucky
Alabama
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Gill was born in the city of Norman, Oklahoma. He was comfortably middle-class, with a professional father, an uncommon background for a country singer. He was not expected to follow in his parents' footsteps, however, and carved his own path.
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Traditional country
Bluegrass
Hip-hop
Gill's musical education was mostly highly informal, meaning that while he lacked the advantages of early instruction, he also wasn't pushed into a straitjacket. This meant that he embraced a variety of sounds, drawing on jazz, bluegrass, country, and more.
Jazz
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"Let There Be Peace On Earth"
"The Way Back Home"
"The Things That Matter"
"When Love Finds You"
The two songs from this album that made the leap into the pop charts were, perhaps counter-intuitively, "What the Cowgirls Do" and "Whenever You Come Around." Gill was always noted as a versatile musician, but he had not enjoyed success outside of country prior to this release.
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Oklahoma Sound
Brothers Of Redemption
Hip Flask Farmhands
Pure Prairie League
Pure Prairie League is named for a temperance league (an anti-alcohol society) from an Errol Flynn movie. The band has broken up and reformed multiple times, and Vince Gill was only with it for part of its history, starting in 1978.
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Fiddle
Banjo
Guitar
Cello
Gill's father insisted that he learn to play plenty of instruments when he was young. By the time he was 10, he played guitar to a professional standard, including both 4-string and 6-string varieties, and both acoustic and electric.
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1972
1941
1957
Vince Gill had the advantage of coming of age when country greats like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams were playing. Inspirations Gill has remarked on in public include Guy Clark and Merle Haggard.
1961
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"Pocket Full Of Gold"
"I Still Believe In You"
"I Still Believe In You" debuted to huge success in 1992, just one year after "Pocket Full Of Gold" did likewise in 1991. Gill had some difficult years and less success later in the decade, but resumed his previous form after the year 2000.
"The Key"
"Down To My Last Bad Habit"
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Swingin' Dingles
Vince Gill has played with a number of bands in his life, including Boone Creek with Rodney Crowell, as we noted previously. He also played in a bluegrass group named Mountain Smoke, and then another named Bluegrass Alliance. He was later in a third bluegrass group called Sundance.
Mountain Smoke
Boone Creek
Sundance
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Brother
Father
Wife
Daughter
Gill's first daughter Jenny performed vocals on the song "Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye." Jenny Gill is still a performing artist in her own right, whose debut EP was "The House Sessions," released in 2017.
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The Pineapple Cuddles
The Cherry Bombs
The Cherry Bombs were a band founded by Rodney Crowell, a friend and colleague of Vince Gill. In 1981, Gill left Pure Prairie League to play with Crowell, which led directly to his first solo deal.
Pint-Size Ramblers
Rodeo Clowns
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Johnny Cash
Reba McEntire
Emmylou Harris
Bonnie Raitt
Vince Gill has played with a number of country's biggest stars over the years, including the above plus others such as Patty Loveless. He even performed a duet of "I Will Always Love You" with Dolly Parton.
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"A Letter To My Mama"
Gill sings to a number of important people in his life on this album, including his wife, mother and two musical mentors, all of whom are specifically named. He also addresses thorny issues such as teenage pregnancy, as well as sexual abuse, all in just 12 songs!
"When My Amy Prays"
"The Price of Regret"
"Nothin' Like A Guy Clark Song"
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Dire Straits
Vince Gill said of the offer from Mark Knopfler to join Dire Straits that, "It would have solved all of my financial problems. I was struggling to pay the house note, and keep food on the table. It was a tough stretch." He turned it down, a decision he regretted until later that year when his own career turned around and he hit it big!
Def Leppard
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
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Dixie Chicks
The Eagles
The Eagles were founded by singer and songwriter Glenn Frey, who tragically died in 2016. Vince Gill was invited to step in and take Frey's spot when the band toured the following year, and played the role of lead vocalist.
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
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Gibson Electric
To be precise, Vince Gill's first electric guitar was a ES-335 Gibson Electric. However, Gill's remarkable musical talent meant he picked up many more instruments, including banjo, bass, mandolin, fiddle and even the dobro!
Fender Stratocaster
Fender Telecaster
Les Paul Epiphone
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Britney Spears
Whitney Houston
Cher
Barbra Streisand
Streisand and Gill collaborated on "If You Ever Leave Me," which came out in 1999. It was part of Streisand's album "A Love Like Ours," and the single didn't perform particularly well. It only made it to number 62 in the Billboard chart, a poor result for both artists.
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2
3
4
5
George Strait and Vince Gill share the honor of being the only male artists to take home this prize five times. However, Gill is the only one to do this five years in a row, from 1991-1995, a feat that doubtless eased the sting of his reduced commercial success in the latter part of those years.
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2007
Vince Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, though the country version is not the only hall of fame to which he belongs. He is an avid golf player and is a member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame, largely due to sponsoring charitable games.
2001
1991
2016
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12
21
Vince Gill's astonishing haul of Grammy Awards spans a 27-year period. His 21 wins for 44 nominations make him one of the most decorated artists in Grammy history, even including genres other than country.
11
5
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Sterling
Red
Notorious
The Cherry Bombs originally came about when Rodney Crowell, formerly of Emmylou Harris' Hot Band, decided to go his own way and took several of his colleagues with him. In 2004 the Cherry Bombs reformed after some years apart, and added the "notorious" to their name, releasing an eponymous album.
Juicy
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1992
Gill had his first group number one with "Let Me Love You Tonight" when he was part of Pure Prairie League in 1980. However, he did not enjoy a solo number one for some years after that, with "I Still Believe In You", which was the title song on his sixth studio album.
1978
1987
1999
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"The Key"
"When Love Finds You
"Turn Me Loose"
The album "Turn Me Loose" took Gill's already burgeoning career to a new level. It earned him the Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist Award. It included six songs, three of which were written entirely by Gill himself.
"Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye"
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"The Heart Won't Lie"
"Look At Us"
"Go Rest High On That Mountain"
"Whenever You Come Around"
Vince Gill's music has not been a huge feature of the very pop-oriented and mainstream "American Idol". However, contestant Tyler Mitchell made an impression on the judges with a cover of "Whenever You Come Around" in his audition.
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1990
Gill didn't enjoy a number one hit until later, but he had great commercial success without it. He also achieved critical success with a variety of awards, including the 1990 Grammy for best country song for "When I Call Your Name."
1980
1998
1983
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His daughter was harmed.
The #MeToo movement inspired him.
His gym teacher tried to assault him.
In seventh grade, Vince Gill was sadly subject to an attempt at molestation by his gym teacher, whose depredations he managed to escape. In 2018 at the height of the #MeToo movement, he wrote "Forever Changed" to honor survivors and to direct scorn at the predators who harm them.
He met a woman who had been assaulted.
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Dolly Parton
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is the daughter of Johnny Cash, and has played with a veritable "Who's Who" of country stars. Vince Gill is among the most notable, but others include Rodney Crowell, Tammy Wynette and Guy Clark. She has even played with Rufus Wainright and Bruce Springsteen!
Patty Loveless
Tammy Wynette
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Lawyer and administrative law judge
While the stereotypical country star grows up in terrible poverty, Vince Gill enjoyed a more comfortable situation. His father, J. Stanley Gill, played part-time in a country band as a way of relaxing, however, which served as an introduction to music. He even encouraged his son to take the risk and turn professional.
Actuary
Accountant and auditor
Plumber
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"High Lonesome Sound"
"Okie"
"Okie" is an album in which Gill has been able to incorporate experiences from many decades as a professional songwriter, as well as a twice-married father of two. He pays moving tribute to his wife's inspiring faith, as well as to mentors whose input he appreciates all the more now that they are gone.
"Guitar Slinger"
"Bakersfield"
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You Got:
/35
