Vince Gill Makes His New Album a Nashville Family Affair

When low-key legend Vince Gill took the stage with his band of Nashville A-team pickers to close the show at last night’s Nashville Flood Relief Webathon at 3rd and Lindsley, it was the perfect ending to a night of great music. The show had already featured great sets by Keith Anderson, Josh Thompson, Chuck Wicks, Ira Dean, Brooke Burrows, Jaron, Joanna Cotten and others before Hall of Famer Vince launched into his batch of mostly familiar songs. Always generous, Vince let his band have the spotlight doing a couple of tunes without him before coming onstage to join them in a smokin’ version of “Workin’ Man Blues.” Then he proceded to perform a string of his biggest hits, beginning with the gorgeous “Whenever You Come Around,” a tune he wrote about the first time he met Amy Grant, the woman who captivated him with her smile and later become his wife. Sporting a Make Biscuits Not War cap, Vince kicked into crowd favorite “One More Last Chance” and closed the show with the infectious “Little Liza Jane.” In between, he unveiled a new tune from his upcoming new album after joking, “I thought I was too old to have new tunes.” He said he’d been in the studio recording it earlier and had some very special help on backing vocals. “I had my two daughters there with me—Jenny, who’s 28, and Corina, who’s 9. Paid ‘em both the same.” The elegantly powerful tune, whose name Vince didn’t mention, was the emotional highlight of the night . . . featuring verses beginning if I die drinkin’ . . . . if I die cheatin’ . . . and, finally, if I die prayin’. Just a beautifully uplifting song . . . the kind we’ve come to expect from Vince. By the time he raised his left hand and said a simple, “peace,” as he left the stage, it was apparent that, while this may be “a young man’s town” as far as country radio is concerned, there’s absolutely no one else in Vince’s league as a writer, singer and musician. He’s the best.—David Scarlett