Vince Gill Biography | Songs & Life | PBS | Country Music | Ken Burns | PBS

After high school graduation, Vince moved to Louisville and joined the band Bluegrass Alliance, followed by stints in other bluegrass outfits, including Ricky Skaggs’s Boone Creek. In 1979, he auditioned on a whim for Pure Prairie League and was hired as their lead singer. He recorded three albums with the band, including the Top 10 pop hit “Let Me Love You Tonight.”

In 1983, Gill moved with his wife and young daughter to Nashville. He recorded three albums with RCA, including a duet with Rosanne Cash, worked frequently as a studio musician, wrote songs for other artists, and toured with Emmylou Harris. But it was only after he signed with MCA Records in 1989, under the direction of producer Tony Brown, and released the album When I Call Your Name that Gill broke through into mainstream country music stardom. The title cut firmly established him as a new force on the scene, peaking at No. 2 and earning Gill his first CMA Award (Single of the Year) and first GRAMMY (Best Male Country Vocal Performance). The album, certified platinum, revealed what would become Gill‘s trademark mix of country-pop, rock, bluegrass, and hard country songs. By the mid-1990s, he had solidified his reputation as a country hit factory and he continued to have hits into the latter part of the decade, closing in 1998 with his most universally acclaimed album, The Key, about the breakup of his marriage.

Gill is known for his gentle demeanor (George Jones affectionately dubbed him “Sweet Pea”) and his strong support of humanitarian causes. His respected presence in the country music industry is perhaps best seen in his hosting of the CMA awards for 12 consecutive years, from 1992-2003. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Gill continues to record and tour – occasionally with his wife, contemporary Christian artist Amy Grant, and in 2014 with country singer Carrie Underwood – and is a member of the Texas Swing supergroup, The Time Jumpers.