Some people don’t find their purpose until later in life. However, a lucky few find what they know they will do for the rest of their lives before they graduate from high school. Vince fits into the latter category. He had the “ah-ha” moment that made him know he would be a lifelong musician while he was still in elementary school. Now, decades later, he’s one of Nashville’s most recognized singer-songwriters and musicians.
In 2020, Gill sat down with Musicians Hall of Fame founder and CEO Joe Chambers to talk about his long career. During their conversation, he revealed how he started playing guitar and when he knew he had found his purpose.
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Vince Gill grew up surrounded by music
Chambers asked Vince Gill how he got started. “Well, just like most people, I think the love for it goes back as far as I can remember,” he replied. “My dad would play a little bit, and my mom would play the harmonica for about two songs and then she’d gasp and be done. My grandmother was an accomplished pianist in Oklahoma City, in a little town called Yukon, Oklahoma. So, I was always around music. My older brother played a little bit. And I love records. He recalls: “They played records and they played music.”
Gill went on to say that he started getting to know his instrument at a very young age. “I have pictures of me sleeping on the couch with the guitar when I was probably two years old. My arm was around that guitar. I don’t ever remember not playing. The crazy thing is that I was crazy enough to try it.”
Jill’s “ah-ha” moment
Vince Gill can’t remember the time before he started playing music. However, he can remember the moment when he knew he had found his purpose. He recalls: “The first place I played in front of people was in elementary school.” “I can’t remember what grade it was but I went and they let me play ‘House of the Rising Sun’. I was playing a song about an infamous elementary school house and I realized that death had been done. “I knew I was supposed to be a pagan musician for the rest of my life,” Gill said.
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