His career began as lead singer with the glorious country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s. He then joined Rodney Crowell’s backing group for a while before launching his own phenomenal solo career in 1984, scoring no fewer than 20 top five singles in the American charts,

five of which reached number one. He has won multiple Grammy Awards and 18 major Country Music Association Awards and in 2007 was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, a supreme

acknowledgement of his huge contribution to the Country Music community. As I write, he is the President of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

For 12 years, Vince was also the gently respectful host of the CMA Music Awards, bringing warmth, wit and charm to country music’s biggest night. I was there on behalf of the BBC Radio 2 Country Show for the first time in 1999 and I vividly remember being on the red carpet at the end of

the evening, watching in awe as the rhinestone stars swished out of the Grand Ole Opry and into the fleet of limousines waiting to take them away. It was a moment to see and be seen … except for the compere of the show.

As I looked on, Vince appeared from the stage door. Changed out of his onstage finery into a plaid shirt, a pair of blue jeans and boots, he had a smile on his face and a guitar across his shoulders as he wandered unrecognised across the parking lot. He then climbed into his pick-up truck, switched on the lights and drove unnoticed into the night. The biggest star of the show was also the most humble. The man is an absolute legend!

He has always talked about how much he loves Buddy’s music and, at various times, ‘Maybe Baby’, ‘Peggy Sue’ and ‘Rave On’ have all made it onto the Vince Gill set list. He is successful and kind in equal measure, but I believe that it is his guitar playing that most eloquently demonstrates his unique super-power. Vince’s wonderful, natural style has levels of

interpretive brilliance and emotional expression that literally make him one of the best guitar players on the planet.

Vince has become a full-time touring member of the Eagles since 2017, and now he and his wife Amy are the proud owners of Buddy Holly guitars (called ‘Because I Love You’ and ‘Door to My Heart’), presented to them by The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. These are genuinely lovely things and no one deserves them more. 

Bob Harris