Vince Gill’s Favorite Song He’s Ever Written Was Never a Hit Single, and He Doesn’t Know Why

Vince Gill’s favorite song he’s ever written is one you might not readily recognize, given that it peaked at a relatively modest No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The less-than-stellar success of the single off his 2003 record, Next Big Thing, is a testament to the fact that no matter how successful a musician becomes, they have little to no control over which songs will turn into a hit.

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Even two decades later, the country star was unsure as to why a song he believed in so much never broke into the same rankings as other hits like “I Still Believe In You” and “Tryin’ to Get Over You.”

Vince Gill’s Favorite Song He Ever Wrote

In a 2023 interview with Vulture, Vince Gill revealed the favorite song he ever wrote. As it turns out, his answer might surprise even diehard Gill fans. “A song I felt was well-crafted,” Gill said, “is called “Young Man’s Town.” You feel like an old memory hangin’ round, and man, you’ve gotta face it, it’s a young man’s town. A lot of times, I think we equate the best things with the most successful things, and I don’t know that I subscribe to that. There are certain songs that mean an awful lot to me that are just buried on a record somewhere.”

And indeed, “buried” is a good word to use for “Young Man’s Town.” Gill released the track as a single off his 2003 record, Next Big Thing. But the song failed to break into the higher chart rankings he had enjoyed on previous albums. “Young Man’s Town” peaked at a modest No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Music chart. While that might have been impressive for an up-and-coming artist, this paled in comparison to his string of No. 1 singles off his 1989 record, When I Call Your Name. Ironically, the chart performance of Gill’s favorite song seemed to reflect the album’s concept of an aging artist acknowledging his dwindling relevancy in the industry.

Of course, the less-than-stellar success of Gill’s 2003 album by no means halted his career. His follow-up album, These Days, won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in 2008. Gill remains one of the most beloved country stars of all time, even if the songs for which he’s most famous aren’t necessarily his personal favorites.

He Got A Confidence Boost From One Of His Idols

Public opinion is nothing if not fickle. Even if the masses didn’t respond to Vince Gill’s favorite song in the way he had hoped, he still managed to receive accolades where it counted. During his 2023 conversation with Vulture, Gill said, “I now work for one of the greatest songwriters that ever lived in [the Eagles’] Don Henley. Totally unsolicited, he told me that [“Young Man’s Town”] was his favorite song of mine.” When one considers how long Henley has been in the game, too, it’s unsurprising that he would relate to Gill’s song about the never-ending cycle of younger artists pushing out the old guard.

During a performance on Country’s Family Reunion, Gill said he “still didn’t know why” his single from Next Big Thing never charted. But in the end, we suppose it doesn’t matter. The song connected with the people who needed it, including Gill himself and his future bandmate, Don Henley. Chart performances aside, that’s one of the greatest accomplishments a songwriter can hope for.

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