The Promise Reba McEntire Had To Make to Vince Gill After Shooting the Video for Their Chart-Topping Duet

In 1993, Reba McEntire enlisted Vince Gill for the duet “The Heart Won’t Lie.” She released it as a single from her 1992 album It’s Your Call in February 1993. Two months later, it topped the Hot Country Songs chart for two weeks. The music video for the song was one of the best of the decade and took multiple days to shoot. After they were done filming, Gill would only work with McEntire again under one condition.

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By the early 1990s, both McEntire and Gill were on their way to becoming two of country music’s brightest stars. Fans of the genre couldn’t get enough of either artist. As a result, both the song and its video were wildly popular with fans.

[RELATED: A Timeline of Vince Gill’s Most Face-Melting Guitar Solos To Remind You He’s One of the Best to Ever Do It (2004-2014)]

Music videos in the 1990s were more like short films than anything else. McEntire was one of many artists who released a collection of cinematic gold set to her hit singles. “The Heart Won’t Lie” is no different. Seasoned music video director Jon Small helmed the project. Previously, he directed McEntire’s “Whoever’s in New England” and Aerosmith and Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way.”

Small paid homage to the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman with the “The Heart Won’t Lie” video. Gill is a stand-in for Gunnery Sergeant Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.), and McEntire is in the role of Zack Mayo (Richard Gere). They shot it at the Nashville Armed Forces Recruiting Station and in China. Overall, it took four days to shoot.

The Promise Reba McEntire Made to Vince Gill

Over the years, Reba McEntire has proved that she feels at home in front of a camera. She has appeared in films, led two sitcoms, and served as a coach on The Voice since shooting the video for “The Heart Won’t Lie.” Vince Gill, it turns out, is more comfortable behind a guitar and microphone than in front of a camera.

McEntire originally planned to have Gill sing harmonies on “The Heart Won’t Lie.” Her co-producer, Tony Brown, suggested they turn the song into a duet. “It worked out well in the end for everyone–except, I think, Vince,” she said. “He doesn’t really care for videos, and this one turned into a four-day shoot,” she explained.

“It was great to spend time with Vince and get to watch him do what he called his Gomer Pyle imitation for his character. But I had to promise him that if he ever does another song with me, he will never have to suffer through a four-day video shoot again!” McEntire revealed.

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