Vince Gill recalls the sweet ode he wrote for the love of his life

Back in 1994, country music veteran Vince Gill released his intimate love ballad “Whenever You Come Around.” The song was an ode to a woman who would later become his wife — Amy Grant.

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On Sept. 27, Vince recalled the inspiration behind that special song when he emceed and performed at the Novo Theater in Los Angeles as part of the ninth annual All for the Hall benefit concert.

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Vince said, “When I met [Amy] years ago I was just completely taken with her smile. We were doing a TV show together, and she walked in and smiled at me. I haven’t been the same since.”

Vince shared that in the midst of wanting to write the song, he reached out to his friend, Pete Wasner. And, together they penned what the Country Music Hall of Fame member describes as the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his whole life. Prior to laying down the lyrics though, Vince remembered telling his buddy, “I want to write a song about Amy Grant’s smile.” But a surprised Pete reacted with, “Do you even know her?”

Regardless of the fact that Vince and Amy were mere acquaintances at the time, the song ended up climbing to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In an ironic twist of fate, Vince also shared that he had the pleasure of writing with Amy after penning “Whenever You Come Around.”

“She asked me to play her something that I was working on for my new record. So. I played her this song that I had written about her, and didn’t tell her,” said Vince. “She listened to it and said, ‘Oh that’s nice. That’s really beautiful.’ Years and years and years later she said, ‘I remembered listening to that song for the first time and all I could think of was, ‘Who is the lucky girl that that song was written for?’”

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The couple tied the knot in 2000 and have been together for more than 15 years! You can find “Whenever You Come Around” on Vince’s album, “When Love Finds You.”

Country music singer-songwriters Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton, along with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legends James Taylor and Joe Walsh, were also on hand at the annual All for the Hall fundraiser event. The money raised from the event goes to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s education program.

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