Vince Gill and Amy Grant are the country music power couple when it comes to Christmas celebrations. They put on a yearly holiday residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. They also released their first collaborative Christmas album earlier this year. However, some may not know why they seem to be so fond of the holiday season. Besides the reasons everyone loves this time of year, Gill and Grant first met during a holiday special in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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Christmas with Vince Gill was a holiday special filmed for TNN that took place in Gill’s home state of Oklahoma in 1993. He celebrated the holiday season with some of his heroes. He also invited Grant to take part. “I was doing a Christmas special and made a record and my guests were my heroes Chet Atikins, Michael McDonald, and then we needed somebody that would be a good guest so people would actually watch,” Gill recalled, explaining how Grant landed on the bill. “We met and made the best friend I’ve ever had,” he added. During the special, the pair delivered one of their first duet performances with “Tennessee Christmas.” Watch it below.
[RELATED: Vince Gill and Amy Grant Recall the First Time They Met]
Performing with Amy Grant Inspired Vince Gill to Write a Hit Song
Vince Gill and Pete Wasner co-wrote “Whenever You Come Around.” Gill released the song as the lead single from his 1994 album When Love Finds You. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and remains one of his most popular songs. He was inspired to write it after meeting Amy Grant for the first time.
Gill and Grant were both married at the time. Gill and his first wife divorced in 1997. He and Grant tied the knot in 2000. However, he was stricken by his fellow singer/songwriter in 1993. “She walked into the rehearsal hell and smiled at me and I have not been the same since,” he recalled. “The inspiration was simply that smile that brought this song,” he added.
“Tennessee Christmas” appears on the couple’s new album When I Think of Christmas. However, it isn’t a duet. Grant, who penned the song with Gary Chapman, sings it solo on the album.
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