Vince Gill started honing his six-string skills when he was just a kid. Today, he’s one of the most highly respected and versatile guitarists walking the earth today. He is comfortable playing country, bluegrass, gospel, and more recently he stepped into the rock and roll world with the Eagles. In a video recorded in his home studio in 2015, he showed that he can be ready to play at a moment’s notice.
Videos by American Songwriter
In 2015, Gill invited the winners of the Constituting America Best Song Contest to his home studio. He talked to the group of young songwriters and musicians about music and showed off his impressive vintage guitar collection. During the visit, the “One More Last Chance” singer led the group in an impromptu gospel jam. Watch them perform the classic hymn “How Great Thou Art” below.
[RELATED: Vince Gill Recalls the Inspiring Story Behind Being Gifted His First Guitar Ever]
Vince Gill Started Playing Guitar at a Young Age
Vince Gill recalled his history with the guitar in a 1997 interview with the Country Music Hall of Fame. During the conversation, he revealed that he couldn’t remember when he started playing the instrument.
“I know that I had a very small guitar that had a lampshade cord on it. It was broken and probably didn’t have all its strings. I don’t remember but I’ve seen pictures of me when I was one or two just dragging that guitar around,” he recalled. “So, I know that I have always had one around,” he added.
Gill went on to say that he often watched his father play guitar when he was growing up. When he was “very small” his father gave him a four-string tenor guitar. He tuned it like a standard six-string and started learning basic chords from his dad.
His parents bought him his first “real” guitar for Christmas when he was ten years old. “I can still remember finding that gift under the tree. I didn’t know it at the time but it was easily the most incredible Christmas gift I had ever gotten,” he recalled. “My folks scrimped and saved and took that old tenor and traded it in on this new, electric Gibson guitar called an ES-335,” he said.
“I still have that guitar today,” he continued. “It wound up being a guitar I would have sought as a grown, mature player because of the type of instrument it is. There are a lot of great players that play a 335,” he added.
Featured Image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
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