Vince Gill is easily one of country music’s most influential and beloved stars. As he did recently with Steve Earle, Gill sometimes arrives with life-changing gifts. Gill, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 2005 and a Grand Ole Opry member since 1991, is one of the Opry’s go-to artists when it’s time to invite new entertainers to join the Grand Ole Opry family. While receiving that coveted invitation is at the top of nearly every country singer’s list, and reactions are almost always deeply emotional, occasionally the scene rises from merely tearful to over-the-top tremendous.
Watch as Gill makes these artists’ dreams come true, starting with the most outrageous reactions.
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Vince Gill invites Chris Young to join the Grand Ole Opry
How often does someone call another artist “a big ole bastard” on stage at the Grand Ole Opry and get away with it? I’d guess never. However, that happened in August 2017 when Vince Gill invited Chris Young to join the Opry. Then, Young lifted Gill off the ground, and Gill hung on for dear life. But, more on that in a minute.
Young and Gill were celebrating the success of their No. 1 hit “Sober Saturday Night.” At the time, they shared a manager, the beloved Larry Fitzgerald, and Gill walked on stage with plaques to commemorate the song’s gold and platinum sales.
Then, which is when he referred to Young as a b.o.b, he said there was a point of contention because he’d never been for the session when they recorded the hit.
“I’m still years away from social security,” Gill told Young as Young laughed. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll forgive the session fees if you’ll be the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.”
Young was stupefied, pointing at Gill as if to say, “You tricked me!” Gill pointed back, laughing. Then Young wrapped his arms around Gill’s torso in a giant bear hug and picked him up.
Of course, the men received a standing ovation. Young kissed his hand and slapped it against the Opry’s famous circle.
“You’re getting triple scale at this point,” Young told Gill.
Gill replied: “As a friend, and someone that’s been out here for 30 years, you will not believe the friendships, the relationships, and the heart you gain from being out here for the rest of your life. It’s going to be really powerful to you, so congratulations.”
Then Young started crying.
Vince Gill Surprises Keith Urban at All for the Hall
Gill and Urban teamed to create All for the Hall, a semi-annual all-star concert to benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2012, Diamond Rio, the Oak Ridge Boys, and Rascal Flatts were among the guests. Per usual for the event, Gill and Urban played in the backup band. Gill and the three groups were on stage when Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney and Gary LeVox carried out what looked like a body bag, which Gill declared was a gift for Urban. Then he promised it wasn’t Urban’s wife, Nicole Kidman.
Looking hesitant and confused, Urban got on his knees and started unzipping the bag in front of well over 12,000 people. As he tugs on the zipper, Gill announces: “Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to invite Keith Urban to be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry. Urban, still kneeling, dropped his head in his hands as the other artists gathered around him. Oak Ridge Boy Duane Allen rested both hands on Urban’s shoulders in congratulations.
Urban pressed his palms into his eyes and stayed on the ground for several seconds before getting up, hugging LeVox and removing the Grand Ole Opry’s famous branded mic stand from the long black bag.
Urban was flustered and nearly speechless.
“I’ve been here 20 years this year,” Urban said. “1989 was the first year I came over from Australia to take my demo around to all the record labels. I got a lot of strange looks, but I really wanted to make Nashville home. I managed to do it over the next few years. I always wanted to play the Opry, and I’ll always remember the first time I played it. Seeing this stand and coming out and standing in the circle was an extraordinary and surreal moment. This right here is in a whole other stratosphere.”
Vince Gill Poses for Selfie with Mark Wills – then Pops the Question
Gill invited Wills to join the Grand Ole Opry in 2018 during a celebration of Jimmy Capps. Wills held up his phone for a selfie with Gill on the Opry stage. Gill started talking, and when Wills heard the words, he crumpled to the floor, sobbing in the Opry circle.
“This boy has been the greatest supporter, the greatest proponent of what the Opry stands for,” Gill said.
Wills’ sobbing was clearly audible over Gills’ voice and the cheering crowd.
“Now I like him even more,” Gill said. “He’s a crybaby like me.”
Vince Gill Surprises T. Graham Brown on his Radio Show
Brown thought he was just hanging out with Gill on “Live Wire,” the show he hosts for SiriusXM Prime Country (Ch. 58). The request to book his friend of nearly four decades had come through SiriusXM’s New York office, which Brown found odd, as the men typically dealt directly with each other. But he didn’t think much of it.
Brown had half an hour for the interview, but when he started to wrap up the chat at the 33-minute mark, Gill stopped him.
“How many times you done the Opry?” Gill asked.
“400-something,” Brown replied.
“I’ll shoot you straight,” Gill said. “I was asked to come here by the Opry to invite you to be the next member.”
“I just said, ‘Oh, bull,’” Brown told Cindy Watts. Brown thought he was kidding.
Brown’s face crumpled with emotion as he exclaimed, “No” in disbelief.
When Grand Ole Opry executives emerged from hiding, Brown knew the invitation was genuine. He started crying, and Gill struggled to keep his tears at bay.
“This was all a setup,” Gill said. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“Please tell me you’re not kidding,” Brown said, losing the battle to his tears.
“I so wanted this; you just don’t know,” he said. “I’m so proud of the Opry. I’m just so proud to be there every time. I’ve never taken it for granted. It’s just amazing.”
Vince Gill Tricks Steve Earle with Opry Guitar Strap
Gill surprised Earle, his friend of four decades, with a guitar strap and an invitation to become the newest Grand Ole Opry member in April.
“This is kind of the biggest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” Earle said after he found his voice.
The invitation, as it always is, was a surprise. But Earle seemed beyond shocked, clearly emotional, bordering on dumbfounded.
After Earle finished singing his signature “Copperhead Road,” Gill strolled on stage under the guise of surprising Earle with a custom Opry 100 leather guitar strap that he’d been coveting.
Earle smiled broadly when he saw Gill walk on stage.
“It came to my attention that you saw a strap that I’ve been wearing the last few weeks,” Gill said. “We decided that we’d get you a gift.”
Earle nodded, appearing amused and pleased to see his friend and happy with the present. Gill had the strap coiled in an Opry cap, pulled it out, and unrolled it.
Earle said he thought he had a guitar he could put it on. Gill started to walk away, then turned around. He said there was one more thing. Earle paused.
“What I forgot to mention is to get one of these straps, you have to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” Gill said.
Earle dropped his head and doubled over.
“I get to invite you to be our newest member of the Grand Ole Opry, my 40-plus-year friend,” Gill said.
Earle bowed his head again, squeezed his eyes closed, and gave Gill a bear hug in the famed Opry circle.
“This is kind of the biggest thing that’s ever happened,” Earle said.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
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