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Vince Gill is
Nashville's Renaissance Man of the '90s. Admired for his singing,
songwriting, and guitar-playing abilities, as well as his good looks and
his golf game, Gill is so popular in Music City that at least one
country music magazine has wondered if he might one day run for
political office there.
Gill was born April 5, 1957, in Norman, Oklahoma, but his tenor voice
was bred in bluegrass bands (among them one with Ricky Skaggs). He
briefly fronted Pure Prairie League, where he had one top 40 pop hit,
"Let Me Love You Tonight," in 1980; later he played guitar for Emmylou
Harris and Rodney Crowell. He married Janis Oliver of Sweethearts Of The
Rodeo in the early '80s, but the couple began divorce proceedings in
1997. Gill released moderately successful singles for RCA from
1984-1988, but he didn't find his niche until he signed with MCA and
released "When I Call Your Name," a ghostly song of heartbreak that won
the Country Music Association's Single Of The Year award and started a
string of hugely successful hits. From 1990 to 1996, Gill may have won
more awards than any other country artist, including five consecutive
CMA Male Vocalist Of The Year awards, three consecutive CMA Song Of The
Year trophies, and seven Grammys; his song "I Still Believe In You" took
top honors from the Grammys, the CMA, the Academy Of Country Music, and
the TNN/Music City News Awards.

Gill's records usually just scratch the surface of his talents (he's a
lot more likely to let loose on his guitar in concert). He's best-known
for ballads like "When I Call Your Name," "I Still Believe In You," and
"Tryin' To Get Over You," but isn't limited to them. And if his
prophetically titled most recent album, Next Big Thing, is any
indication, he's still got plenty of ideas left in him.
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