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Encouraged to pursue music by his father, Gill learned to play a number of instruments including the banjo and guitar. The first band the singer played in was called The Bluegrass Revue in the tail end of the 1970’s and later Flock the Mountain Smoke who opened for Pure Prairie League and Kiss.
After graduating from high school the singer moved around, first to Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. to play in the band Bluegrass Alliance and later Los Angeles, U.S. in the group Sundance. Gill then auditioned to play in Pure Prairie League who remembered Gill’s high school band and made him the lead singer. After three successful albums and the smash hit “Let Me Love You Tonight” Gill departed in 1981 and joined Rodney Crowell’s backing band entitled the Cherry Bombs.
Shortly after Gill secured a solo deal with RCA and released his debut mini-album “Turn Me Losse” in 1984, drawing inspiration from his country-rock roots. His first Top 40 hit “Victim of Life’s Circumstances” was ahead of the 1984 album “The Things That Matter", and his first Top 10 came with a duet alongside Rosanne Cash with the song “If It Weren’t for Him”.
Gill continued his moderate success with 1987’s “The Way Back Home” but left RCA in 1989 to join MCA. The debut release for MCA “When I Call Your Name” (1989) represented Gill’s first taste a stardom, the title track was a breakthrough for the country singer, reached No. 2 in the Country Chart, and subsequently won Gill his first Grammy.
The singer’s follow-up “Pocket Full of Gold” was another platinum selling album led by the smash-hit singles “Look at Us”, “Take Your Memory” and “Liza Jane”. The album was bettered by his 1992 release “I Still Believe in You”, the title-track ballad gave Gill his first No. 1 single, spawned a number of other chart singles, and eventually sold over four-million copies.
Not content to be pigeonholed a solely county star, Gill released the holiday album “Let There Be Peace on Earth” (1993), the pop-inspired “When Love Finds You” in 1994, and 1996’s bluegrass album “High Lonesome Sound” which received a good deal of critical acclaim and paved the way for Gill’s most revered release.
“The Key” released in 1998, documented his marriage and the ultimate break-up of his marriage to Janis Oliver. The album became his first to top the country charts and saw a more hardcore country approach taken. Gill’s subsequent album “Let’s Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye” (2000) describes his new romance with Amy Grant and was awarded four Grammy nominations.
Since then the singer has released 2003’s “Next Big Thing”, which he produced himself, 2006’s “These Days” and ambitious four-disc release, 2011’s “Guitar Slinger” and 2013’s “Bakersfield”, a collaboration with guitarist Paul Franklin.
It’s just as well that Grant is specifically one of the most successful Christian singers of all time because there is most definitely a higher power at work when it comes to her career. This is absolutely not to say that she’s not good enough or that she hasn’t earned it, mind you, but the story is pretty fairy tale-esque.
I mean, to get your first record deal by having a song, the very first song you’ve ever written for that matter, played over the phone to the head of a record label before your sixteenth birthday? That’s some God given talent right there.
The year after that, she recorded her debut album “Amy Grant”. The year after that, a single month before her high school graduation, it was released and before she’d even performed her debut ticketed concert, it charted in the top twenty of the Billboard Inspirational Albums chart.
Arguably, this would be more than enough for most seventeen year olds of the time to put the music on hold until at least after college, but this wasn’t to be the case for Grant. She chose both, enrolling at Furman University and starting work on her second album, “My Father’s Eyes”, an album which would go on to give her a Christian number one hit with the title track and her first Grammy nomination.
This success, combined with her and her co-songwriter and first husband Gary Chapman’s growing touring schedule, made her drop out of college to focus on music full time. She’s since gone on to release many more studio albums and countless singles, including a slightly baffling top five hit on the Hot Club Dance charts in 2014 with a remix of her song “Baby Baby”.
Clearly, to pigeonhole Amy Grant as a “Christian” singer does a disservice to her appeal and her talent. Her music might be inspired by her faith, but it can go on to inspire anyone open minded enough to listen.
I originally encountered Vince Gill as the front man from Pure Prairie League where he blew me away, and hearing that he was breaking away to pursue his solo career back in the 80s was pretty exciting. Gill was set for success with his multitude of talents as a multi-instrumentalist, and he did not disappoint. As the country artist with the most Grammy awards, a staggering 20, Gill can do no wrong, and was inducted in the Country Hall of Fame. Gill has also featured on multiple tracks from other country singers, including Kelly Clarkson’s Greatest Hits Album. Witnessing the star play live was a fantastic moment for me. His sheer skills and talent on every instrument he seems to touch blew me away, along with the blend he creates with his strong band.
Journeying through his back catalogue of hits right up to his modern tracks and colabs, Gill gave us a fantastic show. He even performed some of the Pure Prarie League songs! When he sand When I Call Your Name, the crowd erupted and everyone seemed to be singing along with their arms in the air. Gill encouraged the audience to sing, by stopping in the chorus and letting us fill in. It was really a fantastic opportunity to witness a legend performing live.
With a history in Christian music from a young age, Amy Grant continued this talent of hers from the 80s, right up today, seeing great success in her work. Grant has seen multiple number one singles, as well as Grammy awards over the years, making her one of the leading and most successful Christian musician of the generation. Grant’s crossover from Christian music, to Pop was reasonably successful, working off the back of her platinum album. She enjoyed a spell in the mainstream industry before returning to her Christian roots.
Although Grant has several phases and styles to her musical career, one of my favourite characteristics of her performances, is that she journeys through her back catalogue providing her fans from each stage of her career something to shout about. Grant performs every time with ease and confidence, when she’s supported by her band, and also alone with her guitar. She adapts her performance for each genre perfectly, and maintains the genuine qualities of each song.
The performance that I most recently saw presented some newer material as well as the classics, and it was great to experience the feeling of hearing Grant’s magical lyrics for the first time once again. She ended her set with Love Will Find A Way, the favourite track of many fans, and the tactical positioning of this track made the audience appreciate it even more. That was not the first time I’d seen Grant, and it definitely won’t be the last.