Vince Gill began his career as a solo artist in 1983. In 1989, he recorded his breakthrough hit, 'When I Call Your Name,' which became a No. 1, multi-award-winner in 1990.So, before the awards began piling up, when nobody knew his name, where was the talented tunesmith and guitar-picker when he heard one of his songs on the radio for the very first time?
"I was on I-40, just a few miles west of downtown Oklahoma City," Vince tells The Boot. "I'll never forget it. I can drive you right to the spot! I made a local record with a band I was in, and they played it on the radio station there in Oklahoma City. It was a John Stewart song called 'July, You're a Woman.' I had a CB [radio] in my truck. It's playing, and I'm on the CB going, 'Hey, everybody! They're playing my song on the radio!' And these truck drivers were coming back -- I told them what channel -- 'Play that again!' That would have been about 1974."
And some 35 years later, Mr. Gill still gets a thrill out of hearing one of his tunes on the radio. "What's interesting is, even still, if I'm in the car and one of my songs plays, I'll stay in the car 'til it's over! [laughs] It was the neatest experience up to that point. Even still it feels the same. It's equally as amazing."
