Vince Gill is receiving this year’s CMA lifetime achievement award. The mellow-voiced country singer, introspective songwriter, ace guitarist, and member of the Eagles has been named recipient of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award. Gill is slated to accept the accolade this month when the CMAs air Nov. 19 on ABC live from Nashville.
Known for such songs as “When I Call Your Name,” “One More Last Chance,” “Shoot Straight From the Heart,” and the timeless “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” Gill is a living legend among country artists. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. This year, he gave the induction speech for producer Tony Brown, who produced a string of Gill albums in the Nineties at MCA Nashville.
Gill, an Oklahoma native, is ubiquitous around Nashville, regularly headlining the Ryman Auditorium, both solo and with wife Amy Grant, sitting in with other artists onstage (he was a member of Western swing band the Time Jumpers for nearly a decade), and singing “Go Rest High on That Mountain” at the funeral services of departed country icons like George Jones and Charlie Daniels. In September, he and Lainey Wilson performed the song for the In Memoriam segment of the 77th Emmy Awards.
In 2017, Gill became a touring member of the Eagles, joining Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit in carrying on the California band following the 2016 death of Glenn Frey. Gill told Rolling Stone in a 2017 interview that rehearsing with the group for the first time “was a surreal experience,” adding, “It was an amazing gift.”
Named after and presented to Willie Nelson in 2012, the CMA lifetime achievement honor has also been bestowed upon Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash (posthumously), Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, and Alan Jackson. Last year’s recipient was George Strait.
The 59th CMA Awards, hosted by Lainey Wilson, air live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream the following day on Hulu. Wilson, Ella Langley, and Megan Moroney lead all nominees with six each.
