Vince Gill is a country musician with an incredible history, having won the most Grammy Awards for a male country music vocalist and releasing over 20 albums.
Gill, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, first gained our attention in 1979 as a member of the country rock band Pure Prairie League.
Four decades later, he is a well-known and in-demand performer, having been invited to perform on the legendary Grand Ole Opry stage with the band Little Big Town.
But his supervisors told him that he could only perform provided he didn’t sing about Jesus. So, how could anyone deny this wonderful, talented artist the opportunity to perform the song he desired?
The crowd erupted in reaction to his remark.
Gill, born in Oklahoma in 1957, began performing solo in the 1980s. In recent years, the committed Christian has incorporated more gospel music into his presentations.
He was recently invited to sing at Nashville, Tennessee’s Grand Ole Opry, a weekly country music stage show that has been running since 1925.
However, his superiors said he may perform as long as he didn’t sing any religious songs, particularly about Jesus.
Gill may have accepted this directive despite his wish to sing about his convictions. Instead, he did something unexpected.
He broke the norms by performing “Why Me Lord,” a magnificent song composed and published in 1972 by American country music performer and gospel vocalist Kris Kristofferson.
Since then, musical icons including Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash have performed the song.
The standing ovation for Gill’s performance indicated that no one else cared about the song’s meaning, only how moving the performance was.
In the video below, you can see a snippet of him performing.
Gill’s decision to sing a song true to his views and musical style is quite brave, and not everyone would have had the fortitude to defy directions in this way.
On the other hand, when you’re in the Country Music Hall of Fame, you can make your own rules!
