‘Catch of the Day’ – Vince Gill ft Little Big Town – “Take Me Down” [AUDIO]

Today we feature the coming together of a legendary country performer, born and raised near Oklahoma City, who started his career playing guitar and singing in a rock band, and the reigning ACM and CMA Vocal Group of the Year.

Vince Gill is a Country Music Hall of Famer who was born in Norman, OK, but who first gained national acclaim as the guitarist and vocalist of the rock band Pure Prairie League in 1979. Vince sang lead on Pure Prairie League's #1 hit "Let Me Love You Tonight". Gill left PPL after 3 albums, first being offered a spot in Dire Straits by leader Mark Knopfler (Gill politely declined the invitation) and then joining Rodney Crowell's touring band The Cherry Bombs. It was with the Cherry Bombs that Gill would be introduced to two key figures in his solo career, producers Tony Brown and Emory Gordy Jr, who would work with Vince on many of his solo albums.

In 1984 Gill signed with RCA Records as a solo artist. His artistry since can be found across a multitude of genres as a recording artist, background vocalist, guitarist and producer. To say Gill is a "musician's musician" would be a tragic understatement; you would be completely ignoring his work as a humanitarian. Vince Gill is what's right about Country music, using  his songwriting, playing, and singing to produce a musical rainbow that embraces all people and spans all seasons. At his website, you can play the three degrees of separation game, going from Gill to any musician in three steps or less! Take that Kevin Bacon!

Gill has released 15 solo studio albums, starting with 1984's Turn Me Loose, which have produced 47 singles. he has had 12 albums certified gold (2) and platinum (10). he has released 28 top-10 singles, with 5 going to #1. He has become an ambassador for country music as a whole, and the Grand Ole Opry in particular, Gill becoming an Opry member in 1991. Recently artists have come to realize that a surprise appearance by Gill, is generally followed by an invite to join the Opry.

One of those artists that got a surprise visit for Vince was Little Big Town. Invited to join the Opry in October of 2014, Gill inducted the quartet on November 17, 2014. The group is the two-time defending ACM Vocal Group of the Year (for which they have also been nominated in 2016) and 5-time honoree in the same category by the CMA. They are nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Country Duo or Group (an honor they won in 2013) and may be the only country act in history to receive a Daytime Emmy Award, for "Good Afternoon", a song they recorded in 2013 as the theme for the AC program Good Afternoon America.

This is not the first time Gill and Little Big Town have recorded together, having recorded one of the most moving renditions of "Go Rest High On That Mountain" live at the Opry. They are together again, with the lead single off of Gill's forthcoming album Down To My Last Habit, which is scheduled to rbe released next Friday (Feb. 12th). Vince Gill, featuring Little Big Town and "Take Me Down", today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.