Vince Gill - Topic

Vince Gill is a reluctant superstar.

It’s not that he’s not innately captivating, or that he’s not easily among the greatest guitarists of our time, or that he doesn’t write songs that have moved millions of listeners, including legends such as Guy Clark, Merle Haggard, John Prine, Don Schlitz, and Rodney Crowell.

It’s not that his voice isn’t instantly recognizable and remarkably beautiful, with dusky alto tones that give way to a soaring, stream-clear high tenor.

It’s not that he hasn’t won enough Grammy Awards (21) to crater any mortal mantle, or that he hasn’t won more Country Music Association trophies than most any other artist. Or that he didn’t sing and write “When I Call Your Name” or “Go Rest High On That Mountain” or a bunch of other songs now considered classics. Or that he’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and recently joined the Eagles tour.

But superstars trade on glamour and remoteness. They are photographed and videotaped on red carpets and in limousine loading zones, and maybe via long-range lenses on exclusive beaches or hotel balconies.

Vince Gill is photographed at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville, by people who ask him to smile for the shot. And he always smiles for the shot.

Gill is a reluctant superstar, intentionally absent of the glamour and remoteness.

“I would like people to view me as pretty normal,” he says, in a statement never uttered by Mick Jagger or Little Richard. And Vince Gill adores Mick Jagger and Little Richard. “I’m approachable. I play at a little bar on Monday nights.”

He plays that bar, Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley, with a band called The Time Jumpers. He joined the band because he wanted to be a better guitar player, though he was already known as one of the world’s better guitar players.

And he talks with anyone who wants to talk. And he plays with the best music-makers in the world, regardless of fame: The Eagles at a massive arena is fine, and The Time Jumpers at 3rd & Lindsley is just as fine. And he sings with a voice that is instantly recognizable and remarkably beautiful, with dusky . . . well, we’ve been through that.

“I spend my time trying to make it all a little better," he says. “I don’t have to be in the forefront of attention. I try to be welcoming of anybody that comes into my life.”

Gill is innately relatable, unless someone is paying attention to the notes and the tones, to the McCartney-esque melodies and the eye-swelling emotions . . . unless someone righ