Vince Gill Recalls His Perfect 4-Word Response To Being Invited To Join the Eagles

When Eagles’ founding member Glenn Frey died in 2016, nearly everyone believed the band was through. They had already split once. Now, with one of their founding members and co-lead vocalist gone, it only seemed logical for the band to hang it up for good. However, that’s not what happened. Instead, the band tapped Vince Gill to fill the vacancy left by Frey’s death and moved forward with a massive tour. Gill has been a member of the legendary rock band since 2017 and plans to continue with them until the end.

In an interview, Gill looked back on his relationship with members of the band, the day he got the call to offer him a spot, and more.

[RELATED: 3 of Vince Gill’s Favorite Eagles Songs]

Vince Gill on Getting the Call to Join the Eagles

“It’s not something you can dream up and think about and aim for or any of that stuff,” Vince Gill said of being a member of the Eagles.

Then, he revealed that he got a phone call one day asking him if he would like to take Glenn Frey’s place in the band. “They said, ‘Would you consider it?’ and I said ‘When do we leave?’” Gill recalled.  

The band’s manager spoke to Gill’s manager, and they made it happen. “Don [Henley] told me in confidence, ‘You’re the only guy I wanted, that I would have done this with,’ which meant the world to me,” Gill said. “We had become friends through working on his Cass County record. I went and sang and played on a bunch of that,” he added.

[RELATED: Exclusive: Vince Gill Shares Lessons He’s Learned From the Eagles, Lingering Desire To Play His Original Songs]

Henley released Cass County in 2015. It was his first solo record in 15 years. Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson, Merle Haggard, and several other country and roots artists appeared on the album.

However, Henley wasn’t the only member of the Eagles that Gill knew before joining the band. “I knew Glenn very well,” he said. “We shared the same manager after the Eagles broke up. Larry Fitzgerald managed Glenn’s solo career and mine at the same time so I was around Glen a lot,” Gill explained.

Gill went on to say that he met and became friends with Joe Walsh while playing shows with him in the past.

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