Vince Gill on What Makes a Great Record (Guitar Chops Not Necessary)

As someone who has plenty of his own, country star Vince Gill is no stranger to what makes a great record. And according to the award-winning vocalist and guitarist, it has nothing to do with superb instrumental proficiency or profound lyricism.

It doesn’t have to do with an A+ marketing campaign or a viral hit, either (although Gill has enjoyed most of his pre-internet career without worrying about the latter).

Gill shared what he believes makes a great record in a 2020 interview at the Musicians Hall of Fame, and his only qualifier is one that many people, musicians included, often forget.

Vince Gill On What Makes a Great Record

Toward the end of Vince Gill and James Burton’s conversation at the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2020, Gill began discussing what it was like for him to play with the Eagles. He said that every time they got to a new song in the set, whether it was “New Kid in Town” or “Lyin’ Eyes,” it would surprise him all over again that he was getting to play the songs he had listened to for years with the musicians who wrote them.

Notably, some of the Eagles’ guitar runs aren’t necessarily difficult to play for most guitarists. According to Gill, that’s what made them so great. “I think that’s a great mystery,” he mused. “Everybody thinks some of this stuff is so hard, but you look back at some of the greatest records ever made, and the reason they’re great is a lot of people could play them.”

“It wasn’t hard for you to play some of the Credence [Clearwater Revival] licks that John [Fogerty] played or some of the Stones licks, you know,” Gill continued. “You can find your way through so many of these songs, and I think there’s a great truth in that. It doesn’t have to be complicated to be great, doesn’t have to be hard to be great, it just has to be great.”

The Songwriter’s Approach Calls Back To His Roots

Vince Gill’s opinion on what made a great record isn’t that far off from songwriters in the old guard of Nashville, like Kris Kristofferson. The “Me and Bobby McGee” songwriter once commented on how when he first showed up in Music City, USA, the established writers in the scene didn’t care about flashy vocals or guitar playing. They cared about what you said.

Gill’s approach to making great records wasn’t that far off, which is undoubtedly a testament to his time cutting his teeth with members of this previous generation of music makers. But another notable influence, if not the most important, in Gill’s life was his father. During a 2015 performance at The Birchmere, Gill recalled his dad teaching him to play guitar for the first time. His dad taught Gill what he knew: three chords.

“He knew I loved music, and he loved music, man, he was a music freak,” he told the audience. “He loved all kinds of music, always playing records; he played banjo just a little bit. You know, a little frailing style banjo and can play folk songs and a few chords on the guitar. We just had the best time. I just wanted to play because he did.”

For someone who built a career on their soulful singing and tremendous guitar chops, Gill certainly appreciates the importance of “less is more” in great records. And indeed, he gained that appreciation at an early age.

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