Vince Gill & Friends Deliver Tear-Jerking Tribute To Dolly Parton During CMA TV Special
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The word “icon” tends to get tossed around somewhat casually these days. But the word certainly applies to both Vince Gill and the late Dolly Parton.
Following Parton’s death on August 25, the CMA announced a tribute special in her honor. The program aired live on ABC and Disney+ on Wednesday, October 21.
Some of the all-star performers who stepped up to honor Parton were Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Ella Langley, Brad Paisley, and of course, Vince Gill.
Gill was joined onstage by his longtime friend, Ricky Skaggs, Béla Fleck, and Molly Tuttle. They delivered a tear-jerking performance of “A Few Old Memories,” with each of them taking turns showcasing their vocal and instrumental talents.
Their performance was the opening number of the night, setting the tone for what ended up being both an emotional and celebratory concert.
ABC has not yet released a video of their performance, but stay tuned, we’ll include one here as soon as it becomes available.
At the time of this writing, Gill has already appeared on the stage a second time, joining Lainey Wilson as a source of support when she sang “Train, Train.”
Vince Gill And Dolly Parton Were Friends And Duet Partners
Vince Gill and Dolly Parton formed a tight bond that lasted for decades. They also sang together, famously releasing Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” as a duet in 1995.
Their collaboration peaked at the 15th spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It also won the CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year and was nominated for a Grammy.
After Parton passed away, Gill shared a clip of the two of them singing “I Will Always Love You” together. His caption read:
“We are all crushed here at our house. One of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard was when Dolly and I sang that last note of ‘I Will Always Love You’ the year we performed it on the CMA Awards.”
Gill had a show at the Midland Theater in Kansas City on August 27, just two days after Parton died. He carved out some time to honor her by singing “I Will Always Love You” that night.
Footage from the performance showed Gill appearing to fight back tears as he progressed through the song. You can watch that tribute below.
Dolly Parton had a profound impact on numerous people, including Vince Gill. She is so dearly missed…
