Vince Gill Refuses To Do One Surprising Thing With The Eagles

Vince Gill has made a name for himself in the country music world, but he’s also played with The Eagles for nearly a decade. This meeting of the music minds has produced some incredible live shows over the years, and Gill seems right at home on stage with the band. However, the singer made it clear from the beginning of his tenure that there’s one thing he just won’t do: play his country songs for The Eagles fans.

“I never wanted to push my world into theirs and vice versa,” Gill told American Songwriter about his choice to keep country out of the world of “Hotel California.” In his view, it was definitely the right choice. “It’s been a pretty good plan,” he said.

Don Henley Originally Suggested The Eagles and Gill Combine Worlds

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Gill may not have felt comfortable playing his original music for The Eagles audiences, but the band itself was very open to the idea. As the singer recalled in his interview, Don Henley overheard him playing one of his hits, “Whenever You Come Around,” and suggested the band could play it together. “I said, ‘Well, with all due respect, I’d rather not,'” Gill explained his response to Henley.

When The Eagles founding member looked confused about Gill’s reluctance, the singer shared that joining the band came with some growing pains. “I said, ‘Look, what I’m getting ready to do, this is going to be pretty uncomfortable for a lot of people, me included,'” Gill recalled. He summed up his reasons for not wanting to play his own songs by saying: “‘I don’t want them to sit in those seats saying, ‘I didn’t come here to hear Vince Gill songs. I came here to hear Eagle songs.'” Since Gill set that boundary, the band has never played anything from his legendary country catalog.

The Singers Were Both Excited to Work Together

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Despite Gill wanting to keep the two music catalogs separate, both singers were very excited to join forces. As American Songwriter shared on a separate occasion, Henley had a simple but fitting response when asked why they chose Gill. “He smiled and said, ‘Because he knows how to be in a band,'” Gill shared of the moment.

The “One More Last Chance” singer also shared that he’s happy with his status in the legendary band. “What I’m doing is important to making what they do work. I don’t have the lion’s share of the attention, [and] I don’t want it.” Clearly, the combination has made what everyone is doing work well, as fans continue to flock to The Eagles live shows.