NASHVILLE, TN—On September 22, during the Nashville Songwriters’ awards, singer and songwriter, Vince Gill, was presented with the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented by Lisa Kristofferson at the Ryman Auditorium.
Country musician Chris Stapleton took the stage singing Gill’s biggest hit, and song “Go Rest High on That Mountain.” Gill called Stapleton’s rendition “powerful” and “beautiful.”
“I played that song for Tony [Speaking of Vince Gill’s producer, Tony Brown]. It was right after my brother had died.” I said, ‘I wrote this song, but I don’t think I can record it. Why not?” Tony asked. “It’s too personal. It hurts too much,” Tony replied. “I’m sorry, but you have to record that song. He made me record Go Rest High On That Mountain so I owe him a great debt of gratitude,” Gill stated.
Vince stated it was after his brother Bob’s accident and death in 1993 that brought forward his signature song. In 2022, Gill’s wife, Amy Grant, was seriously injured in a bicycle accident. Amy suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that still affects her today. Vince did not leave her side, as he cared for his wife.
Being unconscious for 10 minutes resulted in memory loss. At one point, Grant asked Gill, “What if this is all I get back,” he told People magazine. “Amy, life happens to every-one of us every day. A virtuoso musician could have a stroke and never be able to pick up their instrument again. All you do is you just take the hand you’re dealt with that day and live the life that you get.”
Amy had to remember how to sing. In May 2026, she produced her first album in over a decade, “The Me That Remains.”
Gill is the recipient of 22 Grammy Awards, 18 Country Music Association Awards (CMA), including 4 Song of the Year honors, 8 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards with Top New Male Vocalist in 1984.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, and again in 2025, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Hollywood Hall of Fame in 2012.
In addition, he was awarded the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize in 2026
