Playing music as a child is a unique experience in that, more often than not, a youngster isn’t going to have the same kind of experience with heartache, hardship, and challenges that an adult would. There’s a lot more imagination and pretending mixed into the performance, which is certainly true of Vince Gill’s first live show. In a 2026 interview with Guitar Player, Gill revealed that he was around seven or eight at the time.
“The first time I played in front of people, in second or third grade, I had learned ‘The House of the Rising Sun’. I sang a song about whorehouses in grade school, and I didn’t even know it,” Gill joked. And indeed, the traditional folk tune told the tale of someone who lived a much harder life than Gill had experienced as a young kid in Oklahoma.
But of course, who could blame Gill for choosing an American standard as his first performance piece? The minor chord progression is relatively simple for beginners, making it a perfect starter piece á la Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” (which didn’t exist yet when Gill was in elementary school).
Vince Gill’s Childhood Music Taste Explains a Lot of His Later Career
In addition to being a prolific recording artist and someone Music City has dubbed “the nicest guy in Nashville,” Vince Gill is notable in that he can pivot from genre to genre with seemingly no effort at all. He looks just as comfortable chicken-picking a bluegrass tune as he does playing with The Eagles at the Las Vegas Sphere. The ability to blend into so many styles without missing a beat is rare. But it makes perfect sense when one considers what Gill was listening to as a child.
“I played the songs of the day,” Gill told Guitar Player, “whether it was The Beatles, The Stones, or what have you. In sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, we were playing the rock tunes of that time—the late 60s. I was the youngest in my family, so I was at the mercy of the music my mom, dad, big brother, and big sister would play. I heard a diverse palette early on. And I liked a little bit of everything.”
The Animals released their version of “House of the Rising Sun” in 1964, when Gill was seven years old. The song topped the charts in the U.S., giving the future country star plenty of time to absorb the haunting melody over the radio. As he grew up, Gill switched to Cream, Led Zeppelin, and yes, even his future bandmate Joe Walsh.
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