Vince Gill has A Song for the Children at Tivoli Theatre

Country icon Vince Gill is considered by fans and peers alike as the complete package: prolific songwriter, legendary singer, killer musician.

He’s also gained a reputation as one of the nicest guys in the business, willing to grab a guitar – or a golf club or a softball – for a good cause with little prodding.

Tonight, Jan. 14, he’ll return to the Tivoli Theatre stage in Chattanooga for A Song for the Children, his annual benefit for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hamilton County. The private, nonprofit organization offers services for “help, hope and healing” to children referred by the Department of Children’s Services or law enforcement.

Longtime fans know Gill first gained fame as frontman for country/rock band Pure Prairie League, most notably on the hits “Let Me Love You Tonight” and “I’m Almost Ready.” He left in 1982 to pursue a solo career.

Since then, he has racked up multiple industry awards, including two Country Music Association awards for Entertainer of the Year and five for Male Vocalist of the Year. His 50 singles on the Billboard country charts include five that reached No. 1: “I Still Believe in You,” “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” “One More Last Chance,” “Trying To Get Over You” and “The Heart Won’t Lie,” a duet with Reba McEntire.

His next release, “Down to My Last Bad Habit,” is due next month.

How closely have you followed Gill’s career? Test yourself with these questions.

1. Which British rockers asked Vince Gill to join the band just before the 1989 release of his breakthrough country album, “When I Call Your Name”?

A. Led Zeppelin

B. The Who

C. Dire Straits

D. Jethro Tull

2. Which band has Vince Gill not done professional stints with?

A. Byron Berline & Sundance

B. Rodney Crowell’s Cherry Bombs

C. Ricky Skaggs’ Boone Creek Band

D. Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives

3. True or false: Vince Gill has picked up more Grammy Awards than any other male country artist.

4. After a successful series of concerts last year, Gill plans to return for a 13-city “Songs and Stories” tour in February with which country singer/actor?

A. Dwight Yoakam

B. Lyle Lovett

C. Tim McGraw

D. Reba McEntire

5. Which of his hit singles from the 1990s was written about his future wife, Amy Grant?

A. “Whenever You Come Around”

B. “Look at Us”

C. “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away”

D. “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind”

Bonus question: Amy Grant’s 1997 album “Behind the Eyes” was filled with dark introspection and songs about unrequited love. Which of its tracks has she acknowledged was about Gill?

ANSWERS

1. C. Dire Straits. He turned them down, he told The Herald-Palladium in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan, because he didn’t think he should quit country music. “I think in a way I would have felt like a failure in country music because it didn’t happen for me, and I didn’t want to give up on myself. So I turned down the sure thing to take a chance on a real hope.”

2. D. Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives. But on an episode of “The Marty Stuart Show,” Stuart expressed his thanks for Gill’s kindness when Stuart was trying to break through in Nashville. “The very first little demo tape that I ever made to try and get a record deal, you came over and was kind enough to play guitar and didn’t charge me a dime,” Stuart told Gill.

3. True. His 20 Grammy trophies, out of 40 nominations, make him country music’s most-decorated male Grammy winner (Alison Krauss leads the women, in all genres, with 27). He also holds the distinction of garnering the most Grammys in the 1990s (14), winning one or more Grammys in every year of the decade.

4. B. Lyle Lovett. During last year’s initial run, a reviewer for Elmore Magazine raved of the pairing: “The evening reminded me of the Rat Pack, with pals Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra doing comedy and music and having a good time.”

5. A. “Whenever You Come Around.” It includes the lyrics “The face of an angel; pretty eyes that shine / I lie awake at night wishing you were mine.”

Bonus answer: “Cry a River.” She told ABC News that the song was about “a moment when you connect with somebody and all the pistons fire, and then you go, ‘Gosh, the path of my life does not go down that road.'” When the song was released, she refused to say who she had in mind but later admitted it was Gill.