In an unprecedented move, country music legend Vince Gill has signed a lifetime recording deal with his current and long-time record label MCA. Gill first signed with the label in 1989 when Hall of Fame producer Tony Brown was the President of MCA Nashville, and Gill has been with the label ever since. He’ll now be with the label forevermore. Such a deal is very rare in music, and is one of the first with a major country music label.
As part of the new deal, Vince Gill is also prepping to release an EP of new and previously-released music every month for the next year. The first EP called 50 Years From Home: I Gave You Everything I Had will be released on October 17. Along with new songs, it will include Gill’s “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” which Vince just released a new extended, 30th Anniversary edition of in September.
Vince Gill has not released a new album since 2019’s Okie. This has given him plenty of time to save up material for these new EP releases. “I’m feeling the most creative I’ve ever felt in my career these last few years,” says Gill. “I’ve collected a treasure trove of songs and with my friends and partners at MCA we’ve come up with a way to release all this new music. It’s a partnership that’s lasted 36 years and I’m grateful for it.”
The new lifetime deal is not just for the future, but to hopefully reinvigorate Vince Gill in the present. With all the renewed attention to ’90’s country, Vince Gill should be getting more attention than he does. He continues to be one of the most skilled guitar players in country music, along with a revered singer and songwriter, collaborating with other artists commonly.
Vince’s longtime manager Larry Fitzgerald said about the deal, “MCA Records has been Vince’s home since early in his career, and now he knows their partnership will endure into the future. Vince’s fans wanting his music won’t have to look any further than MCA to find it. My relationship with Vince began 41 years ago and I’m thrilled to stand with him at this important moment.”
Vince Gill’s first label was RCA, who he signed with in 1983 after playing in Pure Prairie League and the backing band for Rodney Crowell. He subsequently released 15 original albums through MCA, resulting in six Multi-Platinum albums, five Platinum albums, and two Gold albums. Gill has sold nearly 20 million albums in the United States.
As for the new EP, Vince Gill says, “The more I’ve done it, the more I’ve learned how to do it better — how to be more patient, where not to waste my time, what to do and not to do, to be willing to edit myself and keep digging. Experience is experience; there is no shortcut. This is what comes from doing this for 50 years.”
