Vince Gill’s hit song “Whenever You Come Around” from the 1994 album When Love Finds You is certainly one of his best ballads. It’s a great tune that always resonates with audiences whenever Gill performs it live. He wrote it for his wife, fellow musician Amy Grant, years before they got together and shortly after they met.
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However, if you’ve got tickets to see him play with The Eagles in 2024, don’t expect him to perform this stellar track. According to the famed country singer/songwriter himself, he won’t perform this particular track live with The Eagles. Vince Gill even declined Don Henley’s request to perform the song with the band on their final tour. And the reason why he refused makes perfect sense.
Why Vince Gill Declined Don Henley’s Request To Sing “Whenever You Come Around”
Gill is currently touring with the most recent iteration of The Eagles, which features Gill, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, and late Eagles founder Glenn Frey’s son Deacon Frey. Gill was asked to join the band in 2017 after Glenn Frey’s passing to perform as a co-lead vocalist. The tour is likely going to be the final tour for the band.
On a recent appearance on The Stephen Hogan Podcast, Gill talked about the time that fellow Eagles member Don Henley heard him play “Whenever You Come Around” for the first time.
“Don heard me singing ‘Whenever You Come Around’ at sound check, just me and the guitar doing a sound check, [and he] came up and goes ‘What is that?’” Gill recalled. “‘What is that song? It’s gorgeous.’ I said it’s a song I had out, you know, 15 years ago or whatever.”
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Vince Gill Declines Don Henley’s Request to Perform ‘Whenever You Come Around‘
♬ original sound – Stephan Hogan
“He goes, ‘We need to work that up and do it!” Gill continued. “I said [that] with all due respect, I’d rather not.”
Gill went on to say that when Henley inquired as to why, he was frank about the fact that he didn’t think it was fair to The Eagles’ fans, who were likely going to be seeing the band live for the very last time.
“I don’t want to give these people one more reason to not like me,” Gill said. “I don’t want anybody sitting out there saying, ‘I didn’t come here to hear Vince’s songs, I came here to hear The Eagles.’ That’s how I respect that.”
We get it. Luckily, Gill performs this song live at his solo concerts all the time.
Photo by Jason Kempin
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