Vince Gill’s Touching Connection to Little Jimmy Dickens Goes Deeper Than Nashville

While these country stars might share a common bond in their decades-long tenure as Grand Ole Opry members, Vince Gill’s connection to Little Jimmy Dickens goes far deeper than even the hallowed ground of the historic Nashville venue. Gill’s bond with Dickens went past the music industry and straight into Gill’s fondest—and sometimes hardest—memories of his father.

And in a testament to life’s tendency to act in mysterious ways, the connection between Gill and Dickens started with an unexpected request from Gill’s father, J. Stanley Gill.

Vince Gill’s Connection to Little Jimmy Dickens

As two members of the Grand Ole Opry, Vince Gill had countless opportunities to perform and interact with Little Jimmy Dickens, who was 37 years his senior. At an anniversary celebration of Gill’s Opry membership in 2015, Gill shared just how much it meant to him to perform with the country icon.

Gill said performing with Dickens was so special because “it was something that was a big deal for my dad. He liked him when he was a kid. The first record he ever bought was a Little Jimmy Dickens record. It’s a lot deeper than just singing with somebody famous, you know? He’s just become a great friend. You know, we’re celebrating 20 years of me being here [at the Opry], and that’s neat. But I look down the hall and see there’s a man that’s been here over 60. It keeps it all in great perspective.”

The country star held back tears as he spoke to the Nashville Country Club about his father’s lifelong love of Dickens. Even after Gill’s father died in 1997, Dickens’ influence was still palpable at the funeral service.

The Long-Time Country Star’s Role in Gill Sr.’s Funeral

During a late 1990s appearance on Country’s Family Reunion, Vince Gill introduced a song he wrote about his father, “The Key to Life,” with a story about none other than Little Jimmy Dickens. Gill began the story by saying his father would often come down from his Columbus, Ohio, home to meet famous country stars Gill was performing with, including Dolly Parton and Dickens.

“When he came and met Jimmy Dickens for the first time, he loved “Bird of Paradise,” but he also loved a song that I didn’t know, the country boy song, “Plain Old Country Boy,”” Gill recalled. “He said, ‘Jimmy, I can’t find a copy of that anywhere. I’d love to have a copy of that.’ Jimmy says, ‘Well, I’ll just send you one.’ [He] found one and sent it to him, and I didn’t think anything about it. I didn’t know anything about it.”

At Gill’s father’s funeral, he decided to play the record that Dickens had sent his dad years earlier. Gill was unaware of the tremendous significance of the song until his uncle, who had become emotional at the sound of the song, approached Gill. “He said, ‘I just can’t believe you played that song. When we were little boys, maybe five years old, we got a little 45 record player for Christmas. The first record we ever had was that one.’”

From his collaborations with his wife, Amy Grant, to the reputation he’s developed for being one of the “nicest guys in Nashville,” Vince Gill’s heartwarming stories about Little Jimmy Dickens are even more examples of Gill’s ability to blend his professional and personal lives in touching, meaningful ways.

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