Vince Gill Pays Tribute To The Late Joe Bonsall With Heartfelt Grand Ole Opry Performance

It's always a grand night at the Grand Ole Opry when country music's Vince Gill stops by. The crowd sitting in the historic venue was treated to quite the musical spectacle, with performances by 49 Winchester and Wyatt Flores leading right into the final act of the night, Vince Gill. Every artist and song was appreciated throughout the night, but you could tell a lot of the crowd was there to see the 67-year-old singer-songwriter. And who could blame them? When it came time for Gill to take the stage, the circle was more than warmed up. Lively, energetic performances from 49 Winchester and Wyatt Flores had happened in that very spot mere minutes before. But it was clear from the moment that Vince walked out and greeted the crowd that news from this past week was laying heavy on his heart, so he opted to slow things down. On July 9th, the country music world found out that it lost one of the longtime members of the Oak Ridge Boys - Joe Bonsall. He had been with the iconic country music group since 1973, before announcing that he was stepping away from touring earlier this year. Bonsall then passed away this past Tuesday at the age of 76 due to complications from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. So when the lights shined brightly on Vince Gill on the Opry stage, he opted to redirect the attention to honoring the late Joe Bonsall, whom he had been friends with for over 40 years. Before playing his first song, which ended up being the Oak Ridge Boys' "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight," Gill spoke from the heart about losing his dear friend: "I wanted to sing a couple of songs tonight in memory of my sweet friend Joe Bonsall. We were friends for 42 years. He was the high singer in the Oak Ridge Boys for all those years. My heart's broken for him and his family. This is one of the great Oak Ridge Boys songs written by Rodney Crowell." After finishing up that country classic, and comically pointing out that the lyrics to "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight" featured "a lot of words," Gill revealed that it was the first time he had ever sang that song without Bonsall. It was clearly an emotional moment. Gill kept the Oak Ridge Boys tribute going when he rolled right into a cover of "Elvira," which the Grand Ole Opry audience greatly appreciated - and sang along to. The song's purpose was still to honor the passing of the former Oak Ridge Boys member, but you could tell that Gill had a lot of fun with it, and felt rather comfortable singing the hit: "Elvira" never gets old. And finally, to close out his Grand Ole Opry set, Vince Gill cued up a moving and poignant rendition of "Go Rest High On That Mountain," and he undoubtedly sang the song right to the friend he had just lost. Pictures of Joe Bonsall cycled through on the big screen behind Gill as he played, creating a very visceral, memorial moment right on country music's biggest stage: