CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY TO HOST COUNTRY MUSIC
ICON VINCE GILL IN BENEFIT CONCERT MARCH 26

By Adam Goodlett, student news writer

 

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Country music legend Vince Gill will be coming to Campbellsville University to perform a benefit concert Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in Ransdell Chapel at 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville.

The proceeds from the concert will go toward the turf and lights on the CU football and baseball fields.

Gill is an active and effective humanitarian; he has participated in hundreds of charitable events throughout his career. In 2006, he was he was honored as Humanitarian of the Year by the Academy of Country Music.

Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in August 2007. “Vince Gill is quite simply a living prism refracting all that is good in country music. He uses the crystal planes of his songwriting, his playing and his singing to give us a musical rainbow that embraces all and spans all seasons,” according to Kyle Young of the Country Music Foundation on Gill's induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Gill has a won a vast array of awards over the years. He has won 18 Country Music Association Awards, 20 Grammys and has had four of his hit singles be named Song of the Year. He has sold more then 26 million albums and has had multiple duets with well-known artists such as Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand.

Gill's latest album, “These Days,” is a compilation of 43 songs on a four CD set. Each disc features a different musical mood that Gill possesses-traditional country, rock, pop and bluegrass. Gill's next album release is scheduled for in 2010.

Gill was born April 12, 1957 in Norman, Okla. As a child, Gill's father encouraged him to learn to play the guitar and banjo, but he didn't stop with just those. As Gill continued to pursue him musical talents he also learned to play bass guitar, mandolin, dobro and fiddle. In high school he was part of a local band called Mountain Smoke, which developed a strong local following and opened a concert for Pure Prairie League.

Gill lived in Louisville for several years in the mid-1970s while he was a member of the band Bluegrass Alliance and Ricky Skaggs' band Bone Creek Band. After that Gill moved to Los Angeles where he eventually worked with Tony Brown and Emory Gordy Jr. who would later produce many of Gill's solo albums.

Gill's peers know him as an avid golfer; he even created his own golf tournament, the Vince Gill Pro-Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament “The Vinny” to help support junior golf programs throughout Tennessee.

On top of breaking musical records, Gill has set some records for televised awards shows. He has set the record for the most times anyone has consecutively hosted a televised award show by hosting the CMA Award shows for 12 consecutive years from 1992 to 2003.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 3,006 students who represent 97 Kentucky counties, 30 states and 37 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report's 2010 “America's Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 23rd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South, tied for fifth in “most international students” and fourth in “up-and-coming” schools in baccalaureate colleges in the South. CU has been ranked 17 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America's Best Christian Colleges® and to G.I. Jobs magazine as a Military Friendly School. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his 11th year as president.