Honoring his longtime friend.
Very sadly, Dolly Parton passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee on Tuesday. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Aside from that, she understandably didn’t share more, though it has since been revealed that she suffered a “brief battle with cancer.”
There have been tons of artists doing tributes, from Megan Moroney to Ella Langley to Chris Stapleton and more, but there hasn’t been one more special than what Vince Gill did for Dolly this week in Kansas City at The Midland Theatre.
He delivered a stunning acoustic performance of her iconic hit “I Will Always Love You,” which of course Dolly first released as a solo cut in 1974 as part of her thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene. The iconic title track became Parton’s second solo #1 country single and also became a minor pop hit, though “I Will Always Love You” eventually became an even larger mega-hit thanks to the very popular film, The Bodyguard, starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.
In 1995, Vince joined Dolly Parton on a re-recording of the song, which was a stripped-down, tender rendition that did well on the charts too. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and they also received a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year and a Grammy Award nomination.
Needless to say, these two go way back, and during Gill’s performance, he got visibly emotional as he tried to get through the song. In fact, he was so moving that members of his band started crying too and it’s just magnificent:
@alexwisecup32 8/27. Vince Gill honors Dolly Parton in Kansas City by covering “I Will Always Love You”. #vincegill #dollyparton #dolly #country #grief ♬ original sound – Alex Wisecup
Fans in the comments section were blown away by it all, and I have to admit, it’s one of the beset tributes I’ve seen so far:
“Awe the background singer is crying as well.”
“He could barely get through George jones funeral too. I can’t watch without crying.”
“Vince just destroying all of us with this one.”
“My heart just can’t handle Vince crying right now.”
“Even the band members are wiping away tears!”
“One of my first thoughts after Dolly died was someone needs to check on Vince cause he’s gonna have to sing Go Rest High On That Mountain at another legend’s memorial service.”
“When Vince cries we all cry.”
“That man wears his heart on his sleeve and I knew he’d have me losing it.”
“Masterful!! That man can sing anything.”
“Whole band crying.”
“Vince and Dolly are my all-time favorites and I can only imagine the hurt he has. They loved each other.”
“I know Dolly is up there shedding a tear.watching all these beautiful tributes.”
“Y’all keep asking Vince to sing these tributes when you know he’s too sweet and is gonna break down!”
They were quite a duo:
