Vince Gill was 50 years old when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, making him the second-youngest person to achieve the honor. Now, he’s advocating for an even younger star to make the cut.
In a recent episode of Rolling Stone‘s podcast Nashville Now, Gill talked about his 2007 induction into the Hall. At the time, he says he feared that the honor came too soon.
“I was grateful. There was a part of me that kind of thought, ‘A little early,’ honestly,” Gill says in the interview. Once he was inducted, he committed himself to working even harder on his craft. “What I wanted to do after the fact was earn it.”
Gill has certainly made good on this commitment. Over the course of his 50-year career, the “Go Rest High on That Mountain” singer has amassed 63 Billboard Hot Country Songs hits, five of which topped the chart. A whopping 16 of his albums have hit the Billboard 200. Now, as Gill works on his series of EPs, 50 Years From Home, he is looking at the success of an artist who came after him.
Another all-time chart-topper, Taylor Swift could be eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Modern Era category this year. To be inducted, the category requires “20-plus years since national prominence.” Swift’s debut self-titled album featuring her breakthrough single “Tim McGraw” was released in 2006, making this year the first she may be eligible, depending on the definition of “national prominence.”
No stranger to the Hall, Gill believes that Swift will one day be inducted into it. “I think they’ll put her in there. Why wouldn’t you?” he says. He also reveals that she’s one of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s biggest donors. “I’m crazy about her. I fully support that.”
If Swift, who is currently 36 years old, were to be inducted into the Hall this year or any time in the next decade, she would be the youngest person to ever do so. There’s a tie for current youngest: Johnny Cash and Eddy Arnold were both inducted at age 48.
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