Vince Gill has been making music for 50 years, and for almost all of that time, Marty Stuart has been right there with him.
Vince is the Oklahoma-born country singer and guitarist, and a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He’s been marking his 50 years in music with a series of EPs called “50 Years From Home.” The 11th one is called “Marty And Me,” and it’s all about his old friend.
Marty is a country singer and picker from Mississippi. As a teenager, he toured with bluegrass legend Lester Flatt.
That’s how they met, more than 50 years ago. Marty was in Lester Flatt’s band, and Vince was playing in his own teenage bluegrass bands. Vince has said he first saw Marty at a bluegrass festival in Hugo, Oklahoma, and thought of him as a rockstar.
Years later, Vince played on Marty’s first solo single, “Arlene,” in 1985.
“This one really hits home, because there aren’t many people in your life who have been there for the entirety of what you’ve done,” Vince said.
The new EP has five songs Vince and Marty wrote together, including the title song. It also has their take on country great Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down.” It’s their first record of songs written together. “It was fun to finally hook up with Marty and write some songs. It seems silly we never did before,” Vince said.
Marty put it simply: “The song tells mine and Vince’s story.”
So give the title song a listen and hear the two old friends tell it themselves.
Vince and Marty’s song about their friendship
Now about that cover. It shows two guitars. One is Marty’s Fender Telecaster. The other is Vince’s custom Mark Whitebook acoustic.
Both of them once belonged to Clarence White.
Clarence was one of the most admired guitar players in country and bluegrass. He played with his brothers in a group called the Kentucky Colonels and later joined the Byrds. He even helped build the “B-Bender,” a gadget that lets a guitar sound like a steel guitar. Clarence passed away young, in 1973.
Marty’s Telecaster is Clarence’s 1954 model. He calls it “in my keeping since 1980.” He bought it from Clarence’s widow, Susie. “It’s been my baby ever since,” he says.
Vince’s acoustic took a longer road. It went from Clarence to his brother Roland White. Roland played in Lester Flatt’s band alongside teenage Marty, back when Vince first met them both.
“When I first met Marty, he was playing in Lester Flatt’s band, as was Roland,” Vince said. He remembers Roland fondly. “He was so kind to me, so encouraging. He would give me guitar strings,” Vince said. He called him “just the best guy ever.”
After Roland passed away, his widow, Diane, sold the guitar to Vince.
“It’s an important piece of history. So, these guitars are in good hands with me and Marty,” Vince said.
Vince’s own video series has an episode about this record, and it’s the best place to hear more of the story behind it.
Vince’s “50 Years From Home” episode about “Marty And Me”
For Marty, writing together has been its own gift. “When we started writing songs together, the friendship just became deeper and sweeter and greater,” he said.
“I love and cherish my old friend,” he added.
Vince feels the same way. “We’re so much alike in our deep love for what genuinely matters in this world of music.”