Amy Grant and Vince Gill Met Through Christmas Music. Now They're Paying It Forward: ‘The Gift of Love’ (Exclusive)

When Amy Grant and Vince Gill tied the knot almost 25 years ago, they didn’t think twice about combining their long-established careers.

“We’ve had enough lives to know that we don’t want to suddenly be Donnie and Marie or Sonny and Cher or whoever,” Gill, 67, tells PEOPLE during a joint interview with the couple. “There was no point in it.”

But rest assured, one thing can always make these two unique legends undo their declarations of career independence: the spirit of Christmas.

The pair’s annual residency at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium has become a longtime tradition not only for local fans but also for countless others who travel from far and wide for the musical feast. And this year, Grant and Gill are celebrating their Ryman concerts — now more than 100 — with their first Christmas album together, When I think of Christmas.

Vince Gill and Amy Grant at home in Nashville on October 2, 2024.

Jim Wright

The project features two new songs plus five previous recordings by each artist, including two of Grant’s Christmas songs, “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” and “Tennessee Christmas” (both of which she co-wrote). Gill applies his heavenly tenor vocals to standards like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “O Holy Night”.

As a Christian artist first and foremost, Grant, 64, may be more associated with Christmas music than Gill, but the pair actually met, in December 1993, when Gill invited Grant to be on his television holiday show.

“Truth be told, we invited Amy because it was a Christmas show and we knew she had quite a following in that world, so we could use the viewership,” explains Gill, whose trademark wit is never far from the surface.

His wife, sitting next to him, can’t resist teasing. “You just needed a female singer!” those ribs.

Amy Grant and Vince Gill Relationship Timeline

Amy Grant and Vince Gill perform in November 1994. Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal

Gill later did business with Grant, appearing at her seasonal benefit show in Nashville that same year, and the two quickly became friends and occasional collaborators. Both were in their first marriages at the time; after their divorce, they began dating in 1999 and married in 2000.

The tradition of their live Christmas shows has grown slowly and steadily over the years. They began touring together during the holidays of 2008; six years later, they decided to stay in Nashville and scheduled six nights of Ryman concerts. Today, that number has doubled, and every year the shows sell out quickly. (Grant also tours regularly during the Christmas season with fellow Christian artist Michael W. Smith.)

Although “Amy and Vince” are now almost synonymous with Nashville’s holiday music scene, each has a different relationship with holiday sounds.

“I recorded Christmas music early because I was so comfortable talking about religion,” says Grant, who has long been considered the queen of Christian pop. “Christmas is the only time of the year when everyone feels comfortable saying ‘Jesus.’ Faith made it so natural for me to say, ‘Oh, let’s write songs about this.’ So yes, it is a gift of love.”

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Amy Grant and Vince Gill perform their Ryman Auditorium holiday residency in Nashville in December 2023.

Jason Kempin/Getty

Gill admits he feels uneasy about his reputation on holiday. “I think I’ll leave the ‘king of Christmas’ to Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby,” says the artist who planted his hit-making career in country music and is now a member of the rock band the Eagles. “Do I really like Christmas music? I think it’s fine.” He laughs at his assessment. “It’s not the Stones, but it’s pretty good.”

What kept them coming back year after year?

For Grant, the shows are “a wonderful, simple way to celebrate community, family, faith and hometown, and we can all do it together.”

Gill says he realized how many people count on their shows to ignite their Christmas spirit. “It’s part of their tradition,” he says. “It means something to them. It’s really good in your heart to go, hey, people love this. People want to come see it and people have a lot of it.” He says he also just enjoys “watching Amy shine and seeing people react to seeing her shine.”

Over the years, audiences have come to expect certain things during Ryman shows: Gill’s witty banter and excellent guitar playing, the (cotton) snowball that erupts during “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Grant’s crescendo moment singing “Breath of Nebo. ”

The pair also traditionally close the show with a duet of “‘Til the Season Comes Round Again,” a heartbreaking ballad that Gill originally recorded for his first Christmas album in 1993. It’s also the last song, as a duet, on When I think of Christmas.

Best throwback pictures of Amy Grant and Vince Gill

Album cover of ‘When I Think of Christmas’ by Amy Grant and Vince Gill.

Grant says he likes to blow the audience away with his message about enjoying the moment.

“The Christmas shows we have at the Ryman are just a moment for everyone to take a deep breath, to look around, to acknowledge the gift of each other, the gift of that moment, and yes,” she says, “that song says it all.”

But the lyrics also offer the promise of next year: “By a warm fire, let’s hold our heads high / And be thankful we’re here / ‘Til this time next year.” Grant says she takes that message to heart, too — but she doesn’t take it for granted.

“To us, to me,” she says, “every year seems like a gift.”

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Source: HIS Education