Vince Gill was honored recently at the National Music Publishers’ Association’s (NMPA) Gold & Platinum Gala, held in Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Gill received the organization’s inaugural Legacy Songwriter Icon Award, which is presented to a songwriter whose work has spanned multiple decades and whose songs continue to achieve Gold and Platinum certifications many years after their release. Gill is the only writer who had multiple songs certified within the previous year’s eligibility period that were released before the year 2000.
Gill was presented the award by David Israelite, NMPA’s President & CEO and also received a plaque recognizing all his certifications, including the two most recent: “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” and “One More Last Chance,” co-written with Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame member Gary Nicholson. “His talent is extraordinary and his humility is legendary,” Israelite said of Gill. “But perhaps his greatest achievement is that after all these years, his songs aren’t just standing the test of time, they’re still making history.” During the course of the evening’s festivities, Gill gave solo acoustic performances of both songs.
Earlier this year, Gill received the NSAI Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award, and “Go Rest High On That Mountain” was acknowledged by the Library of Congress when it was added to its National Recording Registry.
Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing all American music publishers and their songwriting partners. Its mission is to protect, promote, and advance the interests of music’s creators. The NMPA is the voice of both small and large music publishers and is the leading advocate for publishers and their songwriter partners in the nation’s capital and in every area where publishers do business. The goal of NMPA is to protect its members’ property rights on the legislative, litigation, and regulatory fronts. In this vein, the NMPA continues to represent its members in negotiations to shape the future of the music industry by fostering a business environment that furthers both creative and financial success. The NMPA has remained the most active and vocal proponent for the interests of music publishers in the U.S. and throughout the world.