Patty Loveless And Vince Gill Reunite At The Opry To Sing “Go Rest High On That Mountain”
Patty Loveless Returned To The Grand Ole Opry Recently Where She Reunited With Her Longtime Friend And Former Duet Partner, Vince Gill, To Sing Gill’s Grammy Award-Winning Hit, “Go Rest High On That Mountain.”
The reunion took place Saturday night, December 2, and was captured on camera by audience members who were thrilled to be able to witness the magical moment.
Though the pair have performed the song many times in the past 28 years, this was the first time Patty appeared to be fighting back emotion
“Go Rest High On That Mountain” Became Vince Gill’s Signature Song Upon Its Release In 1995.
Gill was inspired to write the song following the death of Keith Whitley in 1989 and finished writing it after the death of his own brother in 1993.
The song never topped the charts, but saw commercial success and was named CMA’s Song of the Year in 1996 and the BMI Most-Performed Song a year later. “Go Rest High” would also win two Grammy Awards: Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song.
While the song itself is no doubt powerful, the original recording was even more so due to the haunting harmonies from Patty Loveless and Ricky Skaggs. Patty has joined Vince for performances of the song numerous times over the years, perhaps most famously for the funeral of beloved country legend George Jones who died in 2013.
During their performance during Jones’ funeral, Gill became so overwhelmed with emotion that he was unable to sing at times. Somehow Patty Loveless was able to maintain her composure and continue singing as the crowd rose to their feet, many of them crying along with Vince.
Vince Gill And Patty Loveless Have Shared A Decades-Long Friendship And Share A Mutual Admiration For Each Other’s Talents.
In a 2015 interview with the Houston Press, Gill praised Loveless and called her one of his “most seamless-sounding partners.”
“I think we only maybe did one ‘real’ duet together over all these years, but we both sang on each other’s first hit records,” Gill recalled. “There’s something magical about our voices together that I was always drawn to. She sang on ‘When I Call Your Name,’ ‘Pocket Full of Gold,’ and I sang on a bunch of her hits — ‘If My Heart Had Windows,’ and then backgrounds on probably 15 or 20 of her records over the years.”
There think most country fans would agree that there isn’t a pairing quite like Vince Gill and Patty Loveless. Watch their emotional performance at George Jones’ funeral in the video below.