Work for other artists
Gill is known for a large number of collaborative works as a duet partner, session musician, songwriter, and backing vocalist. Of his prolificacy as a collaborative artist, Brown stated in 1998 that Gill often sang harmony for other artists because he enjoyed doing so. One of his first collaborations came in 1987 when Emmylou Harris chose Gill to appear on her album Angel Band, a compilation of gospel music standards. Gill played mandolin and sang backing vocals on the project, which also included Emory Gordy Jr. and bluegrass musician Carl Jackson. Alabama recorded one of Gill's compositions, "Here We Are", on their 1990 album Pass It On Down. Their version went to number two on the country music charts in 1991. Also in 1991, Mark O'Connor recorded a cover version of Carl Perkins's "Restless" for his album The New Nashville Cats. This rendition featured O'Connor on fiddle, with Gill, Steve Wariner, and Ricky Skaggs alternating on lead vocals and guitar. Credited to Mark O'Connor & the New Nashville Cats, this rendition went to number 25 on the country charts. All four artists won Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1992 for this song, as well as CMA Vocal Event of the Year. Gill covered the Eagles's "I Can't Tell You Why" for the late-1993 tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, with then-former Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit on backing vocals and Jim Horn on soprano saxophone. While not officially promoted as a single, this cover reached number 42 on Hot Country Songs due to unsolicited airplay. On two occasions, Gill collaborated with Asleep at the Wheel on a cover of a Bob Wills song. The first was "Red Wing" on the 1993 album Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys; the second was "Bob's Breakdowns" from Ride with Bob: A Tribute to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys six years later. Both collaborations won Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance in their respective years of release. Gill's third instrumental Grammy Award win came in 2001 on a rendition of Earl Scruggs's "Foggy Mountain Breakdown", done for the collaboration album Earl Scruggs and Friends.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Gill was a frequent collaborator of Patty Loveless. He sang backing vocals on her 1987 self-titled debut album, and also on her 1989 hit "Timber, I'm Falling in Love". Additionally, she did likewise on several of his singles, including "When I Call Your Name", "Pocket Full of Gold", and "Go Rest High on That Mountain". In 1994, Gill contributed to two collaborations. First was "House of Love", a duet with Amy Grant from her album of the same name. The song was a top-40 hit on the Hot 100 after its release. Gill's other collaboration in 1994 was on Kermit Unpigged, an album featuring the Muppets performing alongside a number of musical guests. On this album, Gill and Kermit the Frog (then voiced by Steve Whitmire) recorded a cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream"; this cover reached number 65 on the Canadian RPM country charts. A year later, Gill sang a duet with Dolly Parton on a re-recording of her hit "I Will Always Love You" on her album Something Special. Gill had originally wanted to wait until after "Go Rest High on That Mountain" to release the duet version of "I Will Always Love You". However, demand from radio caused the duet to chart prematurely and ascend the charts simultaneously with "Go Rest High on That Mountain", and Gill chose not to intervene. Gill co-wrote and provided backing vocals on the track "You Just Get One", recorded in 1995 by Ty Herndon on his debut album What Mattered Most. Jeff Wood later released a version of the song in 1997, which featured Gill on both lead guitar and mandolin. Also in 1997, both Gill and Alison Krauss were credited for their backing vocals on Mark Chesnutt's "It's Not Over"; the three had originally recorded it in 1992 for Chesnutt's album Longnecks & Short Stories, but Chesnutt chose to include it on his 1997 album Thank God for Believers and release it as a single as he thought the song still had potential. In 1998, Gill won another Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance, as a featured performer on Randy Scruggs's "A Soldier's Joy" from his album Crown of Jewels. A year later, he sang duet vocals on Barbra Streisand's "If You Ever Leave Me".
Gill and Sheryl Crow were both credited for their backing vocals on Brooks & Dunn's "Building Bridges", a top-five country hit in 2006. Brad Paisley's 2008 instrumental album Play: The Guitar Album featured Gill as one of several instrumentalists on the track "Cluster Pluck", which accounted for Gill's fourth Grammy win in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance. Gill was featured on Kelly Clarkson's 2012 single "Don't Rush" as well. A year later he co-produced Ashley Monroe's album Like a Rose and co-wrote two songs on it. The two toured with Charlie Worsham in 2015. Gill was credited for his backing vocals and lead guitar on Chris Young's late-2016 single "Sober Saturday Night", which also went to number one on the Billboard country charts. Gill also charted in 2017 as a guest vocalist on Maren Morris's promotional single "Dear Hate", written in response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. The song was Gill's 65th entry on the country charts.
Three notable multi-artist collaborations have featured Gill as a performer. First was "Tomorrow's World", a charity single written by Kix Brooks and Pam Tillis featuring over 20 country music singers, and released by Warner Records to honor the 20th anniversary of Earth Day. In 1996, he participated in "Hope: Country Music's Quest for a Cure", a charity single by the T.J. Martell Foundation to honor cancer and leukemia research. He also participated in the 2016 collaboration "Forever Country", a medley of "I Will Always Love You", "On the Road Again", and "Country Roads, Take Me Home" recorded by 30 country artists to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Association. This collaboration went to number one on the Billboard country charts under the credit "Artists of Then, Now, and Forever".
