Vince Gill said he understood why some people didn’t want him to be in Eagles, but he argued that the “other option is not possible.”

He was invited to join the band following the death of Glenn Frey in 2016, with the late singer’s son Deacon also becoming part of the lineup. In a recent interview with the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, Gill reflected on some fans’ reaction to the changes.

“It’s different, and it's not as good as the original,” he said. “I don't sing like Glenn, and I don't pretend to. I see a lot of people making negative comments about me being in that band. … I get it. It's my favorite band, too. I don't want to hear me sing ‘New Kid in Town,’ but the other option is not possible. So I’m just trying to do my part to keep some great songs afloat.”

You can watch the interview below.

Discussing how Don Henley had invited him to join, Gill explained, “Don told me in confidence, ‘You’re the only guy I wanted, that I would have done this with,’ which meant the world to me. I knew Glenn very well in the ‘80s, [and] we had the same manager when the Eagles had broken up. And Joe [Walsh] and I met at the Crossroads shows. We wanted to do a band like the Traveling Wilburys together, where we might get Michael McDonald, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones or something and have this cool little jam band, you know?

“But then this tragedy happened with the passing of Glenn, and most people thought, them included, that they wouldn’t do it again. And so they said, ‘Would you consider it?’ And I said, ‘When do we leave?’ It’s always been my favorite band … it’s mind-blowing – every night I’m sitting up there, playing these songs, going, ‘Oh, there’s “New Kid in Town,” there’s “Lyin’ Eyes,” there’s “I Can’t Tell You Why.”’”

Gill also reflected on the magic of the Eagles. “I asked Don early on, when we started doing this, ‘What’s the first song you and Glenn ever wrote?’" he said. "And he smiled and he said, ‘Desperado.’ I said, ‘I don’t believe it! You didn’t write half a dozen lame songs [first]?’ He goes, ‘No, that’s the first song we wrote together.’ It was meant to be.”

 

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