Vince Gill Breaks Down During On-Stage Dolly Parton Tribute

Vince Gill wanted to pay tribute to his friend Dolly Parton, but it just didn’t come out the way he’d planned.

The crowd in Kansas City was there to pick him up however.

• Vince Gill played the Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Mo. on Thursday (Aug. 27).
• Dolly Parton died two days earlier, on Aug. 25.
• The two recorded a version of “I Will Always Love You” that went Top 20 on country radio in 1995.

Related: Dolly Parton’s Cause of Death Revealed

Upon learning of Parton’s passing, Gill shared that he and his family were “crushed.” The show must go on however, so he took to the road to play a weekend of shows in Missouri and Memphis, Tenn.

“One of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard was when Dolly and I sang that last note of ‘I Will Always Love You’ the year we performed it on the CMA Awards,” he said on Tuesday, referring to their 1995 CMA Awards spot.

Frank Mullen, WireImage Via Getty Images

Alone, Gill tried to get through “I Will Always Love You” in K.C. The 69-year-old is known to struggle to make it through tribute performances. During a memorial for George Jones in 2013, he lost it trying to sing “Go Rest High On That Mountain” with Patty Loveless.

Since then, simply telling parts of his own story will bring him to tears, so you can imagine what fans thought as he began to honor Parton at the Midland Theatre.

The tears came quickly, interrupting his music. The fans encouraged and helped him out in spots by singing along.

“I Will Always Love You” is the most-chosen song to honor Parton. Morgan Myles gave a stirring performance of the hit at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night.

Chris Stapleton also paid tribute to Dolly with his own cover of her most famous ballad.

More tributes are still come as the Opry plans a proper celebration on Aug. 29 in Nashville. There is no public memorial for Parton, who died after a short battle with cancer.