The Recording Academy has recently come under critical fire for under-representing female artists. However, Vince Gill has spoken in its defense, saying that “what’s great” is all that matters in the end.
The country star spoke before a benefit concert for the Country Music Hall of Fame on Tuesday (Feb. 13) in New York, sharing the stage with Emmylou Harris, Maren Morris, and Kesha. He claimed it is “impossible” to not leave some artists off the list in a given year.
“I look at it kind of trying to see the whole field, you know. And I think the Grammys will go on and the country artists will feel slighted. Or maybe the classical people will feel slighted,” he noted. “It’s impossible to pull something off like that and not leave a few people by the wayside.”
Gill concluded that all that matters is that musical people are “conscious of what’s great at the end of the day,” adding, “We don’t care about genres, of color of skin, or gender, or anything. We just love playing music with great people and that’s all.”
Morris, who won her first Grammy last year, agreed, noting: “I think the person that’s won the most Grammys is Alison Krauss.” (Krauss has 27, but is tied for second place with Quincy Jones for most Grammy wins. Hungarian composer Georg Sorti holds the record with 31 wins.)
As for Harris, the country icon said she was aware of the challenges facing women in the recording industry. However, “I haven’t run into a lot of the problems that I know are out there,” she admitted. “My path has been pretty unfettered with those kinds of things.”
The Recording Academy was pointed out in this arena last month for several Grammy Awards-related incidents, most notably a lack of female winners. Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow responded by saying women need to “step up”; a comment he later said was taken out of context and regrettable.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TasteofCountry.com
