A Fleming County woman is credited with returning a lost steel pedal guitar to singer Vince Gill.
In 2012, Lynda Gilvin traveled to Cincinnati to attend a Vince Gill concert and return to him a steel pedal guitar that once belonged to his band mate, John Hughey.
Hughey was a musician and steel guitar player. During his life, he recorded with several artists, including Conway Twitty, Vince Gill, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and many others.
"Several years ago, my husband, Bill, and I traveled to a Mississippi and visited a pawn shop," Gilvin said. "While we were there, a man brought in a steel pedal guitar. He said it was rumored to have belonged to John Hughey, who played in the band for Conway Twitty and Vince Gill."
Gilvin said her husband purchased the guitar and took it home. Together, they researched the history of the guitar, only to discover it had been made by Hughey.
"He only made eight of these," Gilvin said. "He died in 2007, but had always wondered where the eighth one had gone."
According to Gilvin, she kept the guitar until her husband's death in 2011. That was when she decided she needed to return it to its rightful place with Gill.
"I knew that if something happened to me, people would think it was just junk," she said. "I didn't want them to sell it or destroy it or throw it out. Bill and I had talked about donating it to a museum, but in the end, it belonged with (Gill). I know Bill is happy about my decision. He loved music and all he ever wanted was for people to be able to play music, so I know I did right."
Gilvin said as soon as she made up her mind about giving the guitar to Gill, she began searching for a way to contact him. Eventually, she was able to reach out to him through his fan page.
"I sent an email through his fan page and told them of my intentions," she said. "A few weeks later, I'm at work at A. Raymond Tinnerman, and I get a phone call. I answered it and the voice said, 'Hi, this is Vince Gill.' I told him I was at work and he would have to call back after 3 p.m. Then, I went inside, told some of the ladies in there about it and they couldn't believe I'd hung up on Vince Gill."
Gilvin said Gill did call back after 3 p.m., and they made a plan to meet at his show in Cincinnati in April 2012.
"We went to his show and one of the things he does is have catering for his crew, so he invited us to dinner," she said. "I was surprised when I saw him, though. He had a beard and I'd never seen him with a beard."
Gilvin said everyone was excited to see the pedal steel guitar.
"He was very pleased to have it returned," she said. "I told him to promise me that if he ever got rid of it that he would just put it in a museum."
According to Gilvin, Gill said he would never get rid of the guitar.
"Overall, it was an amazing experience," she said. "I was with my two daughters, son-in-law and granddaughter, Donnie Reed, Amy, Hannah and Krystal Humphries. We all had a great time. And, the show was wonderful. He really knows how to put on a show."
Gilvin said she never once thought the experience would turn out any differently.
"If I put my mind to something, I do it," she said. "I said I was going to get in touch with Vince Gill and I did it. I'm glad I did, too."
Vince Gill was unavailable for comment about the guitar. His legendary steel guitar player, Paul Franklin, however, did comment.
"This steel guitar is a unique find, it may have been an early prototype, although we wouldn't be able to say for sure since John isn't here to ask," he said. "John went on to build his own guitars including "Hughey Guitars" which were made in Memphis and then "JCH guitars" which were played on songs like "Lost In The Feeling," as well as several of Vince's records."
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