Country Music Memories: Vince Gill Hits No. 1

Vince Gill had just begun a career-making hot streak when he released “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” as the second single from his sixth studio album, I Still Believe in You. The song became his second straight No. 1 hit on Dec. 26, 1992 — 28 years ago today.

Several of the songs on I Still Believe in You appear to have been inspired by the marital turbulence that Gill was experiencing with his first wife, Sweethearts of the Rodeo singer Janis Oliver. The album’s title song — with which scored Gill his first No. 1 single — was a soaring ballad that addressed the problems that they had been having, while its more uptempo followup told the story of a couple that’s been up all night arguing, trying to find a resolution to their problems.

In retrospect, the lyrics of “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” hardly seem to describe an easy situation: “Don’t let our love start slippin’, love start slippin’ away / ‘Cause the life we’ve been livin’ gets harder every day,” Gill sings in the chorus, while the song ends with, “It’s past the point of right or wrong / Let’s find a way to just hold on.” The video for the song features Gill performing in a club, where he is backed by an all-star cast that includes Little Jimmy Dickens, Reba McEntire, Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis and more.

“Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” stayed at No. 1 for two weeks. Gill scored two more No. 1 hits from his I Still Believe in You album, “One More Last Chance“ and “Tryin’ to Get Over You.”

I Still Believe in You was not only Gill’s breakthrough record; it also remains the biggest-selling album of his career, having sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. Additionally, Gill took home five CMA Awards in 1993, including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as Vocal Event of the Year, for his part in George Jones‘ “I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair;” he also won the evening’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year.

Though Gill’s marriage to Oliver struggled on for a few more years, the couple divorced in 1997. Gill has been married to Christian singer Amy Grant since 2000.

This story was originally written by Sterling Whitaker, and revised by Angela Stefano.