By:Karen Wolitzer
Born April 12, 1957, he doesn't try to hide the fact that he's 45-years-old or that he struggles with keeping his weight in check. As a matter of fact, he's not fond of making music videos because it means eating turkey sandwiches until he's as fit as his fiddle.
Vince has always loved music. By the time he was in high school, he had become proficient on the banjo and guitar and was playing in his first bluegrass band. "I taught myself how to play by watching other musicians," he explains.
After graduation, he turned professional, working with such acts as the Bluegrass Alliance, Boone Creek, Sundance and, most famously, Pure Prairie League. For a time, he also toured with Rodney Crowell's high-octane backup band, the Cherry Bombs. In 1983, he signed to RCA Records, where he scored his first solo country hits, among them "Oklahoma Borderline" and "Cinderella."
"I think I'm proudest of the fact that in all the years since I left home, I haven't had to take a job outside of playing music. To me that was success," says Vince. "Of course, there were some months I was wondering where the next fifty bucks would come from to pay the bills. But I never needed much. I was always happy just to be able to pay the rent."
In 1984 he won his first Country Music Award, which has been followed by many, many more and 15 Grammy Awards. "I keep most of them in the garage," he laughs. "But winning still means so much to me. It's just as great in the latter part of your career as it is in the beginning. I'm still really insecure. Sometimes I think,
