Vince Gill Trades Jabs With Steve Martin

Vince Gill was having a leisurely day at home about a year ago when the phone rang. He answered and heard, "Hello Vince, this is Steve Martin."

Vince's immediate response: "Yeah, and I'm the Pope! Who is this?"

"I thought someone was just yanking my chain," Vince tells The Boot. "I didn't think it was real at first."

Vince soon discovered that it was indeed the famed comedian on the other end of the phone line. "After he convinced me, he told me he was making a banjo record and wanted me to sing on it," he recalls.

"I was kinda disappointed when Vince showed up to record, because when I called him he told me he was the Pope," Steve jokes with The Boot. "I thought that would have been pretty exciting. But it turned out okay anyway."

Vince says he has long been a fan of Steve's banjo playing, even while others thought the instrument was just a part of his comedy act. "I had been aware of Steve since I was a teen as [both] a comedian and banjo player. I knew it wasn't just a prop, because I was a musician so I knew how good he was. I knew he had a musician's heart, as well as being one of funniest people I've ever seen."

"Not one of the funniest," Steve responded to that comment.

"Oh right, the funniest person I've ever seen, just like you wrote it, Steve," joked Vince.

Vince took the conversation to a more serious level when he told The Boot, "This is what I've done my whole life, play and sing on people's records. It's not my place to judge his music. He's kind enough to invite me to be a part of something he's passionate about, and I was thrilled to death. Then we got to hang out with Dolly Parton in the studio, so who doesn't love that?"

Vince and Dolly sing a duet, 'Pretty Flowers,' on Steve's new CD, 'The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo,' his first banjo album. Vince and Steve were reunited Saturday night on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry when the comedian/actor/musician made his debut on the historic radio show. Performing with them was John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a long-time friend of Steve's who produced the album.