Vince Gill recalls being asked to guest on Steve Martin's album

When Steve Martin first whipped out a banjo on stage, everyone thought it was part of his comedy routine. But Steve is actually a skilled banjo player and has put out albums to back it up, including his latest called The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. The album has a bunch of special guest collaborations, including a song with Vince Gill, who talked about how he ended up getting to work with Steve.

I got a call and picked up the phone and heard, 'Hello Vince, this is Steve Martin. So I said, 'Yeah, and I'm the Pope. Who is this?' I thought someone was yanking my chain. I didn't think it was real at first, but after he convinced me, he told me he was making a banjo record and wanted me to sing on it. 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.

Banjo music isn't exactly my favorite thing to listen to, but the guy I work with is obsessed with randomly awkward music, and he's blasted clips of Steve strummin' the banjo a few times, and even though it's not too bad, I'm not running out to grab the album. The guy I work with might, though...right after he shoots me and scratches my name off the hitlist under his desk.