Vince Gill shared a powerful story about a rare 1950 Fender Broadcaster — the first electric guitar made by Fender — that once belonged to Jabo Arrington, Little Jimmy Dickens’ first guitar player. After Jabo passed in the early 1950s, the guitar sat untouched under a bed for 60 years. His family, recognizing Vince’s love for vintage instruments, tracked him down and asked if he’d honor Jabo’s memory by playing it at the Grand Ole Opry once more.
Vince bought the guitar and, in a deeply emotional full-circle moment, played it beside Little Jimmy himself. Years later, when Jimmy passed away, Vince brought the same guitar to Jimmy’s memorial at the Opry House, saying: “This is the guitar that brought him here… it should be the one that takes him out.”
After the service, Vince got a call from Merle Haggard, who told him: “I don’t cry… but I can’t stop crying after what you just did.” Merle asked for the guitar, but Vince gently told him it wasn’t for sale — not at any price.