Vince Gill paid tribute to Charlie Daniels with two songs during Friday morning's (July 10) funeral service in Murfreesboro, Tenn. In addition to an acoustic guitar version of his most famous song "Go Rest High on That Mountain," he recognized the late 83-year-old's patriotism with a version of "America the Beautiful."

The songs (find them at 47:25 in the video below) came back-to-back after Gill told a story from early in his career, when his band the Pure Prairie League weren't able to open in full for Daniels at San Diego State College because the bass player was arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia. "Everyone gathered around and said, 'What are we gonna do?'" Gill recalls.

"Charlie said, 'You can open the show by yourself.'" That became Gill's first solo show, giving him the seed of confidence he'd eventually turn into a Hall of Fame solo career.

Not a tear was shed by Gill during his rendition of "Go Rest High on That Mountain," his hit from 1995. He's performed the song at several country funerals, most notably George Jones' memorial in 2013. The song quickly segued into "America the Beautiful" as a way of recognizing Daniels' undying support for the American military.

America was the theme of the morning service. Trace Adkins performed his own song "Arlington" after speeches and memories from a Marine Mark Geist and Navy Seal David Rutherford. The service opened with a gospel song and the Pledge of Allegiance, something atypical of most funeral services. No Charlie Daniels Band songs were performed, with the remaining performers (including Gretchen Wilson and Travis Tritt) choosing well-known gospel favorites instead. She sang "I'll Fly Away," while Tritt remembered his friend with "Amazing Grace."

Daniels died on July 6, 2020, at the age of 83 after suffering a stroke. He leaves behind wife Hazel and son Charlie Jr., in addition to thousands of friends and fans.

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