"Pretty Little Adriana"
Single by Vince Gill
from the album High Lonesome Sound
B-side"Tell Me Lover"
ReleasedOctober 28, 1996
GenreCountry
Length3:30
LabelMCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)Vince Gill
Producer(s)Tony Brown
Vince Gill singles chronology
"Worlds Apart"
(1996) 		"Pretty Little Adriana"
(1996) 		"A Little More Love"
(1997)

"Pretty Little Adriana" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Vince Gill. It was released in October 1996 as the third single from the album High Lonesome Sound. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and won Gill a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.[1]

Content

The song is about the death of a child as seen from the parents' perspective. Gill was inspired to write the song after reading a news story about a 12-year-old girl named Adriane Dickerson who was shot to death outside a Nashville supermarket in 1995.[2]

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine gave the song a mixed review, calling it "a little lackluster" and saying that not every song can be an "I Still Believe in You" or a "Go Rest High on That Mountain." However, she goes on to say that the song boasts "tasty guitar work, a pretty melody, and, of course, Gill's signature vocals."[3]

Chart performance

"Pretty Little Adriana" debuted at number 63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 9, 1996.

Chart (1996–1997) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[4] 3
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[5] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1997) Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[6] 31
US Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 31

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 159–160. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  2. ^ "Vince writes musical tribute for Adriane". The Tennessean. January 17, 1997. pp. 3A. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Billboard, November 2, 1996
  4. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9883." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. February 17, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "Vince Gill Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1997". RPM. December 15, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  7. ^ "Best of 1997: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.


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