Vince Gill has reflected on a battered childhood guitar that remains one of his most sentimental possessions, using it on the cover of his latest EP, Eighteen Summers. He said he began playing it at about one or two years old and dragged it with him by its cord, illustrating how deeply music shaped him from an early age.

The EP is part of Gill’s year-long 50 Years From Home series, marking five decades in country music and spanning gospel, country, soul and blues. Gill said he has written around 150 songs in the past two or three years and believes both his writing and singing are improving; he also named Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium as his favourite venue.