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Vince Gill 

The late Charlie Daniels gave Vince Gill his solo career break when he booked him to perform as his support act.

The singer recalled the moment The Devil Went Down to Georgia hitmaker suggested he open for him while honoring the country icon at his funeral in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Friday.

Gill, who performed Go Rest High on That Mountain and America the Beautiful at the event, told mourners he and his Pure Prairie League bandmates feared they would have to back out of a booking to perform as Daniels' opening act during a show at San Diego State College in California when their bass player was arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia.

"Everyone gathered around and said, 'What are we gonna do?'" Gill said. "Charlie said, 'You can open the show by yourself'."

That became Gill's first solo show.

Trace Adkins, Gretchen Wilson, and Travis Tritt also performed at the funeral - Adkins sang Arlington, while Wilson and Tritt performed I'll Fly Away and Amazing Grace, respectively.

The Redneck Woman singer told mourners Daniels was like a father to her, adding, "He was there to hand me my diploma when I received my GED (General Educational Development diploma), spoke at my graduation ceremony... He made me feel at home in Tennessee. He's always been someone I can count on... And he referred me to Jesus on many occasions."

Daniels suffered a stroke and died on July 6 at the age of 83.