Songfacts®:

• This playful song pokes fun at the fickle nature of fame, with Vince Gill warning a young whippersnapper, "Live it up son, cause it don't last long." Gill wrote this with his keyboard player, John Hobbs, and the Country songwriter, Al Anderson, who also plays guitar on this track. In our interview, Anderson revealed he met Gill at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving benefit concert: "He came over at the end and said, 'Let's write one.' But I was afraid to call him. Because he's really good. But his keyboard player, John Hobbs, put it together and the first thing we wrote was 'Next Big Thing.'"
• Al Anderson sang Gill's praises in our interview: "I'm intimidated by Vince. He's a great guitar player and a great mandolin player. He's great at everything. Great guy and great writer."
• This song peaked at #17 on the US Country chart. In 2004, it won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.
• As well as writing or co-writing every song on the album, Gill also produced Next Big Thing, his 11th studio effort.