"GRAMMY-winning country music legend Joe Diffie passed away today, Sunday, March 29 from complications of coronavirus (COVID-19)," the statement read. The Oklahoma native. It didnt seem real at times, said Diffie in his radio interview. [5] He first worked in oil fields, then drove a truck that pumped concrete in the oilfield in Alice, Texas, before moving back to Duncan to work in a foundry. "Pickup Man," "Ships That Don't Come In," and a stunning duet with Mary Chapin Carpenter. Hank Thompson recorded Diffie's "Love on the Rocks", and Randy Travis bought rights to one of Diffie's songs but did not record it. Just before this interview, he had performed more than 20 days out of the previous 30 and, although so hoarse he could barely speak, was back at Soundshop Studio working on the next album, "Life's So Funny," a ballad-heavy project whose awesome early tracks promise to be the most stunning work of his career. In 1998 he won a Grammy for his appearance on a star-studded recording of Same Old Train with Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Merle Haggard and others. Watch popular content from the following creators: Three Chords and the Truth(@_realcountrymusic), Highwayman(@highwayman_), Thomas Mac(@thomasmacmusic), Kati(@__lovinlb), Jeff Stauffer(@jeffstauffermusic), Austin Morrill(@austin4wd), country Mike(@countrymike33), Johnny Harmon(@johnnyharmon1), Crystal Dawn Gale(@simplysouthern_crystal . and to check on the kids. Joe Diffie, a country music star who won Country Music Assn. Following in his father's footsteps, Diffie began singing at an early age, often listening to the albums in his father's record collection. His birth name is Joe Logan Diffie. His third album, "Honky Tonk Attitude" (1993), achieved platinum status and featured two of his most popular songs, "John Deere Green" and "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox." Two days before his death, Diffie released a statement saying he had tested positive for coronavirus and was receiving treatment. Legendary Country musician Joe Diffie passed away on Sunday, March 29, due to complications from COVID-19. That refrain became the title of Diffies final album. A representative for Diffie confirmed his death in a news release. Her version of the song, included on her album Delicious Surprise, was a number-one single that year. He placed a dozen more songs in the country top 10. Flora Diffie was a schoolteacher and owned a flower shop. Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, USA. The last Diffie was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2002. In addition to these singles, he had 12 others reach the top 10 and ten more reach the top 40 on the same chart. [54], After leaving Broken Bow, Diffie continued to tour, primarily playing smaller venues and county fairs. Sign up here.
Although he initially earned credits toward medical school, he decided against a medical profession after marrying for the first time in 1977 and ultimately dropped out before graduation. (CNN) Country singers all over the nation are leaving emotional tributes to Joe Diffie, who died from complications of coronavirus on Sunday. He enjoyed a breakthrough in 1988, when Hank Thompson, the king of western swing, recorded his song Love On the Rocks. But, now that states are reopening, his family will finally get to honor Diffie. I guess between all the publicity and the press and the tabloids and everything, people kind of got to know me a little bit. As of April 1, Diffie is the only major country star to pass away after testing positive for COVID-19. "[46], In 2001, Sony Nashville transferred Diffie from its Epic division to the Monument Records division due to a corporate decision that Epic had too many artists and Monument had too few. The song also reached number one on the country music charts published by Radio & Records and Gavin Report, making him the first country music artist to have a number-one debut single on all three charts,[10] as well as the first country music artist to have a debut single spend more than one week in the number-one position at the latter two publications. Even in his performing era, Diffie continued writing songs, including ones recorded by Tim McGraw (Memory Lane) and Jo Dee Messina (My Give a Damns Busted). To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Flora (Floss) Deen Lowrance Diffie departed this life on November 18, 2020 at the age of 81. 1 slot four weeks, a rare feat nowadays. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. We got to be friends. Diffie also had a playful, plucky rowdiness, and that animated his biggest hits. His father, Joe, held a variety of jobs including rancher, truck driver and welder, and would later become the tour bus driver for the country artist Toby Keith. There is a problem with your email/password. He also met Debbie, who later became his second wife. Liz Allison, a native South Carolinian who met Davey Allison in 1988 and Oops, we were unable to send the email. We are sad to announce that on November 18, 2020, at the age of 81, Flora Deen Diffie (Yukon, Oklahoma) passed away. 5. [45] William Ruhlmann wrote that Diffie "has put together a decade-plus career in country largely on his ability to succeed" in "scour[ing] Nashville publishers for 10 good compositions in the established style", and that he was an "adequate but undistinguished singer. Diffie was three times divorced. 2. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. [7] By mid-1989, he left Gibson to record demos full-time. He's a special person. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. [62] Later in the year, Diffie collaborated with Aaron Tippin and Sammy Kershaw on the album All in the Same Boat, and cut the single "Girl Riding Shotgun" with D Thrash of the Jawga Boyz. He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1993, a year when he also released the platinum-selling album Honky Tonk Attitude. Joe did not have lung cancer and was a healthy, loving father, husband and friend. [27] The album included two consecutive number-one singles in its title track and in "Pickup Man". Joe Diffie. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Diffie was born into a musical family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was 61. A force in country music during the 90s with his iconic. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. [5] He built a recording studio, began touring adjacent states with Special Edition, and sent demonstration recordings to publishers in Nashville. c = c.replace(/woocommerce-no-js/, 'woocommerce-js'); He was 61. He is unquestionably one of the finest vocalists ever to come out of Nashville, and people as widely divergent as Mary Chapin Carpenter and Tammy Wynette have praised his unpretentious virtuosity. It's just that their names ain't in the headlines.". official Instagram account. Joe Diffie, the Nineties country star behind hits like "Pickup Man," has died at 61 due to complications related to COVID-19. Almost overnight he went from being just another name in the Nashville pack to seeing his two most recent albums, "Honkytonk Attitude" and "Third Rock From the Sun," become million-sellers. was in early July, when she and Allison attended a Diffie concert in Daytona He was the first Country artist to have a single debut at number one on all three charts. But I learned a lesson from it. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. divorce before.". Diffie, who went from working in oil fields and foundries to becoming one of the most commercially successful country singers, began writing songs in the 1980s, and one of them, Love on the Rocks, was recorded by Hank Thompson. On March 29, Diffies wife, Tara, posted the news ', "Yeah, I was terrified of all that stuff, and some of it was very painful and hurtful. Please reset your password. [24] Several other artists and he won that year's Country Music Association award for Vocal Event of the Year, for their guest vocals on George Jones's "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair". All Rights Reserved. "We are the same age, so it's very scary. [2] Country Standard Time critic George Hauenstein praised the album for containing "songs that are slightly different from [what] those other artists sing. [47] The album's title track peaked at number 10 on the country charts and number 66 on the hot 100. His first musical performance came at age 7, when he performed in "The Muffin Man".