Joe Diffie

90’s country superstar Joe Diffie was born December 28, 1958 to parents who instilled a love of music in their son. He sang as a boy, and by 14 was performing in concert with family members. After trying to work steady jobs while singing on the side, he was forced to declare bankruptcy in the mid 80s. Diffie devoted himself to music career in Nashville, and got his foot in the door as a songwriter and demo singer. He signed with Epic in 1989 and that same year he wrote the Holly Dunn top 5 country hit “There Goes My Heart Again”. His debut album, 1990’s ballad heavy A Thousand Winding Roads, spun off a pair of country chart-toppers (“Home” and “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)”) as well as two addition singles that climbed to number 2. That began a run of chart domination for Diffie that continued throughout the decade. He began to mix in more humorous songs with the 1993 album Honky Tonk Attitude and was rewarded with three top 5 singles. 1995’s Third Rock from the Sun contained the number 1s “Pickup Man” and the title track. After 1999’s A Night to Remember, Diffie left Epic and had his final top 10 single with the title track of his 2001 album In Another World. He would release three more albums before passing away from COVID-19 on March 24, 2020.