Joe Diffie
Encyclopedia
Joe Logan Diffie is an American country music
singer known for his ballads and novelty song
s. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home
", "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
", "Third Rock from the Sun
", "Pickup Man
" (his longest-lasting number one, at four weeks) and "Bigger Than the Beatles
". In addition to these cuts, he has 12 other top ten singles and ten other top 40 hits on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn
, Tim McGraw
and Jo Dee Messina
.
Diffie recorded for Epic Records
from 1990 to 2000, releasing seven studio albums, a Christmas album and a greatest hits package under the Epic label. He also released one studio album each through Monument Records
, Broken Bow Records
and Rounder Records
. Among his albums, 1993's Honky Tonk Attitude
and 1994's Third Rock from the Sun are certified platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America
; 1992's Regular Joe
and 1996's Life's So Funny
are both certified gold. His most recent album, Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
, was released in late 2010 through Rounder.
, in 1958. His first musical performance came at age four, when he performed in his aunt's country music
band. Diffie's father played guitar and banjo, and his mother sang. Following in his mother's footsteps, Diffie began to sing at an early age, often listening to the albums in his father's record collection. Diffie has said that his "Mom and Dad claimed that [he] could sing harmony when [he] was three years old." His family moved to San Antonio, Texas
while he was in the first grade, and subsequently to Washington state where he attended fourth and fifth grades. Later, he moved to Wisconsin
for the years he was in sixth grade through his second year of high school, and back to Oklahoma where he attended high school in the town of Velma
. In his last two years in high school, Diffie played football, baseball and golf in addition to running track; in his senior year he was recognized as Best All-Around Male Athlete.
After graduating, he attended Cameron University
in Lawton, Oklahoma
. 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. Diffie first worked in oil fields, then drove a truck that pumped cement out of oil wells in Alice, Texas
, before he moved back to Duncan to work in a foundry
. During this period, he worked as a musician on the side, first in a gospel group called Higher Purpose, and then in a bluegrass band called Special Edition. Diffie then built a recording studio, began touring with Special Edition in adjacent states, and sent demo
recordings to publishers in Nashville. Hank Thompson recorded Diffie's "Love on the Rocks", and Randy Travis
put one of Diffie's songs on hold but ultimately did not record it.
After the foundry closed in 1986, Diffie declared bankruptcy and sold the studio out of financial necessity. He also divorced his wife, who left with their two children. Diffie spent several months in a state of depression before deciding to move to Nashville, Tennessee
. There, he took a job at Gibson Guitar Corporation
. While at Gibson, he contacted a songwriter and recorded more demos, including songs that would later be recorded by Ricky Van Shelton
, Billy Dean
, Alabama
and The Forester Sisters
. By mid-1989, he quit working at the company in order to record demos full-time. Diffie also met Debbie, who would later become his second wife. That same year, Diffie was contacted by Bob Montgomery, a songwriter and record producer known for working with Buddy Holly
. Montgomery, who was then the vice president of A&R
at Epic Records
, said that he wanted to sign Diffie to a contract with the label, but had to put the singer on hold for a year. In the meantime, Holly Dunn
released "There Goes My Heart Again
", which Diffie co-wrote and sang the backing vocals. Following this song's chart success, Diffie signed with Epic in early 1990.
, at the end of 1990. Montgomery and Johnny Slate co-produced the album. Its first single, "Home
", reached the top of the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts. The song was also rated 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, 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. Diffie co-wrote the album's second and fourth releases, "If You Want Me To
" and "New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)
"; both peaked at number two on Billboard, and the former reached number one on the RPM
country music charts in Canada. Between these two songs, "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
" became Diffie's second Billboard number one. The album itself peaked at number 23 on Top Country Albums. Diffie also performed his first concerts in late 1990, touring with George Strait
and Steve Wariner
. In that same year, Cash Box magazine named him Male Vocalist of the year.
, was released in 1992 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
. The first two singles from the album both peaked at number five on Billboard: "Is It Cold in Here
" and "Ships That Don't Come In
", the latter of which went to number one on Radio & Records. The album's third single, "Next Thing Smokin, made its chart debut one month before "Not Too Much to Ask", a duet that Diffie recorded with Mary Chapin Carpenter
for her album Come On Come On. Both of these songs made the country Top 20, respectively reaching sixteen and fifteen, and the duet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
at the 35th Grammy Awards in 1993. The final single from Regular Joe was "Startin' Over Blues" (originally the b-side to "Ships That Don't Come In"), which peaked at number 41.
Brian Mansfield
gave the album a positive review in Allmusic, saying that it "has all the clichés of country music, and all the good stuff too." Richmond Times-Dispatch
reviewer Norman Rowe referred to Diffie as a "pleasant surprise" and called "Is It Cold in Here" "the sort of tear-jerker George Jones
has worked wonders with in the past". Alanna Nash
of Entertainment Weekly
thought that Diffie "[sang] in his natural voice", but thought that its material "punches all the predictable thematic buttons."
shipped a million copies in the United States and was certified platinum. The first three singles from the album all reached the Top Ten on the country singles charts: the title track
(which Diffie co-wrote) and the Dennis Linde
composition "John Deere Green
" both peaked at number five, with the number three "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)
" in between. "John Deere Green" also accounted for Diffie's first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100
, where it peaked at number 69. "In My Own Backyard
", the last release from Honky Tonk Attitude, reached number nineteen on the country charts. Diffie told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
that the album was "a little rowdier than the first two." Nash rated the album more favorably than the ones before it, saying that Diffie "is maturing into a first-rate interpreter of working-class woes."
Also in 1993, Diffie was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry
. He and several other artists 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 Rocking Chair". In addition, Diffie co-wrote two cuts on Tim McGraw
's 1993 self-titled
debut album, one of which was the single "Memory Lane".
and in "Pickup Man
". The latter of those two songs was Diffie's longest-lasting number one, at four weeks. Both songs also entered the Hot 100, respectively peaking at 84 and 60. In 2005, "Pickup Man" was repurposed by the Applebee's
restaurant chain for use in its television commercials. The album's next single, "So Help Me Girl
", peaked at number two on the country charts and 84 on the pop charts, in addition to topping the RPM country charts. The song was covered in 1997 by English singer Gary Barlow
. Diffie followed the song with "I'm in Love with a Capital 'U and "That Road Not Taken", which respectively reached country peaks of 21 and 40. Third Rock from the Sun received critical praise for adding more rock and up-tempo material. Thom Owens wrote that he began "adding more rock flourishes" on this album, and Nash said that Diffie "not only understands the blue-collar ethic from the inside out – he's also familiar with its humorous underbelly."
In mid-1995, he recorded the title track for Columbia Records
's Runnin' Wide Open, an album comprising NASCAR
-themed songs by various artists. He issued two albums later in the year. The first was a Christmas project titled Mr. Christmas
, which comprised covers of traditional Christmas songs as well as newly written songs. One of these original songs, "LeRoy the Redneck Reindeer", was issued as a Christmas single late in the year, peaking at number 33 upon its initial release and re-entering the country music charts for the next two years based on Christmas airplay. Of this album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
said, "it's pleasant, but it's not particularly distinguished."
His other release that year was the studio album Life's So Funny
. It was led off by "Bigger Than the Beatles
", the last number one single of his career. The album's other two singles were "COUNTRY" and "Whole Lotta Gone" (previously the b-side of "Bigger Than the Beatles"), both of which peaked at 23 on the country music charts in 1996. Country Standard Time
critic George Hauenstein praised the album for containing "songs that are slightly different from [what] those other artists sing." Owens thought that it was a "varied collection of ballads and midtempo rockers", but said that it was not "as consistently engaging" as Third Rock from the Sun. Nash gave "Bigger Than the Beatles" a C-minus rating, calling it "just a lame device to evoke the names of beloved rock heroes."
, sang backing vocals on it. Jeffrey B. Remz criticized the two novelty songs on the album ("This Is Your Brain" and "Houston, We Have a Problem") for lacking substance, and thought that most of the ballads were well-sung, but that the production "lacks any soul." Owens said that it "doesn't offer anything new or especially remarkable from Joe Diffie."
In mid-1998, Epic Records released Diffie's Greatest Hits
package, which featured three new cuts. Among these were "Texas Size Heartache
", and its b-side, "Poor Me", which respectively reached numbers four and forty-three on the country charts. At the end of the year, Diffie recorded a cover of Charlie Rich
's "Behind Closed Doors
" for the multi-artist album A Tribute to Tradition on Columbia Records. Diffie's version of the song peaked at number 64 based on unsolicited airplay. He also contributed to another cut on that album, "Same Old Train", which featured Marty Stuart
and eleven other country music singers. This song peaked at 59 on the country charts and won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
for all artists involved.
, was released in 1999. As he did with the new cuts for his Greatest Hits package, Diffie worked with producer Don Cook
and producer/session drummer Lonnie Wilson, a friend of Diffie's who formerly fronted the band Bandana
. Its title track
spent twenty-nine weeks on the country charts and peaked at number six; it was his only Top 40 on the Hot 100, where it reached number 38. After this song came "The Quittin' Kind" and "It's Always Somethin'
", which respectively reached twenty-one and five on the country charts, and 90 and 57 on the Hot 100. The latter spent thirty-seven weeks on the country music charts, the longest chart run achieved by any of his singles.
Country Standard Time gave the album a positive review for having "nary a novelty tune in the bunch", and Nash wrote that it had a "surprising depth of feeling." Erlewine also noted that the album did not contain any novelty songs, and called it the "purest country album he's ever made."
division. This move was due to a corporate decision that Epic had too many artists and Monument had too few. Cook and Wilson also produced his only album for Monument, which was titled In Another World
. Regarding this album, Diffie told Billboard that its material had a common theme of love, and that he wanted to create a more contemporary sound through the production. The album's title track
peaked at number ten on the country charts and number 66 on the Hot 100. Only one other single was released from the album: "This Pretender" (co-written by Rascal Flatts
lead singer Gary LeVox
), which failed to make the country music Top 40.
In Another World received mixed reviews. Country Weekly
reviewer wrote that Diffie "deals with adult emotions" and described the title track as "a shimmering ballad perfect for his expressive tenor." William Ruhlmann called the album "sturdy formula country", and Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time said that he "easily interpret[s]" the songs but "doesn't seem to be doing anything too dramatically different." After Monument closed its Nashville branch, Diffie began touring with Mark Chesnutt
and Tracy Lawrence
on the Rockin' Roadhouse Tour, which began in 2002. That same year, Diffie was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
.
Diffie signed to the independent Broken Bow Records
in 2003. His only album for the label was Tougher Than Nails
, which he and Wilson produced with Buddy Cannon
. It included five songs that Diffie co-wrote, as well as a duet with George Jones entitled "What Would Waylon Do". Tougher Than Nails produced a Top 20 hit in its title track, followed by "If I Could Only Bring You Back", which peaked at number 50 and spent only eight weeks on the charts. This latter song was also his last charting single. Erlewine said of the album's content, "there's nothing new, but there doesn't need to be", and Country Standard Time said that the album "shows that he's still got the talent that took him to stardom in the first place."
In 2005, Jo Dee Messina
released "My Give a Damn's Busted
", which Diffie co-wrote and originally recorded on In Another World. Her version of the song, included on her album Delicious Surprise
, was a number one single that year.
s. In 2007, he joined with Lonestar
, Charlie Daniels
and Craig Morgan to perform a benefit concert for Sgt. Kevin Downs, a soldier who was severely wounded in Iraq
. In 2008, Diffie compiled and released a live album, and he signed to Rounder Records
later in that year. Rounder released an album called The Ultimate Collection, which comprised re-recordings of his hits for Epic.
His next project for Rounder, Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
, was released on October 26, 2010. It includes collaborations with The Grascals
, Rhonda Vincent
and other bluegrass artists. Diffie toured at various county fairs in August 2010 in support of it. He co-produced the album with Luke Wooten, and included on it the song "Tennessee Tea", which Diffie originally recorded while he was in Special Edition. Allmusic reviewer j. poet and The 9513 reviewer CM Wilcox both gave this album positive reviews for showing Diffie's bluegrass influences.
Alanna Nash regularly compared Diffie's voice to that of George Jones. In her review of A Thousand Winding Roads, she contrasted the album with Mark Chesnutt
's debut Too Cold at Home
by saying, "While Chesnutt merely takes his inspiration from Jones, Diffie mimics Jones' delivery ... But now that he's making records himself, [his vocal imitation] drops him to the rear of the pack, as a stylist with little style of his own." She thought that Diffie began to move away from his George Jones influences on A Night to Remember. 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 ten good compositions in the established style", and that he was an "adequate but undistinguished singer." Similarly, Wilcox described Diffie as having "the vocal chops to sound like just about anyone" and thought that none of his Epic material showed any musical identity.
. Two years after divorcing Janise, Diffie married Debbie Jones, a nurse technician. They had two sons, Drew and Tyler, the latter of whom was born with Down syndrome
and nearly died in 1991 following complications from a tonsillectomy
. Diffie began an affair with Liz Allison, the widow of NASCAR driver Davey Allison
, in 1993. In 1994, a judge ordered Diffie to pay Jones $3,000 per month towards their pending divorce settlement, and not to allow Drew and Tyler to be in the presence of any girlfriend; he divorced Jones in 1996. In 2000, Diffie married the former Theresa Crump, whom he met at a concert, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee
. They have one daughter, Kylie Tarissa, born in 2004.
From 1992 to the early 2000s, Diffie held a charity concert and golf tournament benefiting First Steps, a nonprofit organization for the education of mentally and physically impaired children. His contributions to this organization won him a Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters in 1997.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer known for his ballads and novelty song
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
s. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home
Home (Joe Diffie song)
"Home" is the title of a song written by Fred Lehner and Andy Spooner, and recorded American country music singer Joe Diffie as his debut single. It was released in August 1990 as the lead-off single from his debut album A Thousand Winding Roads...
", "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
"If the Devil Danced " is the title of a song written by Ken Spooner and Kim Williams and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
", "Third Rock from the Sun
Third Rock from the Sun (song)
"Third Rock from the Sun" is the title of a song written by Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin, and John Greenebaum, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie...
", "Pickup Man
Pickup Man
"Pickup Man" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in October 1994, the song was his longest-lasting Number One hit, having spent four weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts between December 1994 and January...
" (his longest-lasting number one, at four weeks) and "Bigger Than the Beatles
Bigger Than the Beatles
"Bigger Than The Beatles" is the title of a song written by Jeb Stuart Anderson and Steve Dukes, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in November 1995 as the lead single from the album, Life's So Funny. The song reached Number One on the U.S...
". In addition to these cuts, he has 12 other top ten singles and ten other top 40 hits on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn is a country music artist who first found fame with her 1986 Top-10 hit "Daddy's Hands" from her self-titled début album. Dunn has charted more than a dozen country singles, two of which reaching the #1 spot.Dunn is the daughter of a minister father...
, Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
and Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina , known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and has been nominated for two...
.
Diffie recorded for Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
from 1990 to 2000, releasing seven studio albums, a Christmas album and a greatest hits package under the Epic label. He also released one studio album each through Monument Records
Monument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...
, Broken Bow Records
Broken Bow Records
Broken Bow Records is an American independent record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July of 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music The label's general manager is Jon Loba....
and Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
. Among his albums, 1993's Honky Tonk Attitude
Honky Tonk Attitude
Honky Tonk Attitude is the third studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1993, it features the singles "Honky Tonk Attitude", "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox ", "John Deere Green", and "In My Own Backyard", which respectively reached #5, #3, #5, and #19 on the Hot...
and 1994's Third Rock from the Sun are certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
; 1992's Regular Joe
Regular Joe
Regular Joe is the second studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1992, it features the singles "Is It Cold in Here", "Ships That Don't Come In", "Next Thing Smokin'", and "Startin' Over Blues". All of these except for "Startin' Over Blues" reached Top 20 on the Hot...
and 1996's Life's So Funny
Life's So Funny
Life's So Funny is the fifth main studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It contains the single "Bigger Than the Beatles", Diffie's last Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Following this single were, in order: "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y", "Down...
are both certified gold. His most recent album, Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
-Chart performance:...
, was released in late 2010 through Rounder.
Early life
Joe Diffie was born into a musical family in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, in 1958. His first musical performance came at age four, when he performed in his aunt's country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
band. Diffie's father played guitar and banjo, and his mother sang. Following in his mother's footsteps, Diffie began to sing at an early age, often listening to the albums in his father's record collection. Diffie has said that his "Mom and Dad claimed that [he] could sing harmony when [he] was three years old." His family moved to San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
while he was in the first grade, and subsequently to Washington state where he attended fourth and fifth grades. Later, he moved to Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
for the years he was in sixth grade through his second year of high school, and back to Oklahoma where he attended high school in the town of Velma
Velma, Oklahoma
Velma is a town in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 664 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Velma is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
. In his last two years in high school, Diffie played football, baseball and golf in addition to running track; in his senior year he was recognized as Best All-Around Male Athlete.
After graduating, he attended Cameron University
Cameron University
Cameron University is a four-year, state-funded university located in Lawton, Oklahoma, that offers more than 50 degrees through two-year, four-year and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology and graduate and professional studies...
in Lawton, Oklahoma
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. 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. Diffie first worked in oil fields, then drove a truck that pumped cement out of oil wells in Alice, Texas
Alice, Texas
At the 2000 census, there were 19,010 people, 6,400 households and 4,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,597.4 per square mile . There were 6,998 housing units at an average density of 588.0 per square mile...
, before he moved back to Duncan to work in a foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
. During this period, he worked as a musician on the side, first in a gospel group called Higher Purpose, and then in a bluegrass band called Special Edition. Diffie then built a recording studio, began touring with Special Edition in adjacent states, and sent demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
recordings to publishers in Nashville. Hank Thompson recorded Diffie's "Love on the Rocks", and Randy Travis
Randy Travis
Randy Travis is an American country music singer and actor. Since 1985, he has recorded 20 studio albums and charted more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 22 of which were number one hits...
put one of Diffie's songs on hold but ultimately did not record it.
After the foundry closed in 1986, Diffie declared bankruptcy and sold the studio out of financial necessity. He also divorced his wife, who left with their two children. Diffie spent several months in a state of depression before deciding to move to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. There, he took a job at Gibson Guitar Corporation
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
. While at Gibson, he contacted a songwriter and recorded more demos, including songs that would later be recorded by Ricky Van Shelton
Ricky Van Shelton
Ricky Van Shelton is a currently retired American country music artist. Active between 1986 and 2006, he has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
, Billy Dean
Billy Dean
William Harold "Billy" Dean, Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. Billy Dean first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search...
, Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
and The Forester Sisters
The Forester Sisters
The Forester Sisters are an American country music vocal group consisting of sisters Kathy, June, Kim and Christy Forester. The quartet had commercial success in the 1980s, charting fifteen Top Tens on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including the Number Ones "I Fell in Love Again Last...
. By mid-1989, he quit working at the company in order to record demos full-time. Diffie also met Debbie, who would later become his second wife. That same year, Diffie was contacted by Bob Montgomery, a songwriter and record producer known for working with Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
. Montgomery, who was then the vice president of A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
at Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, said that he wanted to sign Diffie to a contract with the label, but had to put the singer on hold for a year. In the meantime, Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn
Holly Dunn is a country music artist who first found fame with her 1986 Top-10 hit "Daddy's Hands" from her self-titled début album. Dunn has charted more than a dozen country singles, two of which reaching the #1 spot.Dunn is the daughter of a minister father...
released "There Goes My Heart Again
There Goes My Heart Again
"There Goes My Heart Again" is a single by American country music artist Holly Dunn. Released in 1989, it was the second single from the album The Blue Rose of Texas. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Joe Diffie, who co-wrote the song, sings backing vocals...
", which Diffie co-wrote and sang the backing vocals. Following this song's chart success, Diffie signed with Epic in early 1990.
1990–1991: A Thousand Winding Roads
The label released Diffie's debut album, A Thousand Winding RoadsA Thousand Winding Roads
A Thousand Winding Roads is the debut album of American country music artist Joe Diffie. The album's title is derived from a line in its lead-off single "Home", which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks #now Hot Country Songs# charts in late 1990...
, at the end of 1990. Montgomery and Johnny Slate co-produced the album. Its first single, "Home
Home (Joe Diffie song)
"Home" is the title of a song written by Fred Lehner and Andy Spooner, and recorded American country music singer Joe Diffie as his debut single. It was released in August 1990 as the lead-off single from his debut album A Thousand Winding Roads...
", reached the top of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts. The song was also rated number one on the country music charts published by Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
and Gavin Report
Gavin Report
The Gavin Report was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs...
, making him the first country music artist to have a number one debut single on all three charts, 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. Diffie co-wrote the album's second and fourth releases, "If You Want Me To
If You Want Me To
"If You Want Me To" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It was released in December 1990 as the second single from his debut album, A Thousand Winding Roads...
" and "New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)
New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)
"New Way " is a single by American country music artist Joe Diffie. The fourth and final single released in June 1991 from his debut album, A Thousand Winding Roads, it peaked at #2 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart positions:...
"; both peaked at number two on Billboard, and the former reached number one on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
country music charts in Canada. Between these two songs, "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)
"If the Devil Danced " is the title of a song written by Ken Spooner and Kim Williams and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
" became Diffie's second Billboard number one. The album itself peaked at number 23 on Top Country Albums. Diffie also performed his first concerts in late 1990, touring with George Strait
George Strait
George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
and Steve Wariner
Steve Wariner
Steven Noel "Steve" Wariner is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has released eighteen studio albums, including six on MCA Records, and three each on RCA Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records...
. In that same year, Cash Box magazine named him Male Vocalist of the year.
1992: Regular Joe
Diffie's second album, titled Regular JoeRegular Joe
Regular Joe is the second studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1992, it features the singles "Is It Cold in Here", "Ships That Don't Come In", "Next Thing Smokin'", and "Startin' Over Blues". All of these except for "Startin' Over Blues" reached Top 20 on the Hot...
, was released in 1992 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. The first two singles from the album both peaked at number five on Billboard: "Is It Cold in Here
Is It Cold in Here
"Is It Cold In Here" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie that reached the Top Five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
" and "Ships That Don't Come In
Ships That Don't Come In
"Ships That Don't Come In" is a single by American country music singer Joe Diffie that reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1992. It was the second single released from his Epic Records album Regular Joe...
", the latter of which went to number one on Radio & Records. The album's third single, "Next Thing Smokin, made its chart debut one month before "Not Too Much to Ask", a duet that Diffie recorded with Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
for her album Come On Come On. Both of these songs made the country Top 20, respectively reaching sixteen and fifteen, and the duet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
at the 35th Grammy Awards in 1993. The final single from Regular Joe was "Startin' Over Blues" (originally the b-side to "Ships That Don't Come In"), which peaked at number 41.
Brian Mansfield
Brian Mansfield
Brian Mansfield is an American writer and journalist. A longtime music writer and critic for USA Today, Mansfield is also the writer/producer of syndicated weekly radio program America's Opry Weekend for American radio network Dial Global Radio Networks and author and co-author of a number of books...
gave the album a positive review in Allmusic, saying that it "has all the clichés of country music, and all the good stuff too." Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state...
reviewer Norman Rowe referred to Diffie as a "pleasant surprise" and called "Is It Cold in Here" "the sort of tear-jerker George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
has worked wonders with in the past". Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash
Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books...
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
thought that Diffie "[sang] in his natural voice", but thought that its material "punches all the predictable thematic buttons."
1993: Honky Tonk Attitude
1993's Honky Tonk AttitudeHonky Tonk Attitude
Honky Tonk Attitude is the third studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1993, it features the singles "Honky Tonk Attitude", "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox ", "John Deere Green", and "In My Own Backyard", which respectively reached #5, #3, #5, and #19 on the Hot...
shipped a million copies in the United States and was certified platinum. The first three singles from the album all reached the Top Ten on the country singles charts: the title track
Honky Tonk Attitude (song)
"Honky Tonk Attitude" is a song co-written and recorded by Joe Diffie. It was released in March 1993 as the lead single from his album, also called Honky Tonk Attitude...
(which Diffie co-wrote) and the Dennis Linde
Dennis Linde
Dennis Linde was an American singer and songwriter whose work was primarily in country musicHe is best known for writing the 1972 Elvis Presley hit, "Burning Love"...
composition "John Deere Green
John Deere Green
"John Deere Green" is a song by country music artist Joe Diffie. It is the third single from his 1993 album Honky Tonk Attitude. It was released in November 1993 and peaked at #5 on the country charts.-Content:...
" both peaked at number five, with the number three "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)
Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)
"Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox " is the title of a song recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. The second single released from his CD, Honky Tonk Attitude, it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Content:The song begins at a slow pace accompanied by...
" in between. "John Deere Green" also accounted for Diffie's first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, where it peaked at number 69. "In My Own Backyard
In My Own Backyard
"In My Own Backyard" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in February 1994 as the fourth single from the album Honky Tonk Attitude. The song reached number 19 on the U.S...
", the last release from Honky Tonk Attitude, reached number nineteen on the country charts. Diffie told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. Its area of domination is checked by its main rival, The Dallas Morning News, which is published from the eastern half of the Metroplex. It is owned...
that the album was "a little rowdier than the first two." Nash rated the album more favorably than the ones before it, saying that Diffie "is maturing into a first-rate interpreter of working-class woes."
Also in 1993, Diffie was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. He and several other artists won that year's Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
award for Vocal Event of the Year, for their guest vocals on George Jones's "I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair". In addition, Diffie co-wrote two cuts on Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
's 1993 self-titled
Tim McGraw (album)
Tim McGraw is the first album by American country music artist Tim McGraw, released in 1993. It includes the singles "Welcome to the Club", "Two Steppin' Mind" and "Memory Lane", none of which reached the Top 40 on the country charts. This is the only studio album of McGraw's career not to achieve...
debut album, one of which was the single "Memory Lane".
1994–1996: Third Rock from the Sun, Mr. Christmas and Life's So Funny
Third Rock from the Sun was Diffie's highest-charting Top Country Album (where it reached number six), as well as his second consecutive platinum album. It was also the first album that he co-produced, doing so with Johnny Slate. The album included two consecutive number one singles in its title trackThird Rock from the Sun (song)
"Third Rock from the Sun" is the title of a song written by Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin, and John Greenebaum, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie...
and in "Pickup Man
Pickup Man
"Pickup Man" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in October 1994, the song was his longest-lasting Number One hit, having spent four weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts between December 1994 and January...
". The latter of those two songs was Diffie's longest-lasting number one, at four weeks. Both songs also entered the Hot 100, respectively peaking at 84 and 60. In 2005, "Pickup Man" was repurposed by the Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
restaurant chain for use in its television commercials. The album's next single, "So Help Me Girl
So Help Me Girl
"So Help Me Girl" is the title of a song written by Howard Perdew and Andy Spooner, and recorded by country music singer Joe Diffie. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and #84 on the Billboard Hot 100, and is included on his album Third Rock from the Sun.-Chart...
", peaked at number two on the country charts and 84 on the pop charts, in addition to topping the RPM country charts. The song was covered in 1997 by English singer Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...
. Diffie followed the song with "I'm in Love with a Capital 'U and "That Road Not Taken", which respectively reached country peaks of 21 and 40. Third Rock from the Sun received critical praise for adding more rock and up-tempo material. Thom Owens wrote that he began "adding more rock flourishes" on this album, and Nash said that Diffie "not only understands the blue-collar ethic from the inside out – he's also familiar with its humorous underbelly."
In mid-1995, he recorded the title track for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
's Runnin' Wide Open, an album comprising NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
-themed songs by various artists. He issued two albums later in the year. The first was a Christmas project titled Mr. Christmas
Mr. Christmas (album)
Mr. Christmas is a Christmas music album, released in 1995, by country music artist Joe Diffie. The song "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer" was released as a single, peaking at #33 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts that year...
, which comprised covers of traditional Christmas songs as well as newly written songs. One of these original songs, "LeRoy the Redneck Reindeer", was issued as a Christmas single late in the year, peaking at number 33 upon its initial release and re-entering the country music charts for the next two years based on Christmas airplay. Of this album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
said, "it's pleasant, but it's not particularly distinguished."
His other release that year was the studio album Life's So Funny
Life's So Funny
Life's So Funny is the fifth main studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It contains the single "Bigger Than the Beatles", Diffie's last Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Following this single were, in order: "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y", "Down...
. It was led off by "Bigger Than the Beatles
Bigger Than the Beatles
"Bigger Than The Beatles" is the title of a song written by Jeb Stuart Anderson and Steve Dukes, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in November 1995 as the lead single from the album, Life's So Funny. The song reached Number One on the U.S...
", the last number one single of his career. The album's other two singles were "COUNTRY" and "Whole Lotta Gone" (previously the b-side of "Bigger Than the Beatles"), both of which peaked at 23 on the country music charts in 1996. Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time
Country Standard Time is a website dedicated to country music and related genres such as Bluegrass and Rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1992 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a print magazine, which was first published only in New England but went...
critic George Hauenstein praised the album for containing "songs that are slightly different from [what] those other artists sing." Owens thought that it was a "varied collection of ballads and midtempo rockers", but said that it was not "as consistently engaging" as Third Rock from the Sun. Nash gave "Bigger Than the Beatles" a C-minus rating, calling it "just a lame device to evoke the names of beloved rock heroes."
1996–1998: Twice Upon a Time and Greatest Hits
Twice Upon a Time followed in 1996. Its singles all failed to make the Top Ten on the country charts, with lead-off "This Is Your Brain" reaching number 25, followed by "Somethin' Like This" at number 40 and "The Promised Land" at number 61, the lowest-peaking single of his career. The album also failed to achieve a gold certification. Doug Virden and Drew Womack, who then recorded on Epic in the band Sons of the DesertSons of the Desert (band)
Sons of the Desert was an American country music band founded in 1989 in Waco, Texas by brothers Drew Womack and Tim Womack , along with Scott Saunders , Doug Virden and Brian Westrum...
, sang backing vocals on it. Jeffrey B. Remz criticized the two novelty songs on the album ("This Is Your Brain" and "Houston, We Have a Problem") for lacking substance, and thought that most of the ballads were well-sung, but that the production "lacks any soul." Owens said that it "doesn't offer anything new or especially remarkable from Joe Diffie."
In mid-1998, Epic Records released Diffie's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Joe Diffie album)
Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits package released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1998 on Epic Records, it contains the biggest hit singles from his first five studio albums, as well as three new tracks , of which the first two were released as singles.Don Cook and...
package, which featured three new cuts. Among these were "Texas Size Heartache
Texas Size Heartache
"Texas Size Heartache" is the title of a song written by Zack Turner and Lonnie Wilson, and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It is included on his 1998 Greatest Hits album, for which it was one of three newly-recorded songs. It reached a peak of #4 on the country music charts...
", and its b-side, "Poor Me", which respectively reached numbers four and forty-three on the country charts. At the end of the year, Diffie recorded a cover of Charlie Rich
Charlie Rich
Charles Rich was an American country music singer and musician. A Grammy Award winner, his eclectic-style of music was often hard to classify in a single genre, playing in the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, and gospel genres.In the latter part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname The Silver...
's "Behind Closed Doors
Behind Closed Doors (Charlie Rich song)
"Behind Closed Doors" is a country song written by Kenny O'Dell and first recorded by Charlie Rich for his 1973 album Behind Closed Doors. The single became Rich's first number-one hit on the country charts, spent 20 weeks on this chart, and also became a crossover hit on the pop charts...
" for the multi-artist album A Tribute to Tradition on Columbia Records. Diffie's version of the song peaked at number 64 based on unsolicited airplay. He also contributed to another cut on that album, "Same Old Train", which featured Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
and eleven other country music singers. This song peaked at 59 on the country charts and won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
for all artists involved.
1999–2000: A Night to Remember
His final album for Epic Records, titled A Night to RememberA Night to Remember (Joe Diffie album)
A Night to Remember is the seventh main studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. His last album for Epic Records, it contains the singles "A Night to Remember", "The Quittin' Kind", and "It's Always Somethin'", which respectively reached #6, #21, and #5 on the Billboard...
, was released in 1999. As he did with the new cuts for his Greatest Hits package, Diffie worked with producer Don Cook
Don Cook
Don Kirby Cook is an American record producer and songwriter whose work is mainly in the field of country music. Artists who recorded Cook's material include Barbara Mandrell, John Conlee, Mark Collie, Wade Hayes and Brooks & Dunn...
and producer/session drummer Lonnie Wilson, a friend of Diffie's who formerly fronted the band Bandana
Bandana (country band)
Bandana was an American country music band composed of Lonnie Wilson , Jerry Fox , Tim Menzies , Joe Van Dyke , and Jerry Ray Johnston . After Menzies, Johnston and Van Dyke left, they were replaced with Michael Black and Billy Kemp on guitars, and Bob Mummert on drums. Between 1982 and 1986, they...
. Its title track
A Night to Remember (Joe Diffie song)
"A Night to Remember" is the title of a song written by Max T. Barnes and T.W. Hale, and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It was released in March 1999 as the first single from his 1999 album A Night to Remember. The single peaked at #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles...
spent twenty-nine weeks on the country charts and peaked at number six; it was his only Top 40 on the Hot 100, where it reached number 38. After this song came "The Quittin' Kind" and "It's Always Somethin'
It's Always Somethin'
"It's Always Somethin" is the title of a song written by Aimee Mayo and Marv Green, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in February 2000 as the third single from his 1999 album A Night to Remember. It peaked at #5 on the U.S...
", which respectively reached twenty-one and five on the country charts, and 90 and 57 on the Hot 100. The latter spent thirty-seven weeks on the country music charts, the longest chart run achieved by any of his singles.
Country Standard Time gave the album a positive review for having "nary a novelty tune in the bunch", and Nash wrote that it had a "surprising depth of feeling." Erlewine also noted that the album did not contain any novelty songs, and called it the "purest country album he's ever made."
2001–2004: In Another World and Tougher Than Nails
In 2001, Sony Nashville transferred Diffie from its Epic division to the Monument RecordsMonument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...
division. This move was due to a corporate decision that Epic had too many artists and Monument had too few. Cook and Wilson also produced his only album for Monument, which was titled In Another World
In Another World
In Another World is the eighth studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. His only album for Monument Records, it features the single "In Another World", a Top Ten single on the Billboard country singles charts in 2002. "This Pretender" was also released as a single,...
. Regarding this album, Diffie told Billboard that its material had a common theme of love, and that he wanted to create a more contemporary sound through the production. The album's title track
In Another World (song)
"In Another World" is the title of a song written by Tom Shapiro, Wally Wilson and Jimmy Yeary. It was recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie as the title track to his eighth studio album, 2001's In Another World...
peaked at number ten on the country charts and number 66 on the Hot 100. Only one other single was released from the album: "This Pretender" (co-written by Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
lead singer Gary LeVox
Gary LeVox
Gary LeVox is the lead vocalist of American country trio Rascal Flatts. His stage name literally means "The Voice", a name he lifted from the studio-console label for his lead-vocal track....
), which failed to make the country music Top 40.
In Another World received mixed reviews. Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
reviewer wrote that Diffie "deals with adult emotions" and described the title track as "a shimmering ballad perfect for his expressive tenor." William Ruhlmann called the album "sturdy formula country", and Jeffrey B. Remz of Country Standard Time said that he "easily interpret[s]" the songs but "doesn't seem to be doing anything too dramatically different." After Monument closed its Nashville branch, Diffie began touring with Mark Chesnutt
Mark Chesnutt
Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer. Chesnutt recorded and released his first album, Doing My Country Thing, in the late-1980s on private independent record label, Axbar Records, with the vinyl album version now a collector's item...
and Tracy Lawrence
Tracy Lawrence
Tracy Lawrence is an American country music artist. He started at a country music restaurant called "Live At Libby's" where owner Libby Knight would help local talent find their way into country music...
on the Rockin' Roadhouse Tour, which began in 2002. That same year, Diffie was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, honors Oklahoma musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert is held each year in Muskogee...
.
Diffie signed to the independent Broken Bow Records
Broken Bow Records
Broken Bow Records is an American independent record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in July of 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music The label's general manager is Jon Loba....
in 2003. His only album for the label was Tougher Than Nails
Tougher Than Nails
Tougher Than Nails is the ninth studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was his only album for the independent Broken Bow Records label...
, which he and Wilson produced with Buddy Cannon
Buddy Cannon
Buddy Cannon is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Active since the late 1970s, he is known primarily for his work as Kenny Chesney's record producer, for which he won the Academy of Country Music's Producer of the Year award in 2006.Along with Bill Anderson and Jamey...
. It included five songs that Diffie co-wrote, as well as a duet with George Jones entitled "What Would Waylon Do". Tougher Than Nails produced a Top 20 hit in its title track, followed by "If I Could Only Bring You Back", which peaked at number 50 and spent only eight weeks on the charts. This latter song was also his last charting single. Erlewine said of the album's content, "there's nothing new, but there doesn't need to be", and Country Standard Time said that the album "shows that he's still got the talent that took him to stardom in the first place."
In 2005, Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Messina
Jo Dee Marie Messina , known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. She has charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and has been nominated for two...
released "My Give a Damn's Busted
My Give a Damn's Busted
"My Give a Damn's Busted" is the title of a song, co-written by American country music artist Joe Diffie along with Tom Shapiro and Tony Martin. Diffie originally recorded the song on his 2001 album In Another World. The song was later recorded by Jo Dee Messina for her 2005 album Delicious Surprise...
", which Diffie co-wrote and originally recorded on In Another World. Her version of the song, included on her album Delicious Surprise
Delicious Surprise
Delicious Surprise is the name of the fourth album by American country music artist Jo Dee Messina, released in 2005. Her first studio album since Burn almost five years previous, it produced a Number One single on the Billboard country music charts in "My Give a Damn's Busted", a song co-written...
, was a number one single that year.
2004–2010: The Ultimate Collection and Homecoming
After leaving Broken Bow, Diffie continued to tour, primarily playing smaller venues and county fairCounty Fair
"County Fair" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was originally released as the second track on their 1962 album Surfin' Safari. On November 26th of that year, it was released as the B-side to The Beach Boys' third single, "Ten Little...
s. In 2007, he joined with Lonestar
Lonestar
Lonestar is an American country music group consisting of Richie McDonald , Michael Britt , Keech Rainwater , Dean Sams , and Michael Hill . McDonald left the band in November 2007 for a solo career before returning in 2011...
, Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
and Craig Morgan to perform a benefit concert for Sgt. Kevin Downs, a soldier who was severely wounded in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. In 2008, Diffie compiled and released a live album, and he signed to Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
later in that year. Rounder released an album called The Ultimate Collection, which comprised re-recordings of his hits for Epic.
His next project for Rounder, Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
Homecoming: The Bluegrass Album
-Chart performance:...
, was released on October 26, 2010. It includes collaborations with The Grascals
The Grascals
The Grascals is a six-piece bluegrass band hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, the band has since gained a level of notability by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and in bluegrass festivals around the country....
, Rhonda Vincent
Rhonda Vincent
Rhonda Lea Vincent is a bluegrass singer, songwriter, mandolin player, guitarist, and fiddle player.Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades...
and other bluegrass artists. Diffie toured at various county fairs in August 2010 in support of it. He co-produced the album with Luke Wooten, and included on it the song "Tennessee Tea", which Diffie originally recorded while he was in Special Edition. Allmusic reviewer j. poet and The 9513 reviewer CM Wilcox both gave this album positive reviews for showing Diffie's bluegrass influences.
Musical styles
Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote that Diffie "lent his traditional sensibilities to humorous, rock-tinged novelties and plaintive ballads." His early albums for Epic mostly consisted of ballads, but starting with Honky Tonk Attitude, he began to include more up-tempo and novelty numbers. Starting with A Night to Remember, Diffie returned to a more ballad-oriented sound; Mike Kraski, then the senior vice president of sales for Sony Music Nashville, thought that the albums before it had over-emphasized his novelty releases.Alanna Nash regularly compared Diffie's voice to that of George Jones. In her review of A Thousand Winding Roads, she contrasted the album with Mark Chesnutt
Mark Chesnutt
Mark Nelson Chesnutt is an American country music singer. Chesnutt recorded and released his first album, Doing My Country Thing, in the late-1980s on private independent record label, Axbar Records, with the vinyl album version now a collector's item...
's debut Too Cold at Home
Too Cold at Home
Too Cold at Home is the second album released by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt, released in 1990 on MCA Records. Certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million copies, the album produced five Top Ten singles for Chesnutt on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts...
by saying, "While Chesnutt merely takes his inspiration from Jones, Diffie mimics Jones' delivery ... But now that he's making records himself, [his vocal imitation] drops him to the rear of the pack, as a stylist with little style of his own." She thought that Diffie began to move away from his George Jones influences on A Night to Remember. 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 ten good compositions in the established style", and that he was an "adequate but undistinguished singer." Similarly, Wilcox described Diffie as having "the vocal chops to sound like just about anyone" and thought that none of his Epic material showed any musical identity.
Personal life
Diffie has been married three times. His first wife was Janise Parker, whom he married while in college. The couple divorced in 1986 and had two children: Parker and Kara. Parker later worked as Diffie's on-road manager in the mid-2000s, and in mid-2010, he and Kara auditioned for American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. Two years after divorcing Janise, Diffie married Debbie Jones, a nurse technician. They had two sons, Drew and Tyler, the latter of whom was born with Down syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
and nearly died in 1991 following complications from a tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy
A tonsillectomy is a 3,000-year-old surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed from either side of the throat. The procedure is performed in response to cases of repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis or adenoiditis, obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, snoring, or...
. Diffie began an affair with Liz Allison, the widow of NASCAR driver Davey Allison
Davey Allison
David Carl "Davey" Allison was a NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to Bobby Allison and wife Judy...
, in 1993. In 1994, a judge ordered Diffie to pay Jones $3,000 per month towards their pending divorce settlement, and not to allow Drew and Tyler to be in the presence of any girlfriend; he divorced Jones in 1996. In 2000, Diffie married the former Theresa Crump, whom he met at a concert, at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. They have one daughter, Kylie Tarissa, born in 2004.
From 1992 to the early 2000s, Diffie held a charity concert and golf tournament benefiting First Steps, a nonprofit organization for the education of mentally and physically impaired children. His contributions to this organization won him a Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters in 1997.
Studio albums
- A Thousand Winding RoadsA Thousand Winding RoadsA Thousand Winding Roads is the debut album of American country music artist Joe Diffie. The album's title is derived from a line in its lead-off single "Home", which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks #now Hot Country Songs# charts in late 1990...
(1990) - Regular JoeRegular JoeRegular Joe is the second studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1992, it features the singles "Is It Cold in Here", "Ships That Don't Come In", "Next Thing Smokin'", and "Startin' Over Blues". All of these except for "Startin' Over Blues" reached Top 20 on the Hot...
(1992) - Honky Tonk AttitudeHonky Tonk AttitudeHonky Tonk Attitude is the third studio album by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in 1993, it features the singles "Honky Tonk Attitude", "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox ", "John Deere Green", and "In My Own Backyard", which respectively reached #5, #3, #5, and #19 on the Hot...
(1993) - Third Rock from the Sun (1994)
- Life's So FunnyLife's So FunnyLife's So Funny is the fifth main studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It contains the single "Bigger Than the Beatles", Diffie's last Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Following this single were, in order: "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y", "Down...
(1996) - Twice Upon a Time (1997)
- A Night to RememberA Night to Remember (Joe Diffie album)A Night to Remember is the seventh main studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. His last album for Epic Records, it contains the singles "A Night to Remember", "The Quittin' Kind", and "It's Always Somethin'", which respectively reached #6, #21, and #5 on the Billboard...
(1999) - In Another WorldIn Another WorldIn Another World is the eighth studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. His only album for Monument Records, it features the single "In Another World", a Top Ten single on the Billboard country singles charts in 2002. "This Pretender" was also released as a single,...
(2001) - Tougher Than NailsTougher Than NailsTougher Than Nails is the ninth studio album released by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was his only album for the independent Broken Bow Records label...
(2004) - Homecoming: The Bluegrass AlbumHomecoming: The Bluegrass Album-Chart performance:...
(2010)
Billboard number-one singles
- "HomeHome (Joe Diffie song)"Home" is the title of a song written by Fred Lehner and Andy Spooner, and recorded American country music singer Joe Diffie as his debut single. It was released in August 1990 as the lead-off single from his debut album A Thousand Winding Roads...
" (1990) - "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)"If the Devil Danced " is the title of a song written by Ken Spooner and Kim Williams and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
" (1991) - "Third Rock from the SunThird Rock from the Sun (song)"Third Rock from the Sun" is the title of a song written by Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin, and John Greenebaum, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie...
" (1994) - "Pickup ManPickup Man"Pickup Man" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. Released in October 1994, the song was his longest-lasting Number One hit, having spent four weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts between December 1994 and January...
" (1994) - "Bigger Than the BeatlesBigger Than the Beatles"Bigger Than The Beatles" is the title of a song written by Jeb Stuart Anderson and Steve Dukes, and recorded by American country music artist Joe Diffie. It was released in November 1995 as the lead single from the album, Life's So Funny. The song reached Number One on the U.S...
" (1995–1996)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Cash Box | Male Vocalist of the Year | |
| 1993 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together... — "Not Too Much to Ask" (with Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer... ) |
|
| Academy of Country Music Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the... |
Vocal Event of the Year — "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" (with George Jones George Jones George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette.... et al.) |
||
| 1998 | Grammy Awards | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Same Old Train" (with Marty Stuart Marty Stuart John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music... et al.) |