Third Rock from the Sun is the fourth studio album by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 artist Joe Diffie

Joe Diffie

Joe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. 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 ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...

. The album's first five tracks were all released as singles, and all charted 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 Singles & Tracks (now 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. Of these five singles, "Pickup Man" and "Third Rock from the Sun" were both Number One hits, "So Help Me Girl" reached #2, "I'm in Love with a Capital 'U'" reached #21, and "That Road Not Taken" peaked at #40. "Pickup Man" was also Diffie's longest-lasting Number One, having held that position for four weeks.

Track listing

1. "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...
   
   " (Sterling Whipple, Tony Martin
   Tony Martin (songwriter)
   Tony Martin is a country music songwriter who has had twelve Number One hits as a songwriter. Among his compositions are "Third Rock from the Sun" by Joe Diffie and "Just to See You Smile" by Tim McGraw....
   
   , John Greenebaum) – 3:04
2. "I'm in Love with a Capital 'U'" (Paul Nelson, Craig Wiseman
   Craig Wiseman
   Craig Michael Wiseman is an American country music songwriter. Active since the late 1980s as a songwriter, he has had his songs recorded by Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, and several other acts....
   
   ) – 3:17
3. "That Road Not Taken" (Casey Kelly, Deborah Beasley) – 4:17
4. "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...
   
   " (Howard Perdew, Kerry Kurt Phillips) – 3:36
5. "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...
   
   " (H. Perdew, Andy Spooner) – 3:29
6. "Wild Blue Yonder" (Stacey Slate, Michael Higgins) – 3:53
7. "I'd Like to Have a Problem Like That" (Whipple, Martin, Greenebaum) – 3:20
8. "Junior's in Love" (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"...
   
   ) – 3:09
9. "From Here on Out" (Howard Perdew, Carol Perdew, Monica Stiles) – 3:24
10. "Good Brown Gravy" (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...
    
    , Verlon Thompson, Bill Kenner) – 3:02
11. "The Cows Came Home" (Joe Diffie, Lonnie Wilson, Lee Bogan) – 2:55

Personnel

• Lee Bogan - background vocals
• Walt Cunningham - keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , strings, special effects
• John Dickson - cow sounds on "The Cows Came Home"
• Joe Diffie - lead and background vocals, cow sounds
• Stuart Duncan
  Stuart Duncan
  Stuart Duncan is a bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo. Born in Quantico, Virginia and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band, he has been a member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985, and is a much-in-demand session musician...
  
   - fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
  
• Craig "Flash" Fletcher - background vocals
• Paul Franklin
  Paul Franklin (musician)
  Paul Franklin is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly for his work as a steel guitarist. He began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell's road band; in addition he toured with Mel Tillis and Jerry Reed. He has since become a prolific session musician in Nashville,...
  
   - steel guitar
  Steel guitar
  Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
  
  
• Clay Keith - background vocals
• Larry Keith - background vocals
• Terry McMillan - harmonica
  Harmonica
  The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
  
  
• Brent Mason
  Brent Mason
  Brent Mason is an American session guitarist and occasional songwriter. He is known primarily for his work in the field of country music. In addition to releasing two instrumental studio albums, he holds several credits as a songwriter...
  
   - electric guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  
• Tim Mensy
  Tim Mensy
  Timmie Menzies is an American country music artist known as Tim Mensy. Initially, he was a member of the band Bandana, in which he charted several singles on the Hot Country Songs charts in the 1980s...
  
   - acoustic guitar
  Acoustic guitar
  An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
  
  
• Larry Paxton - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Matt Rollings
  Matt Rollings
  Matt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
  
   - piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  
• Johnny Slate - cow sounds on "The Cows Came Home"
• Billy Joe Walker, Jr. - acoustic guitar
• Lonnie Wilson - drums, percussion
• Glenn Worf - bass guitar

Chart performance

Chart (1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	6
U.S. Billboard 200	53
Canadian RPM Country Albums	9