Just two days after testing positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, country music singer-songwriter and Oklahoma native, Joe Diffie, 61, has died, reported his publicist Scott Adkins.
Known for his string of honky-tonk hits in the ’90s, such as “John Deere Green", "If the Devil Danced (in Empty Pockets)”, “Pickup Man”, “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)” and more, the balladeer became country music’s first artist to publicly announce contracting the virus.
In a March 27 Facebook post, Diffie explained his situation as he urged fans to exercise extreme caution during the outbreak.
“I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all the fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic.”
Diffie graduated from Velma-Alma High School in 1977. He attended Cameron University with his sights set “on a medical career, but his love for music won out and he began performing in a gospel group,” his website states.
Moving to Nashville in the 1980s, his career as a singer-songwriter began to take off when he co-wrote and performed backup vocals for Holly Dunn’s 1989 single “There Goes My Heart Again,” which seized the No. 4 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles and Tracks.
The following year, Diffie was signed with Epic Records and released his debut album A Thousand Winding Roads which featured the No.1 hit “Home.” Over the next 25 years, he would release 35 singles that made the U.S.Billboard charts, five of them reaching No. 1.
Two of Diffie’s albums reached platinum status: 1993’s Honky Tonk Attitude and 1994’s Third Rock from the Sun. Honky Tonk Attitude, which featured “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)” and “John Deere Green,” reached No. 10 on the Billboard Top Country Album charts and was 67 on the Billboard Top 200.
The title track from Third Rock from the Sun provided the intro music for NBC’s sitcom of the same name. The album's title track as well as “Pickup Man” earned Diffie a No. 6 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart, peaking at No. 53 on the Top 200.
Inducted in 1993, Diffie had scheduled performances at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 25 years. His last scheduled Opry performance was Jan.10, 2020, just shortly before the music hall “paused” all public performances.
Diffie had also been touring the U.S. with McAlpin Entertainment. On March 14, two weeks before his death, promoters postponed his upcoming March 21 concert at Tifton, Ga., citing public health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to the growing concerns over Coronavirus, McAlpin Entertainment decided it’s best to postpone our Joe Diffie concert that was scheduled for Saturday, March 21st at the Tift Theatre in Tifton, GA.”
The Oklahoma Music Hall of Famer was born in Tulsa, Okla., on Dec. 28, 1958, to Joe R. and Flora (Lowrance)Diffie. He passed away Sun-day, March 29, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.
“Mr. Diffie is survived by his wife, Tara Terpening Dif-fie, and seven children from four marriages,” reportedTheNew York Times.
In the wake of Diffie’sdeath, it was announced that John Prine, the 73-year-old American folk singer-song-writer who also lives in Nashville, had been hospitalized and was in critical condition.
Prine’s canon includes co-writing David Allan Coe’s1974 hit “You Never Even CallMe by My Name,” with famed songwriter Steve Goodman– a song for which Prine allegedly refused credit. Writing and recording all the tracks for his 1971 self-titled debut album, “Angel from Montgomery” was re-released as a duet with Bonnie Raitt in 1985 to pay tribute to their good friend Steve Goodman, who died of leukemia one year earlier.
On March 17, 2020, Prine’swife, Fiona, posted a video on social media admitting she had “been diagnosed with the coronavirus late last week...but didn’t have a fever.” She then stated that her husband's test had come back“indeterminate.” In an effort to beat the virus, the couple isolated themselves from one another as well as others.
“John Prine is a two-time cancer survivor. He was most recently diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013, which led to a surgical removal of part of a lung. He had stent surgery in2019 and postponed tour dates to have hip surgery earlier this year,” The Tennessean wrote.
Saturday, a member of Prine's family posted: “After a sudden onset of COVID-19 symptoms, John was hospitalized on Thursday, (3/26). He was intubated Saturday evening and continues to receive care, but his situation is critical.”
Early Monday morning, March 30, 2020, the Tennessee Department of Health indicated that 20,574 people have been tested for theCOVID-19 novel coronavirus. Positive cases total 1,537 for the Volunteer State. Of those,978 were under the age of 50, with the majority (380) held by the 21-30 age group. People over 50 claim 559 con-firmed cases, with the 51-60age group contributing the most at 239.