Joe Diffie was one of the hottest country stars of the 1990's. He was once described by Tammy Wynette as all her favorite vocalists rolled into one singer, songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader.
Born in Tulsa, Diffie attended high school at Velma-Alma and college at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. He started playing music in the 1970's, while working in an iron foundry in Duncan, Okla. He joined two gospel groups, bluegrass group, and a rock band.
He moved to Nashville in the 1980's, where Hank Thompson had recorded one of his songs, “Love On the Rocks.” He signed a recording contract in 1990. His debut album, A Thousand Winding Roads, produced four No. 1 singles, “Home,” “If You Want Me To,” “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets),” and “New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame).”
He debuted on the Grand Ole Opry in 1990 and was nominated for the CMA Horizon Award in 1991. In 1992, he was named Best New Male Artist by the Academy of Country Music and was nominated for Best Male Vocalist by the Country Music Association.
Diffie’s second album, Regular Joe, was released in 1992 and contained several hit singles including “Is It Cold in Here,” “Ships That Don’t Come In,” and “Next Thing Smokin’.” His third album, 1993’s Honky Tonk Attitude, yielded two major hits, “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox” and “John Deere Green.” He continued producing hit singles through the 1990's, and recorded with George Jones, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, and others. He has charted 13 Top 10 hits, five of which reached No. 1. His latest album was 2001’s In Another World. He is touring this year with Mark Chestnutt and Tracy Lawrence on the Rockin’ Roadhouse tour, which hit 75 cities.