Joe Diffie

Joe Logan Diffie was born and raised in Oklahoma, where he was immersed in music from a young age. His first public performance came in his aunt's country band when he was only four. It was songwriting that lured Joe to Nashville after his song Love On The Rocks was recorded by Hank Thompson.

Diffie found work in the Nashville-area Gibson guitar plant and soon established himself as one of Music Row's top demo singers. "When I first came to Nashville I sang a lot of demo recordings--songs that would be pitched to other artists," he explains. "I had worked in a foundry in Oklahoma , and singing for a living seemed like a piece of heaven. I took it very seriously, making sure I told each song's story the way I thought the songwriter intended.

"I'd written a few songs that had been recorded," he continues. "Holly Dunn recorded my song, There Goes My Heart Again, and when I heard her version it confirmed that her interpretation of my lyrics was what made it a hit. So I've always learned the 'story' before I sing the song."

That innate sense of phrase and meaning, that relentless attention to detail, served Diffie well as he made the transition from demo singer to major label recording artist. His first hits including Home, If You Want Me To, If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets, and New Way To Light Up An Old Flame established Diffie as, arguably, country music's foremost balladeer or as Vern Gosdin, according to The News-Times, said, “the man with the golden voice.”

Home at number one became the first single in history to top the country music charts of Billboard , Radio & Records , and Gavin Report simultaneously. According to imusic.com, Joe was also the “first country singer to be accorded a #1 hit his first time at bat” with “Home”.

As his career progressed, Joe began flashing a more playful side on up-tempo smashes like John Deere Green , Third Rock From The Sun , Bigger Than The Beatles and Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die). He was inducted into the Nashville 's legendary Grand Ole Opry and nominated for CMA Male Vocalist of the Year and for a CMA for his duet with Mary-Chapin Carpenter on “Not Too Much To Ask” which Joe wrote. Over the course of the nineties, Joe's steady radio success helped notch his belt with 12 #1 Hits, over 20 Top 10 Chart Hits, two platinum albums and two gold albums. Along the way Joe also picked up a CMA for Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones on I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair and a Grammy for Same Old Train.

Joe also founded the First Steps concert and golf tournament – an annual event which raises money for disabled children –in honor of his son Tyler. As a surprise the Country Music Broadcasters honored Joe with the Humanitarian of the Year award.

Along with singing a good country song, Joe is also a successful songwriter having most recently collaborated on Jo Dee Messina's smash hit My Give A Damn's Busted . Other famous songs of Joe's include Tim McGraw's Memory Lane , Doug Stone's Burning Down The Town , Tracy Lawrence's I Got A Feeling , Conway Twitty's I'm The Only Thing I'll Hold Against You, and more.

Joe's recent album Tougher Than Nails was co-produced with Lonnie Wilson and Buddy Cannon. George Jones, with whom Diffie won a 1993 CMA Award, voices a duet with Diffie on What Would Waylon Do? "This album shows more of me-the way I was raised, where I am in life, how I approach things--than anything else I've recorded," Diffie says.

Currently on the Rockin' Roadhouse Tour with Aaron Tippin and Mark Chestnut, Joe plans to begin shows in Branson, Missouri on September 6, 2008, at the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre. Fans will be able to see Joe along with friends, family, and comedian Paul Harris at 8:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday, in a live show.

Official website: http://www.joediffie.com/