{"id":250522,"date":"2020-03-30T10:16:26","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T14:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=250522"},"modified":"2020-03-30T10:16:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T14:16:26","slug":"country-singer-joe-diffie-dies-of-coronavirus-complications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/30\/country-singer-joe-diffie-dies-of-coronavirus-complications\/","title":{"rendered":"Country singer Joe Diffie dies of coronavirus complications"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE: Country music recording artist Joe Diffie performs in front of Sailors and family members on Ross Field at Naval Station Great Lakes. The free concert, which also included country star Aaron Tippin, was part of the Spirit of America Tour sponsored by Morale, Welfare and Recreation. (Photo By Scott A. Thornbloom, Public Domain<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK — Country singer Joe Diffie, who had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and honky-tonk singles like \u201cHome\u201d and \u201cPickup Man,\u201d has died after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 61.<\/p>\n

Diffie on Friday announced he had contracted the coronavirus, becoming the first country star to go public with such a diagnosis. Diffie’s publicist Scott Adkins said the singer died Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee, due to complications from the virus.<\/p>\n

Diffie, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 25 years. His hits included \u201cHonky Tonk Attitude,\u201d \u201cProp Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die),\u201d \u201cBigger Than the Beatles\u201d and \u201cIf the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCountry music lost one of the good guys today,\u201d Naomi Judd said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Diffie’s mid-90s albums \u201cHonky Tonk Attitude\u201d and \u201cThird Rock From the Sun\u201d went platinum. Eighteen of Diffie’s singles landed in the top 10 on the country charts, with five going No. 1. In his 2013 single \u201c1994,\u201d Jason Aldean name-checked the ’90s country mainstay.<\/p>\n

Diffie shared in a Grammy award for best country collaboration for the song \u201cSame Old Train,\u201d with Merle Haggard, Marty Stuart and others. His last solo album was 2010’s \u201cThe Bluegrass Album: Homecoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe Diffie, one of our best singers and my buddy, is gone,\u201d Tanya Tucker said in a statement. \u201cWe are the same age, so it’s very scary. I will miss his voice, his laughter, his songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe was a real true honky tonk hero to every country artist alive today,\u201d singer John Rich said in a statement. \u201cNo one sang our music better than he did, and to see his life and artistry cut short is beyond tragic. He was loved, cherished and respected by all of country music and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toby Keith extended his condolences to Diffie’s family, saying in a statement, \u201cA great traditional voice will live on cuz I’m putting his music on now. Here’s a beer to ya, Joe. Go get your reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deanna Carter said she was \u201cshell shocked\u201d by the news and had hoped to perform again with Diffie this year. \u201cHe was a powerhouse that stopped people in their tracks, both on and off stage,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Diffie is survived by his wife, Tara Terpening Diffie, and seven children from four marriages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK — Country singer Joe Diffie, who had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":250523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250524,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250522\/revisions\/250524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}