Country Singer Joe Diffie Passes Away Due To Coronavirus When He Is 61

Ankita Chetana |Mar 30, 2020

A music phenomenon of the 1990s when Joe Diffie topped the charts with his ballads and singles of country music. At the age of 61, he passed away because of coronavirus.

After getting infected with coronavirus, 61-year-old country singer Joe Diffie breathed his last. He used to be a chart-topper with various hits of ballads in the 1990s and well-known for his nightclub singles. On Friday, he announced to test positive with coronavirus and became the first country singer to contract with the pandemic.

The singer's publicist Scott Adkins confirmed Diffie's death on March 29 in Nashville, Tennessee when getting down from the virus. He belonged to the Grand Ole Opry for over 25 years with a series of hits such as Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die), If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets), Honky Tonk Attitude, and Bigger Than the Beatles.

Naomi Judd stated that "Country music lost one of the good guys today". In Diffie's music career, his albums like Third Rock From the Sun and Honky Tonk Attitude in the mid-90s had gone platinum. 18 of his singles stood on the country charts' top 10 and 5 of them achieved No. 1.

The singer won the Best Country Collaboration at a Grammy award for his some Same Old Train sharing with Matty Stuart, Merle Haggard, and some others. He released the final solo album titled The Bluegrass Album: Homecoming in 2010.

Tanya Tucker said: "Joe Diffie, one of our best singers and my buddy, is gone. We are the same age, so it's very scary. I will miss his voice, his laughter, his songs."

Country singer Joe Diffie dead at 61 after coronavirus — He left a message before buying the farm

Meanwhile, Toby Keith expressed his empathy over the country singer's death and called him a 'great traditional voice'. Deanna Carter felt shocked when getting the news as earlier, she had desired to collaborate with Diffie one again in 2020.

Singer John Rich shared: "Joe was a real true honky-tonk hero to every country artist alive today. No 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."

The singer shared the same house with his wife Tara Terpening Diffie and 7 children after experiencing 4 marriages.