Country Singer Joe Diffie Dies of Coronavirus Two Days After Announcing Diagnosis

Al Wagner / Invision / AP FILE - This Aug. 22, 2018 file photo shows Joe Diffie performing at the 12th annual ACM Honors in Nashville, Tennessee. Diffie died Sunday of a COVIC-19 infection that was announced on Friday. (Al Wagner / Invision / AP)

By AP Reports

Published March 29, 2020 at 1:28pm

Country singer Joe Diffie has died after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 61.

The singer had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and honky-tonk singles like “Home” and “Pickup Man".

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 due to complications from the virus.

“GRAMMY-winning country music legend Joe Diffie passed away today, Sunday, March 29, from complications of coronavirus (COVID-19),” a statement on the singer’s Facebook page read.

“His family respects their privacy at this time.”

www.facebook.com/JoeDiffie/posts/10158237008220522

Diffie, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 25 years.

His hits included “Honky Tonk Attitude,” “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die),” “Bigger Than the Beatles” and “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets).”

His mid-90s albums “Honkey Tonk Attitude” and “Third Rock From the Sun” went platinum.

Eighteen of Diffie’s singles landed in the top 10, with five going No. 1. In his 2013 single “1994,” Jason Aldean name-checked the ’90s country mainstay.

Diffie is survived by his wife, Tara Terpening Diffie, and five children from four marriages.

Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.