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Booking Joe Diffie, country music artist - book Country Music Artists - Contemporary Country, New Traditionalist - © Richard De La Font Agency, Inc. - For serious booking inquiries only, click here: For More Information
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In an era when only a few years of commercial success have come to be considered a major achievement, Joe Diffie, is indeed living in a rarefied world that's earned and experienced by only a handful of country music's truly great artists. Since his debut single, 1990's No.1 smash, "Home," announced the arrival of a formidable new star in the country firmament, Joe Diffie has filled the ensuing decade with an amazing 13 Top Ten charts hits, five of which went all the way to No.1.
Joe Diffie has shown a master's hand at everything from heart-tugging, classic ballads to sidesplitting and seriously rocking, country cookers.
Joe's smash-laden "Greatest Hits" summarized and solidified his place in the pantheon of country greats, and ushered him into the new millennium.
Joe Diffie was raised in a musical home where extended-family jam sessions were a normal event. He made his public debut at age four, singing "You Are My Sunshine," accompanied by his aunt's country band in his hometown of Duncan, Oklahoma. As he grew older, Joe kept one ear on Top-40 rock while returning for regular tours of duty with his aunt on the country side of the tracks, as well.
"We had about 30 songs all written out on paper," Joe recalls with a laugh, "and if they had more than three chords we were lost!"
Stints in a "four-song, high-school garage band," partial to rockers Deep Purple and ZZ Top, segued into a gospel quartet and a bluegrass group in Joe's early 20s as he continued to expand his horizons. Seriously bitten with the music bug, it wasn't long before Joe lit out for Music City and a stab at the big time. A job at Gibson Guitars' Nashville plant paid the bills while Joe shopped his songs and voice to anyone who would listen.
When Holly Dunn had a major hit in 1989 with "There Goes My Heart Again," co-written by Joe Diffie, the value of his stock increased considerably. By that time he'd also become a sought-after demo singer whose voice was winding up on the desks of producers, artists and label executives all over town. As the '80s ended, Joe graduated to a record deal of his own and within a year had lain claim to a permanent stake atop the country charts.
Throughout the '90s, Joe's fevered chart activity was accompanied by equally fervent humanitarian work. Himself the parent of a Down's Syndrome child, Joe has worked tirelessly on behalf of Nashville's First Steps, a group dedicated to loving, teaching and nurturing similarly handicapped children. Joe's star-studded "Country Steps in for First Steps" annual concert has raised more than a half-million dollars for various benevolent organizations.
And though all that, coupled with an almost relentless touring schedule, would seem to leave Joe Diffie little time for anything even approaching what the "real world" would call a hobby. It's not hard to launch him into a rapturous recounting of his favorite free-time pursuit: making wine and brewing beer. In fact, he readily admits it's one of his life's passions. Having dubbed his basement "business," Winding Road Winery, Joe is not ashamed to take credit, or blame, for his various beverages.
"You can buy kits to get you started, but I wanted to do it the real way," he laughs. "I made a pumpkin wine that didn't taste too bad, but I have to admit it did smell pretty funky!"
Despite his considerable successes, his once-was-enough attempt at jalapeno wine is best left undisclosed, he jokes. And he is quick to point out that he brews a yeasty, unfiltered, old school beer, which he cautions friends and family to "pour carefully."
All joking aside - and Joe Diffie is a man who loves a good joke - it's his thoughts on his longevity and legacy that simply but profoundly tell the story of the man behind the music. "I've thought about it, and I really can't come up with any magic formula for how you make it in this business," he concludes. "I think it's a lot like life in general. In my career, I would hope to always be known as a great singer, and an artist who's always given his very best to the public, but in the bigger picture, that's secondary. It really comes down to people and treating them like you'd want them to treat you. Family, friends, co-workers, fans - whoever. We're all just people. If folks could say about me, 'He was a good friend, a nice guys, someone you could trust,' I'd be really satisfied. Strip everything else away, and those are the things that matter the most."
Awards include --
Hit songs include --
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