Joe Diffie: In a post-modern world, he was the perfect old-school hillbilly singer. Like George Jones, there was no interest in going uptown, no need for turbo-sophistication.
Give him a Manuel cowboy shirt, some clever wordplay, a hot band… and Joe, with that craggy, bluegrass-honed voice and the ability to twist notes like balloons at a kiddie party, was good to go.
Born in Oklahoma to working class people, Diffie made his way to Nashville and found a place among Music Row’s old guard who’d penned hits for Charley Pride, Tanya Tucker, Mel Tillis, Razzy Bailey and Kenny Rogers.
Managed by Danny Morrison and Johnny Slate, who also produced his records, Diffie was a product of a world where writers hung out all night, and creative types were
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