Branson, MO (Tuesday, November 6, 2007) —– Yakov Smirnoff announced today that country-music star Joe Diffie will perform shows at Yakov’s Theatre in Branson, Missouri. Yakov said, “I’ve been looking for a great show to have at my theater at 8pm and when I heard that Joe might be interested in performing in Branson it felt like a good fit. When I came to Branson, Joe Diffie’s third album was going platinum. On Honky Tonk Attitude Joe was singing ‘Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox’ and ‘John Deere Green’. I was learning how to say ya’ll and singing ‘From Red To Redneck’. Now Joe can help me learn just what it is that women love about a Pickup Man! What A Country!”
Joe Diffie said, “I started thinking about spending more time with my family so having a show in Branson really made a lot of sense. I can do what I love —– perform my music in front of some of the best audiences you’ll ever find — and be with the ones I love. I’m excited about being in Branson because ‘Only in America’ can I have the same opportunities as Yakov. I’ll still be doing the Rockin’ Roadhouse Tour with Aaron Tippin and Mark Chestnut until I start shows in September at Yakov’s Theatre.” Joe Diffie’s Branson Show premières on Saturday, September 6, 2008. Shows will be Tuesday through Sunday at 8:00 PM. The show will feature Joe Diffie, various friends and family members, and comedian Paul Harris.
Career highlights for Joe Diffie include 12 #1 Hits, over 20 top 10 hits, two platinum albums, 2 gold albums, a CMA with George Jones, a Grammy, and the Humanitarian Award. Joe’s song Home was the first single to top the charts of all major-music business magazines simultaneously. His lists of hits includes If You Want Me To, If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets, New Way To Light Up An Old Flame, Third Rock From The Sun, Ships That Don’t Come In, Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox, Bigger Than The Beatles, Pickup Man, John Deere Green, Tougher Than Nails, and more. He has recorded hits with Mary Chapin-Carpenter such as Not To Much To Ask and received a CMA for Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones on I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair. As a song writer Joe Diffie’s most recent hit, My Give A Damn’s Busted, was recorded by Jo Dee Messina. He has also written songs for Tim McGraw, Holly Dunn, Doug Stone, Tracy Lawrence, and others.
About Joe Diffie
- Singer-Songwriter
- 12 #1 Chart Hits
- Over 20 Top 10 Chart Hits
- 2 Platinum Albums
- 2 Gold Albums
- Sold over 8 million albums
- Grammy for “Same Old Train”
- CMA for Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones
- Country Radio Broadcasters Humanitarian Award
- Cashbox Magazine Male Vocalist of the Year
- Billboard Magazine Top Singles Artist of the Year
Joe Logan Diffie was born and raised in Oklahoma, where he was immersed in music from a young age. His first public performance came in his aunt’s country band when he was only four. It was songwriting that lured Joe to Nashville after his song Love On The Rocks was recorded by Hank Thompson.
Diffie found work in the Nashville-area Gibson guitar plant and soon established himself as one of Music Row’s top demo singers. “When I first came to Nashville I sang a lot of demo recordings–songs that would be pitched to other artists,” he explains. “I had worked in a foundry in Oklahoma, and singing for a living seemed like a piece of heaven. I took it very seriously, making sure I told each song’s story the way I thought the songwriter intended.
“I’d written a few songs that had been recorded,” he continues. “Holly Dunn recorded my song, There Goes My Heart Again, and when I heard her version it confirmed that her interpretation of my lyrics was what made it a hit. So I’ve always learned the ‘story’ before I sing the song.”
That innate sense of phrase and meaning, that relentless attention to detail, served Diffie well as he made the transition from demo singer to major label recording artist. His first hits including Home, If You Want Me To, If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets, and New Way To Light Up An Old Flame established Diffie as, arguably, country music’s foremost balladeer or as Vern Gosdin, according to The News-Times, said, “the man with the golden voice.”
Home at number one became the first ever debut single in history to top the country music charts of Billboard, Radio & Records, and Gavin Report simultaneously.
As his career progressed, Joe began flashing a more playful side on up-tempo smashes like John Deere Green, Third Rock From The Sun, Bigger Than The Beatles and Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die). Over the course of the nineties, Joe’s steady radio success helped notch his belt with 12 #1 Hits, over 20 Top 10 Chart Hits, two platinum albums and two gold albums. Along the way Joe also picked up a CMA for Vocal Event of the Year with George Jones on I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair and a Grammy for Same Old Train.
Joe also founded the First Steps concert and golf tournament —– an annual event which raises money for disabled children —–in honor of his son Tyler. As a surprise the Country Music Broadcasters honored Joe with the Humanitarian of the Year award.
Along with singing a good country song, Joe is also a successful songwriter having most recently collaborated on Jo Dee Messina’s smash hit My Give A Damn’s Busted. Other famous songs of Joe’s include Tim McGraw’s Memory Lane, Doug Stone’s Burning Down The Town, Tracy Lawrence’s I Got A Feeling, Conway Twitty’s I’m The Only Thing I’ll Hold Against You, and more.
Joe’s recent album Tougher Than Nails was co-produced with Lonnie Wilson and Buddy Cannon. George Jones, with whom Diffie won a 1993 CMA Award, voices a duet with Diffie on What Would Waylon Do? “This album shows more of me-the way I was raised, where I am in life, how I approach things–than anything else I’ve recorded,” Diffie says.
Currently on the Rockin’ Roadhouse Tour with Aaron Tippin and Mark Chestnut, Joe plans to begin shows in Branson, Missouri on September 6, 2008, at the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre. Fans will be able to see Joe along with friends, family, and comedian Paul Harris at 8:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday, in a live show. “Nashville’s been great for my recording career and Branson will be great for my live performance shows. The best audiences in the world come to Branson to enjoy country music!”
