Gene Watson's Peers: Joe Diffie
Gene Watson's peers within the country music
industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas,
so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' -
and rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2004 were most
gracious with their time & words. It is here, within this special part of
gene-watson.com, that you have an opportunity to read
a quote from
Joe Diffie, which he
submitted to this site on Monday 27 September 2004.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Joe Diffie who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Joe Diffie
This quote was submitted on Monday 27 September 2004
'I've always been a fan of Gene's. 'Farewell party' is
one of the best country songs ever recorded!
I remember meeting Gene for the first time at a little convenience store in
Nashville. He was very gracious & complimentary of my music. What a thrill!
In my mind, he's one of the most under-appreciated singers in the business'.
Thank you, Joe Diffie, for your
support of Gene Watson.
About Joe Diffie...
Joe Diffie is a country music artist
who was born & raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He made an astonishing entrance
into the world of country music with the release (in 1990) of his debut
album 'A Thousand Winding Roads' for Epic Records.
Joe Logan Diffie was immersed in music from a young age & made his first
public performance in his aunt's country band when he was only four years
old. It was song-writing, interestingly enough, that lured Joe to Nashville
after his song 'Love on the rocks' was recorded by
Hank Thompson.
Joe found work in the Nashville-area Gibson guitar plant & soon established
himself as one of Music Row's top demo singers. When he first came to
Nashville, he sang a lot of demo recordings (songs that would be pitched to
other artists) & became an accomplished songwriter.
Holly Dunn recorded
Joe Diffie's
'There goes my heart again' (co-written with Lonnie Wilson & Wayne
Parry) & included the track on her highly acclaimed 'Blue
Rose of Texas' (Warner Bros. Records, 1989); the track was No.1 on the
Billboard country music singles chart for one week in 1989
Joe Diffie made the transition from demo singer to major label recording artist
with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album 'A Thousand Winding Roads'
(Epic Records, 1990).
Joe Diffie's early hits included 'Home' (No.1, 1990), 'If you want
me
to' (No.2, 1990), 'If the devil danced in empty pockets' (No.1,
1990) & 'New way to
light up an old
flame' (No.2, 1990) & established Joe as one of country music's foremost balladeers.
Throughout the course of the 1990s, Joe used his steady radio success to
build a solid fan base while notching his belt with 17 Top 10 hits, two
platinum albums & two gold albums.
Conway Twitty recorded Joe Diffie's 'I'm the only
thing (I'll hold against you)' (co-written with Kim Williams & Lonnie
Wilson) & included the track on 'Final Touches' (MCA Records, 1993)
Tim McGraw recorded Joe Diffie's 'Memory lane' (co-written with Lonnie
Wilson) & included the track on 'Tim McGraw' (Curb Records, 1993)
Clinton Gregory recorded Joe Diffie's 'Surrender' (co-written with
Lonnie Wilson & Kent Blazey) & included the
track on 'Master of Illusion' (Step One Records, 1993)
Tracy Lawrence recorded Joe Diffie's 'I got a feeling' (co-written with
Lonnie Wilson) & included the track on 'I See It Now' (Atlantic Records,
1994)
Joe's record deal with Sony finally expired after the 2001 release of the
'In Another World' album, so he decided to take more control of his career.
He signed with Broken Bow Records, one of Music Row's pre-eminent
independent labels. He then began making music, donning the producer's hat
for the first time in his career, enlisting Lonnie Wilson &
Buddy Cannon as
co-producers.
At the time of the acquisition of this quote from Joe Diffie, he was
enjoying the release of a new album, 'Tougher than Nails' (Broken
Bow Records, 2004). This album boasts
a play-list of fine tunes from some of Nashville's top songwriters including
Frank Meyers, Leslie Satcher,
Harley Allen & Shawn Camp.
The 'Tougher than Nails' album also includes 'What would Waylon do?', a duet
with legendary George Jones.
Visit Joe Diffie's Official Site
