NEW YORK – Country singer Joe Diffie, who had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and honky-tonk singles like “Home” and “Pickup Man,” has died after testing positive for COVID-19.
He was 61. 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. 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