Joe Diffie to Perform for Firefighters’ Benefit

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.—Joe Diffie looked like a superstar in 1990. An unknown singer who hit number one with his first and third singles, the stars looked golden for Diffie.

And they were for a time.

Hear Diffie and his decade or so string of hits on May 31 at Freedom Hall in Johnson City. The show serves as a benefit staged by the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol Virginia and Tennessee Firefighters Associations.

But it also serves as a look at one of country’s finest stylists in the past two decades. Diffie’s first single, “Home,” not only helped establish him as a singer with distinction but also as a superstar-in-waiting.

“Home” hit home with Diffie in a big way.

“Then, five more songs went number one,” Diffie said by phone on Tuesday from his home in Nashville. “I thought, boy, this is easy. Little did I know.”
Thanks in large part to music videos, Diffie’s life changed perhaps faster than it otherwise would have. One day, he was able to walk unnoticed through a mall. Then, one day came, and his days of anonymity were over.

Diffie first noticed that life would never be the same courtesy the radio.

“I think it was during either my second or third single, I was riding around in Nashville with the radio on,” Diffie said. “I heard my song on the radio. I switched channels and heard it again. Then, I switched and heard it for a third time.”

Likewise, Diffie said he would never forget the first time he heard himself on the radio.

“I was with my parents in Tulsa, Okla., at the time,” he said. “We pulled off the road and cried.”

But Diffie may have thought about crying for another reason entirely several years later. Hits rolled in. Fans flocked to his shows. His albums sold well.
So what was the problem?

“I had six number-one singles before I could think about buying a car,” Diffie said.

Whoa, man. Do what?

“I walked into the car dealer, and they thought I was big stuff,” he said. “I called my accountant, and he said there wasn’t any money. I said, ‘What? Are you kidding me?’ ”

No kidding. No money.

“All that money I made, and where’d it go? I was like, good Lord,” Diffie said.

Diffie said he simply spent too much on stage props and equipment, but that the lesson was a valuable one. He learned hard to pay hard attention to his finances.
So it goes behind one of many curtains of life lived as a country music star. Here’s another. Sure, some of them roll in Ferraris and live in lavish mansions. Not Diffie.
“I drive a ’99 Ford Expedition,” he said.

Fitting for a man who in years past paid his bills while employed as a factory worker. It’s a cliché to say that so-and-so country stars wear blue collars, but with Diffie, it’s just the plain truth.

“I remember punching the time clock for nine years at the Foundry in Duncan, Okla.,” he said. “I worked in the oil fields before that. What I do now is like being on vacation with all your friends. It’s a great life.”

Look beyond the hits to find the real Joe Diffie. Yes, he has a one-in-a-million voice. He has 18 years of hits. And yet, he’s very much an average Joe.

“Shoot, son, I always feel like I’m a factory worker who got lucky,” Diffie said.

IF YOU GO  
Who: Joe Diffie with special guest Daniel Lee Martin
When: May 31, 8 p.m.
Where: Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road, Johnson City
Tickets: $22
Info: (423) 282-1257
Web: http://www.joediffie.com

TICKETS NOTE
Tickets are being sold through the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol Virginia and Tennessee Firefighters Associations. Proceeds will help fund the purchase of smoke detectors for area families, help the Community Fire Relief Fund for victims of fires and help to fund a children’s fire safety program. For tickets and show information, call (423) 282-1257.

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .