Song:Pickup Man
Album:16 Biggest Hits
Joe Diffie scored five number one country music hits in the 90s including Pickup Man in 1994. I would place him firmly in the honky tonk tradition with a sense of humour. He was born Dec. 28, 1958 in Tulsa, OK. His parents were both part time performers and the family moved around a lot to wherever his dad found work. Diffie went to high school in Oklahoma and attended Cameron University considering medical school. Instead he got married, dropped out of college and worked in Texas oil fields while performing part time. He was sending demos to Nashville trying to get a break. In 1986, Diffie lost his job and declared bankruptcy. He moved to Nashville to work at Gibson Guitar during the day while still sending out demos. His big break came when Holly Dunn scored a hit with the Diffie song There Goes My Heart Again in 1989. Diffie had already been in talks with Epic Records and they signed him in 1990. His debut album A Thousand Winding Roads was produced by Bob Montgomery and Johnny Slate. Montgomery played with Buddy Holly in the 50s. At the time, he was head of A & R at Epic Nashville. Diffie's debut single Home topped the country music charts. Diffie continued to have success. But he really broke through with his 1994 album Third Rock From The Sun. The title song and Pickup Man both topped the country charts. Pickup Man was a slightly bigger hit after the restaurant chain Applebee's used it in a commercial. The song was written by Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips. Perdew wrote other songs for Diffie. Phillips has written songs for Tim McGraw among others. The album Third Rock From The Sun was certified Platinum and it's his most successful CD to date. Diffie scored another number one hit with Bigger Than The Beatles in 1995. Diffie scored his only top 40 pop hit with A Night To Remember in 1999. That was his final album for Epic as Sony moved him to Monument for the 2001 CD In Another World. It wasn't successful and Diffie left Sony. You can get all of his Epic hits on this comp. Since then, Diffie has recorded for Broken Bow and Rounder. He got a boost when Jason Aldean namedropped Diffie in the 2012 hit 1994. Diffie recorded the 2013 CD All In The Same Boat with Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin and they went on tour. Diffie still tours but at this point, he's probably a 90s nostalgia act. He sure had a good run. Here's the video for Pickup Man by Joe Diffie.
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