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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So Joe Diffy passed away literally saw it just now,
so I thought I would get on and say a
few things and also put back the episode we did
with him just a few months ago. I was lucky
enough to have become buds with Joe over the last
few years, especially the last couple of years. He first
came on the radio show, which to me was a
big deal because it's always awesome getting to hang out
(00:21):
with the people that you liked when you were a kid,
and that was definitely the case with Joe Diffy. I
just got a text from a country singer just now said, dude,
Joe Diffy, so sad. I'm really glad he was on
your podcast. It was the only long form interview that
I heard from him. So we're gonna play it back
if you didn't get to hear it. And we also
did this around Christmas time, I think last year, right, Yeah,
(00:44):
so it we weren't really able to promote as much
as we would like. I would have liked to as well,
So I hope you like it. Just a couple of
things before we get into it. Joe Diffy died at
sixty one, and this is a few days after his
positive coronavirus. His tests came out, just made a bunch
of hits throughout the nineties. By the way, I don't
(01:06):
know what day you're listening to this, but he did
die Sunday due to complications related to COVID nineteen. Um.
You know, there's a lot of quotes here. I'll go
because with these funerals or with people dying during coronavirus time,
what really sucks is you can't get a bunch of
(01:27):
people together to appreciate and pay respects. So that that stinks,
because you know, you want to show that you love people,
you want to be there for them. Joe Diffy was
a grand old oprety member. It was a Grammy winner.
(01:48):
We're gonna go through some of his catalogs in a second,
But to me, he was just a a good old
normal dude who whenever he put out his new record
he saved me is very first final and he wrote
on a one of five hundred, so our condolences out
to the whole family there. You know, when Joe came
over and did the Bobby cast, I think he brought
(02:09):
his whole family with him. Were like they were in here, yeah,
like an audience and his daughter was a huge fan
of the show. You know, I was able to play
the opery with Joe a couple of times. It just
it sucks. It does it really sucks. There's really nothing
more to the point except it sucks. Um. My favorite
song from Joe Diffy was problem Me Upside of the the
(02:31):
jew Box. I know. I got to sing it with
them on the radio show because I was like, Joe,
I love it, but let me sing it with you,
and he was like, all right, so this is my
favorite on the video we talked about it coming up.
John der Green, Hey, everybody knows this one. On that
(02:54):
hot summer night. It cut man all my lives and
trapped me jams and just set off and win and
lack about a pick up man. Third Rock from the Sun,
which is one of those weird songs that I learned
every word too as a kid because there are so
many words and I was so proud of myself that
(03:14):
I could sing all of it. When do I come
on the radio, I play a cool but like, oh
I like this song, but I know every word and
I want to look at them too. I'll just be
singing it and hopefully they'd appreciate. I knew every word
of the song. And then ships that don't come in.
Here's to all the souls who have ever died in bed,
(03:38):
insane loughter looms, all this down, all man, those to
stand around him, these shoes and it's bead against the wind,
and those who wait forever. Ships don't recipes. Joe. I
(04:03):
love you as a kid, love jagain as an adult,
probably loved you all that time in the middle two.
That sucks. It sucks, It sucks. Um. Here is the
Bobby cast I did with Joe Diffy that I was
so excited for that. I did it on vacation during Christmas,
and I was like, holy crap, I hope you enjoy it,
(04:27):
share it with your friends, and here you go. I
welcome to episode to seventeen with a guy I really
like and we've been a big fan of for yours
Joe Diffy. Good to hear you, good to see you,
Thank you, thank you. You know. I was looking up.
I know most of the stuff about you, like I've
been a fan before we've been able to be friends.
(04:48):
I was just a massive fan of you growing up,
and so as I kind of went on the deep
dive because I always like to find out. You know,
what do I not know about the people that are
coming over to the house listen to this. I don't
know if you eve knew? Oh Lord, here we go.
On this day, December six, you had the number one
song on the Billboard Country chart with Pickup Man. It
(05:10):
was your longest lasting number one. I haven't spent four
weeks in number one from December four to January. Did
you know that was today? No? I didn't know today.
I knew the rest of that, but I didn't realize
the date of it. That's pretty cool on this day
and four number one? Yeah. Yeah. So for example, Luke
Combs just spent three weeks at number one. Um, and
(05:32):
that's a for a song, the last three weeks number one,
especially today, it's a really big deal when you have
a song that numbone for four weeks in what's really
the the vibe of that? Well, I mean it was
unusual because back then, you know, they put out a
lot more songs. The frequency you have, you know, you
put out four, four or five songs a year, and
now you might have one song that stays on the
(05:53):
charts lingering there at some point for almost a year.
You know, so so that was kind of the weird
part we had. We had to wait to see what
how long it was gonna stay number one before we
could put out another record. So did you feel like
that song was going to be a number one song?
I knew it from the instant I heard it. I
really did. Yeah. I don't know why, I just something
(06:13):
about it. I just you know, have you been able
to name and nail boasted most of your big songs
when the first time you heard them? Yeah? Pretty much. Uh,
there was a couple that it didn't like John dear
Green I hated when I first heard it. Yeah, why
well because the demo and now this is it's a
(06:34):
long sago, but but when I first heard it, Uh,
it was done by the writer named Dennis Lyndy, and
he had a very eclectic sound in voice, and he
did all his own demos at his house. So it
had like a Jews harp playing like aren't Arnie? And
I was like, what the heck is that? You know?
And then my producer so we just he said, ignored
(06:54):
the demo part. I have to add right now that
that I subsequently, uh loved all of Dennis Lindy's demos
they were so cool. After you got after you kind
of figured out what was what was happening, you know,
any of My producer said listen to the words and
uh and uh. I was like, man, I just don't
like it at all. He goes, well, he said, he said,
I think this is a hit, And I said, well,
(07:15):
we can try it, you know, we'll go on the
studio and cut and if it doesn't work out, then
we scrap it, you know. So luckily it worked out.
So you go in and at what point is it
during the session? Is it during the track? When do
you go, oh, there might be something here with John
der Gran when we tracked it, you know, because obviously
it was a lot different than the demo, you know,
so yeah, we once once we started tracking, I was like,
that's that is a pretty good song right there. What
(07:38):
song of yours when you play it gets the biggest response?
And you know what's funny about that? It was not
a number one song? Isn't that weird? And it's you know,
I talked with a lot of young artists now and
they're like, I just want that number one. Like I
get it, you do. But and and in Keith were
gonna have talked about this where his a lot of
his biggest songs weren't number one, and then we werena
(07:59):
you know was back in those days. I mean there
were severally over like four or five different charts, so
I think it did go number one and one of
them I don't know which one, but but yeah, that's
always that is a strange phenomena some of your some
songs that do go number one don't sell as as well, etcetery.
You know. So for me, when I think about your music,
like my favorite song has propped me out, and that
(08:22):
was not a number one song on the on the
radio chart. I mean when I think, Joe Diffy, this
is the song from me. I know every word. Remember
when it came out, I bought the CD and I
memorized every word so I could sing all of I
did that and third rock because the third rock is
a little harder because the words are a lot faster.
But this, this is the song for me that if
someone's like, what your favorite? A matter of fact, when
(08:44):
you came in, I was like, Joe, you gotta play
problem me up? And you did and and again is
it peaked a number three on the radio chart. It's weird.
There's a big record from you. The video though for
this song is what I really remember from this song
as well, because back in the day we used to
really watch mt from music video right a lot. Yeah,
all you know what I remember about the video mostly
(09:04):
filming the video. It was so hot, man, it was,
And they had this these buckets of like sea bree
remember sea breeze. It was kind of like a facial
cleanser or some kind of deal, and it was like
but it had like an aromatic kind of effect and
they were dabbing all of us with it stuff. You know.
That's just remember was so hot and and plus the
dead guy. Yeah, it was so funny, man. I mean
(09:26):
that that that to me is those two songs. And
again as I started deep diving, and I was like, man,
my favorite two songs number five and a number three.
And you say that John der Green gets the biggest.
When you do your set list, what do you start with?
What's the first song? A third rock from the sun?
You come out of high energy, huh, Which this wasn't
number one song for you. Yeah. I just would have
a problem going out and doing the fast up quick
(09:48):
because if you had a breath for the next three
songs that has happened. Yes, like especially I said right
where it happened to me a lot as if I'm
you know, on the oprey for some reason makes you nervous.
And if you ever get backwards during your breathing in
that song, you were screwed. I mean, it's it's over,
you know. Tell me about this song Third Rock. So
you heard it, were you like? What's this about? Like? What? Um?
(10:11):
I always thought it was like a little mini movie,
you know, which I heard a lot of songwriters say,
you try to dude, right, I try to write it
a little three minute movie, you know. But honestly, this
was one that I mean, even though I liked it.
They there was the same publisher had played two different
songs for us, and uh, and I like the other
one better actually and so uh you know. So anyway
(10:35):
I ended up getting both of them. Had to do
to the wheel and dealing some some guy apparently that
I don't know. I can't verify this, but I was
told this. Garth Brooks wanted Third Rock as well. So
and how did you get Third Rocket? What was the wheel?
We cut both? We would do both of their songs.
Do you know what the other song was. It was
called uh something. But if you're having to think, I
(10:58):
guess that really was never seen. There was never a single. Yeah,
did you put it on the record. Yeah, it's that.
I'm gonna run through your number one's real quick. Let's
do home. Yeah, your first the debut singers is that right?
First song out and you go number one for six,
number one, six in a row. So do you think
(11:19):
after let's say two or three, do you have a
figured out? Um? You know what I felt like? Such
I was. I felt a little bit like a rube.
I was so naive about the whole process. I mean
even though I kind of knew. I kind of knew
about stuff, but man, when you know when you get it,
when you when you start off like from what I did.
I mean, I was on the road three hundred days
a year, and so I didn't really have time to
(11:41):
think about stuff. I was busy, you know, traveling and
doing shows and me doing meet and greets and all
that stuff. You know, So what brought you to Nashville?
Meaning I know the music, I know that the thought
of country music. But there's always something where something you
get that push or you can kind of the itch. Well,
I got laid off from my job I had. I
(12:02):
was working on a foundry back in Duncan, Oklahoma, and
they shut the plant down, laid us all off, and
you know, and I've been singing a little VFWS and
twenty moved. I moved to Nasville when I was also
a little bit older. Yeah, compared to like the nineteen
two years are moving here now exactly? So you get
(12:23):
laid off, ye, And I said. And I had been
to Nashville once before with my aunt and a friend
of mine. We had we we did this little thing
as a trio, and we came in and my aunt
had known somebody here in Nashville, and so anyway, we
met with him and I spent in love with the
city then. But I didn't have the opportunity because I
still had a job at the time, you know. But
(12:43):
when I got laid off, I was like, well, you
know what, I think, I'm just gonna try it. So
I just loaded up everything I could get in this
whole beat up car I had, and off I went.
So at home, you know, you're you're playing around bar?
Are you playing on bars at home at all? Not
a lot honestly, my background was more of a I
sang in a gospel group then I then I went
from that to a bluegrass group. I played bluegrass for
(13:07):
six years with this group called the Special Edition. Were
you known as the guy that was doing music while
working at the plant by your workers? Yeah? Are your
co workers? Yeah? They always asked me to sing, you know,
would you ever sing at work? I don't remember gather
them around and be like all right, boys, yeah, I
mean I just they sing that song, you know whatever.
Isn't it funny how the things at the time that
seemed this happened over my career in my life too.
(13:29):
We're really I put finger quotes up. Unfortunate things that
happened to us turn out to really be blessing, dude, blessing,
the biggest blessing ever. Yeah, because if I hadn't got
laid off, I probably would have never left there. You know.
So when you get laid off, do you remember how
that happened? Did you did your your boss your form
and come in and go all right, you're done. No,
it was just more of a I got a phone call,
I think, and they said, yeah, play shut down, don't
(13:51):
go out there and then immediately do you go all
right time to go to Nashville? Like, was it kind
of in the chamber already? No, it took a took
a couple of once, you know, drawing unemployment, and I thought, well,
you know, I might as well think of something. I
had a good friend of mine. We used to discuss
thing he wanted. He moved to Dallas and became an
accountant and you know, and I said, I want to
(14:13):
He said, yet, you know, you gotta try music. You're
really good at it and all that stuff. So and
when you got to town, did you feel like you
were good enough to get in the mix immediately? Um?
I just felt really lost, honestly when I first got
to town, because I just gotten divorced and I missed
my kids and you know, and I was just in
this new place and I didn't have a place to live,
and you know, and all this kind of stuff. Would
(14:35):
you do what you I finally moved in with a
with a musician, a guy named David Greer, and we
we rented at a house with no heater and for
about a year. And what are you doing when you
first moved to Nashville? Meaning are you out trying to
meet people play right around, like what what what happened
with the new artists? Me? I was trying. I needed
(14:55):
some incouncil. I got a job. I knew a guy
that worked at Gifts and Guitars, and so they hired
me I there to work in the warehouse shipping guitars everywhere.
So and then after that I would just do whatever
I could. I'd go to two showcases and you know,
just go hang out, just just to get my get
out there and meet people. You know, it's so interesting
(15:16):
to hear about because, like I know, you was the
county music legend. But I love hearing like the origin
story of the hustle because I think so many people
don't know that there's a hustle for everyone. Man, I
tell you what there was. There was days seriously, Uh
you know we didn't have anything in the house to eat.
I mean nothing. One time I had I think I had,
like I don't know, seventy five cents on me and
(15:36):
I went by this funniest thing ever. I didn't know
they didn't have white castles in the duncan. So I
saw instead of Hamburger cents, I thought, oh yeah, I've
got I can you know, so I stop. Yeah, so
I know, I said, the guys canna help you? I said,
I like a Hamburger police. He goes, uh, just one.
I said, yeah, I didn't know they were, you know tiny.
(15:59):
Let's talk about this new prob jack. So it's the
first ever vinyl, right, and so it's called Joe Joe
Joe Diffy, Right, so tell me about this. It's just
a compilation of of of some number one songs we
had and uh, and we included a new song on it.
I just always kind of wanted a vinyl and it
seems to be kind of coming back in fashion right now.
(16:21):
So where can people get it? Joe Diffy dot com
slash vinyl And each album is individually autographed and number
you sign them all? Did you have the family sign
them all? No? I signed every stinking one. They're all different. Thing. Yeah,
I was. I was trying to be meticulous about it,
because you know, you signed five or anything. After a while,
you're like, man, I just don't care, you know. I
(16:43):
know at first, because I was like when I do
my books, the first book I wrote, I was a
little more like I'm gonna make everything so pride after
and you're like, you know what, I think they're gonna
even like to you start convincing yourself to Sloppy's cooler.
My arts decide. Even at one point earlier, earlier in
my career, because I was signing so many things, I
was trying to come up with a faster way to
(17:04):
sign my name, just like make a line and two
dots or something, you know, but I just never do.
Look right, you're living here, you you're in the same roommate.
Are you still together while you're working out the guitar place? Uh?
For a little while. Then I moved out. And that's
kind of how I got my first break actually in
the music business. Was I moved out with from with him,
and I moved in with his brother and sister who
(17:26):
I worked with, the brother at Gibson and uh as
it happened, uh super you know, talented songwriter, a guy
who lived next door, and as as Johnny Neil and
uh and so Johnny you know he can't see he's blind.
So my friends John that I moved in with, this
is not getting too complicated. Any time John would would
(17:50):
you take him to various things too? Whatever you need
to do sessions or whatever. And then one day John
was working in so Johnny asked, He said, A, man,
I think somebody he called the house, you know, and
I answered the phone. He said, man, I need John
to come get me. A said, well, he's not here,
and he's like, well, wow, man, I don't know what
to do, and I said, I'll come get you. Really,
(18:10):
so I didn't really know him, you know. So anyway,
if we hit it off and we started writing songs together,
that's how I got my first publishing deals through him.
Was that a big deal to you to get paid
to write song? Oh? Lord, yes, absolutely. They paid me
a hundred dollars a week to write songs, and then
they paid for you know, the demos. The cost of
the demos. So, and that's how I got kind of discovered.
(18:31):
You know, I guess, quote unquote are you singing the demo?
I was singing the demos. So then you know, the
musicians and other guys were like, hey, I gotta come
seeing my demo for me. You know. So what do
you think about your your vocal style? What do you
think it was that attracted people to you? Oh that's
a good question. I don't know. I really I don't
(18:51):
know if I can answer that. How would you classify
yourself as a singer but pretty country? You know? I mean,
but I'm able to kind of ran child. On this
new project, I did a duet with with an incredible
singer named Mark Brossard. He's like Louisiana. Yeah. Yeah, he's fantastic,
and I just happened to get you know, I was
(19:14):
listening to him as we were riding along with the bus,
we listening to various music, and he happened to be
in town recording the same time Iowa. So we contacted
him and I just want to go meet him and
say hi, you know. So I did, and he played
me some of this new album he was working on,
and so we became friends. You know, we're not like
super close friends or anything. But then I said, man,
(19:34):
I'm looking to do some do ats. I s would
you be interested in singing something? Because yeah, So he
came over and we're looking at each other, like, well
what do we do? He goes, I don't know. I said,
you know, pride and joy I said kinda r yeah,
I said kind of, I kind of do yeah, and
so you know, we said let's do that one. So
we end up doing that that's pretty cool. Here it
is right here, my lad, she's lean. You're that sweetheart.
(20:12):
You see him baby, that's on the new Final Project.
Hey Mike, we you see me from Louisiana. Okay, I
just I never want to mess it up. But like
I felt like you as Karen Karen Crowe Louisiana and
you grew up in Oklahoma mostly when you were growing up,
and is it true you were so good at all
(20:32):
the sports that they named you like athlete at the
year of school. Is that true? What that's the old days?
But yeah, well what was your sport? Well? Mostly I
was probably the best at football. I played like we
It was a small school, you know, so they both
ways played both ways. We did never really never left
the field really, you know. That was a deep gun,
punched and kickoffs. And then I also was like you know,
(20:55):
I never left the field. So you sell a big
football fan. Oh yeah, here's your team. I mean, of course,
I like the Pros are like the Titans and the
course of Cowboys. That's who I grew up around, was
near the cow the Cowboys. So college jam Oklahoma, Oh yeah,
big center fans. Yeah, So did you watch the Hisman ceremony.
(21:15):
I did not. I was working. Jalen got third, got third? Um,
great season, and but oh use in it. They're playing ls.
It's four verses. One. That's gonna be a tough game. Brother,
that's gonna be everyone. It's gonna be a real tough
Gamel's loaded. Well, so you're a good football player, your pompershner,
huh yesh. Yeah, I returned a few points. And I'll
(21:38):
tell you what I did not like with standing there
vulnerable as that ball is coming down and you can
just feel without even seeing you can you know, if
you're in a room Joe and you know somebody's looking
at you, and you don't have to look up to
feel someone's eyes on you exactly, but you're imagining that
with nine or ten guys coming at you hard, same
kind of feeling, and you're like trying to judge do
(21:59):
and do I by waves. Once it looks like earte
you that, Yeah, because you have to have tremendous focus, right.
And once I didn't fair catch and I thought I
wanna I'm gonna just take off with this ball. I
thought I had some space and the ball is coming
down and I get a little little alligator arm and
it hits my hand and I bobbled it. It's on
the ground. And it was the only time that I
(22:20):
really lunged for a fumble in my because I mostly
played wide receiver um and I didn't return a lot
of punt, especially after this the story here. But I
botched the ball and I was like, I gotta go
dive for it, and and diving for the fumble was
I think the most physical part of because it was
just everybody's piling on diving and I was on the
(22:40):
bottom and I was like, I'm done. Do you ever
hear those guys scream on the bottom, you know, because
they're down there and then something's happening to him. Then oh,
hear that terrified people grabbing in twists, And it's the
whole thing. So you play football, play basketball, basketball, baseball, baseball, track, golf,
five sport guy, Huh if you think I'm playing college
(23:01):
at all? Uh? I thought about. But I never did
get any scharlar scholarship offers for football. I actually had
some small college offered me a side on the same
basketball scholarship, oddly enough, and I wasn't that great. I mean,
I was okay, but you know, but uh, but no.
I have a cousin that played at Oklahoma State and
(23:22):
he was younger than I, and so he I asked
him and said, do you think I could could have
played that? He goes, I absolutely really not so. But
I never get any scholarship offers. I had a coach.
Couple of coaches and small colleges asked me to walk
on and if it worked out, they'd give me a scholarship.
I never So you're in Nashville, and so you're driving Jimmy, right,
(23:47):
Johnny Neil, Johnny excuse me, there's John and Johnny. You're
driving Johnny Neil and so you go pick him up
the first time. And then how does that relationship turn
into something? Because you guys started well, I had to
him a couple of times that I'd love to write
with it. You know. Of course, I'm just a newbie,
you know, I didn't really know much about it, and
he kind of gave me the old brush off. You
(24:08):
know maybe one day, well maybe maybe, you know, but
we just hit it off. We had a moment a
few minutes that I actually talking and you know, and
goofing around, and so he said, well, come on over
so we wrote a couple of songs and and he
had a little studio at his at his house that
and so we turned those demos in and his publisher
(24:28):
at the time signed signed me as well. So that's
kind of how I got started and our want to
you know, I don't think Johnny and I ever got
We got a couple of cross I got one on
the member of the Forster Sisters. Yeah, it's called Come
Hold Me. And then uh so then I started writing
with another guy named Lonnie Wilson's great drummer, session drummer
and writer and singer. And we had first first top
(24:52):
five record with Holly Dunn had There Goes My Heart
Again was the name of it. So so a top
five song back in eight eighties. Did you make any
money off that? Dude? I went to the mail by
and we're seeing that much money in my life? Really
like the first installment, you know, yeah, I was like,
I gotta write war songs. That's pretty cool. And how
long do those checks keep coming? Oh? They the first
(25:15):
years pretty good. And after that it tapers off significantly
and almost down to nothing, you know, and you're cutting
these demos that people lynched in your in your singing style,
which we were on a minute ago. So when did
it become a thing where you go, Okay, I think
it's time for me to try to be an artist. Well,
I mean, that's kind of what I had in mind
all all along. But I just knew that songwriting would
(25:37):
be a good avenue to meet people and and you know,
just because it was part of the music. But that's
such a significant part. So I just but I always
had that in my mind being an artist, but h
and I didn't really have any way to that that
I knew. It takes somebody to promote you, basically, And
so I started doing demos for these the couple of guys,
(26:00):
and they knew they were good friends with Bob mcgomery,
who was Epic Records at the time, and uh and
so after they played him some demos, so he called
me over and met with me, and I said, how
would you like to have a record deal? And I'm like,
uh so, yeah, it's pretty cool. So that was the conversation.
They kind of changed it off, how would you like
(26:21):
to have a record deal? Conversation? Yeah, exactly, that's pretty cool. Yeah,
he said, I said, a man, I wanted to do
this my whole life and he said, no, you haven't.
I was like, I looked at him and I was like,
what do you mean? He goes, you don't lived your
whole life? You guys thought, okay, one of those guys.
How long from when you were laid off until you
got your record deal? Three years? So you spent a
(26:42):
couple of months figuring it out. You moved here, you wrote,
so three years from there to there? Right? Do you
feel like you mad sued a lot as an artist
at that time in those three years? Probably just just
from the sheer volume of demos and stuff I did,
you know? They're all various styles and um, so you
kind of had to learn to to do that kind
(27:03):
of you know, just so yeah, I think so. You
know a lot of the artists and a lot of
my friends too, that that that are here, that you
kind of come in in classes. You don't do it
on purpose, but when you moved to town, you start
meeting other people that moved town around the same time,
and that kind of becomes your pack that you grow
up with because you're all on a similar level exactly
when you move here, like, who is some of the
folks in your class, well, to see. There was Tricia
(27:25):
your Wood, Um, there was a t. Graham Brown. There
was you know, Garthur singing some demos. I don't know
if any of the other ones were as you know,
but I mean the same guys that there's you know
in my generation or you know of course the Mark
Chests and Tracy Lawrence and those guys. You know. So
(27:46):
what was Tricia doing? Was she working at Mary tell
Moore Music or was she singing demos? I'm not sure.
I just I had only met her a few times
when we sing a couple of demos together, yeah, which
is cool. And then I got I got her just
saying one a chick song quote unquote that I had
and so she's saying for me. So we've been friends
ever since. So whenever you hear or you see someone
like Gartha Tricia back then, were you like, man, there's
(28:08):
something special about them, like you think or is it
or is it just the land of the Giants where
everybody's good? Most everybody was good? You know, it's it
was just you felt like it was just kind of
a crap. Shoot. You know, somebody's gonna get lucky and
get that deal. And something I happened I tell you
a weird story and people might think this is really odd.
I've done this twice in my life. I went to
(28:30):
see I went to the showcase where it was Garth
and it was at the Douglas Corner and I was
sitting around having a beer, you know, walking talking to
some friends of mine, and I look up and he's
playing it up there and I saw an aura around him.
I'm not kidding, you know. So I started looking around
the room. I thought, was the lights, guys, be weird,
that's something weird going on here. And I didn't find
(28:51):
I couldn't find any reason that he had a blue
aura around him. I swear to good it was the
weirdest thing. And the other time was my my wife Tara.
I saw her. She had an oar. Now do you
think that that's in your eyes? Do you think that
you saw something special? I didn't know what it was,
just I saw. I saw it, and I asked, I said,
y'all see that. Everybody else like no, and I'm like, man,
(29:12):
I's okay, I'm I'm gonna get quiet here. So did
you ever talk to Garth in the early days where
you guys time, we didn't we weren't super close or anything.
You know, who were your buds musically and who did
you like tour with? Who'd you liked to werow with? Well,
I've had a lot of him, you know, I like
all of the people I've toured with. But let's do
this mount rushmore of your favorite tour buddies four and
(29:33):
four you only get four. Oh gosh, that's that's hard, man,
I'm putting it. I'm putting the screws to you. I mean,
of course, I mean I toured with Garth, so that
didn't do a whole lot. We Uh he used to
open shows for me oddly enough, Yeah, and so but
we did that and I opened some shows for him
after that. Of course. You know my one of my
closest buddies Mark Chestnut, and uh, you know he's he's
(29:56):
always really consistent. And uh, who else would it be?
Uh that I toured with, uh, you know, Travis Tritz
and an incredible singer. A year long tour with him.
How was that? Because I know Travis a little bit
and he's at times it's very in your face and
at times it's super's super warm yew, how about you
(30:17):
in Travis relationship? It was good. Yeah, it was very good. Yeah. Uh,
you know, we just we just had a good time
as me, Travis, myself and Leroy Partnell. We're out there
and it was a good package. You know, we had
a lot of fun. You got one more on the aunt, Rushman,
Garth Chestnuts, Tracy Lawrence. You know, Tracy is always good.
(30:38):
You know when you good when you go see him.
I'm trying to say who else I toured with. I've
done so many, you know, various packages here and there
that I can't even remember. You ever put a kid
opening and that kid turned out to be a big
starway later on? Uh, let me think I want I
almost said Brad Paisy, but I'm not sure that ever happened,
you know, because I've see some I met a kid
(31:00):
the other night that uh came open. He opened for
me and Chestnut. We're doing an acoustic thing and he
came up and saying, this kid was really good. You
know what was remember? I don't remember, right is me? Yeah? Man,
it's it's under the little place in Texas we were in. Man.
We got him up to saying and he was like,
you nailed. He's saying, is it cold in here in
my song. So here's another number one. This is it's
(31:22):
the Devil Danced, The Devil Dance pocket. Do you have
a ball? He said? A swing in that song? Yeah,
that's Is that your second number one song? I know?
I think that was like the third one? Yeah, I
believe so home hits. You have a number one. What
(31:43):
was the second big one for you? If you want
me to? Okay, if you want me to? And then
I think devil Oh actually may have been new what
laughing old flying? I can't remember. I lost track? Pick
up man? Which jam? Where do you put this into
that list? Oh? It's fourth or fifth. It's gotta be
interesting to put together set less for you because you
have so many biggs. It's really hard. I remember, I
(32:05):
remember touring. I got the final with George Straight but
put him on that Mount Rushmore when I first started.
What year was that? It had to have been ninety
one or two somewhere in that arrange. What does a
tour like with you and George Straight? Well? I didn't
really get to see George very much, you know, he
was he was kind of a private person and uh,
(32:26):
you know, and he didn't really come to sound checks
or anything. So I mean, I saw him occasionally and
he's super super nice man. He just and I just
remember I was. I was pretty tickle when he finally,
you know, say hey, Joe, how are you doing, I'm like,
all right, George, what was my name? Now? So bigger
than the Beatles, here's right here. Number one for you
(32:47):
Beetles Wild. You know, for me, whenever I would hear
you as a kid, I always felt like you were
smiling when you were singing like that. That is part
of him, you know when you're trying to I mean
you do think of that. I try to emote, you know,
put your feelings into the songs you're saying. Say yeah,
(33:10):
I always felt like when and when I think about
your songs, I always thinking, man, Joey sounds like he's
he's having a good time. Yeah, absolutely that that would
be if I were to I talk about if someone's like,
what should it sounds like it's it's not like he's smiling,
like he's having fun singing about country saying what do
you How do you feel about these artists like the
the Luke Combs. Um, I'm setting you up here, but
(33:30):
but the guys that are really super traditional style again
does that excite you. I love it. Yeah, I mean
country has always been a little bit scyical, you know,
and it's a it goes from one thing to another
kind of vacillates back and forth. So I love Luke.
I got to, along with Vince Gil and a couple
of other folks, got to induct him to the Grand
(33:52):
Old Opry recently, so that was pretty cool. Whenever the
al Dean song came out and the famous lyric is
Joe Joe Joe Diffe, did you know this was coming? Yeah? Yeah,
I actually had heard it started up. Somebody contacted me said, man,
there's a song somewhere out there that has your name
in them. So really so somehow we got a copy
(34:15):
of it. It It was a demo, you know. Thomas Rhett
was one of the writers on that, and so the
first time I heard it was Thomas Rhet's version, you know,
and it was a lot more kind of rap feeling
than than that Jason's version. Jason has a lot more
guitars and stuff. So yeah, I just like my and
my band members were sitting around, I said that here's
that song got my name in it apparently, so I
(34:37):
put it in there and had all that. We're looking
atach other like, what the hell is that? You know?
So Jo, did you did bring you out all out?
Or wait? Where was it that they did this in
an award show? It was a C M S They
had had the giant head? Is that what it was?
I remember seeing it was, That's what it was, the
giant head dropped out of the sea. Did you find
(34:58):
when that song comes out that people were going like
younger kids were like, who the heck is Joe diffy?
Like twelve year old dude. I'm that's a good setup
for for saying this that that because of Jason and
Thomas Ricks. Thomas does that song on his show as well,
you know, and so they're getting it's being heard by
a lot of people, you know, and so we are.
(35:18):
Our crowds have just been tremendous and a lot more
you know, younger people, and they know every day I
got word to every song was pretty amazing. Back in
the day, there was that the TV commercial there was
I think they did pick up man. Pick up Man
was using and maybe a card truck commercial, board truck
commercial and did they read the words a little bit
(35:38):
in it? Well, yeah, they get another singer what was it? No,
that was that was actually me on camera that that's
the same one you're talking about. That That commercial actually
day aired on the super during the super Bowl, So
that's when that commercial you were in the super Bowl commercial. Yeah,
that's pretty cool. That cool. I got more people though
(35:59):
that had no do I was that saw that and
we're like, hey, you're that pickup guy. You know, people
would recognize you for being the pickup guy from the
commercial more because I was on camera too. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
but they would see you from the It's interesting. I
was talking to Brad Paisley a couple of weeks ago
and I said, Hey, what are people like coming up
to you as the insurance guy? And He's like, yeah,
a lot of people don't even know that I do music,
if they don't know country music, and they only know
(36:19):
me from the I think the nationwide commercials. Yeah that's right, Mike. Yeah.
And so people were coming up to you and you're
the super Bowl commercial guy. Is that a nice paydy
to the super Bowl commercial? Yes, it's very nice. I
love pay days. I grew up a song though has
made me probably more money than any of the other
songs I've had, and I didn't write the song. A
couple of friends of mine wrote it, and uh so
(36:41):
they get paid as well, you know, but for for
the royalty publishing and all that stuff. So but I
was also an Apple beachs commercial and was it there
like cars to ghost services, like yeah you pick up Yeah,
they changed the lyrics on it, and uh I'll tell
you the miracle of modern stuff, you know, I had
to do in my house. And and so somehow we
(37:03):
got my book and agents got they said that they
were interested in using Pickup Man as a part of
an Apple Beach commercial, and so they sent me a
CD of it, just the music and the lyrics changed
that they had rewritten it basically, and uh so I
just stuck it into the thing and read the lyrics,
(37:24):
singing it down. Tell me about an hour, and I
sent it back. I thought it was gonna be like
a presentation or a demo for them, and they used
it and they ken't renew it. Man, it is like
this is great, I said, kind I guess some more
of those commercials. Is that where it is like in
the sink stuff? Yeah, yeah, if you can get it,
if you can get a get in one of those
(37:44):
deals this pretty good deal. What's that touring like for you? Now?
It's great? You done a much shows a lot. Yeah,
this is I've been working, working a lot and uh
probably uh you know, just staying really busy, which is
really good. I like working. You know, we were talking
earlier that travel part gets a little old. You know,
you get tired from that. But I mean, you know,
(38:05):
get the thing due play around and messing around all
the times. Like it's like I told my guys that
it's like we're on a big camping trip all the time,
you know, so we have fun. You worked in oilfield
for a while. I did. You drove a truck the
pump cement? Is that true? What does that work? Like?
It sucked? Yeah. It was for a company called Halliburton
(38:25):
and uh oddly enough, who were headquartered They used to
be headquartered in Duncan, Oklahoma. But I had to move
to Alas, Texas to get to work for him because
I had an uncle that worked for them, and uh
so I did. I didn't do that for very long.
I was there for about I don't know, three or
four months or so, and I just it was like
you're gone all the time, and you know that the
(38:47):
pay was not that great, and uh so I just
decided I didn't like that, so I moved back to
Duncan and got a job in that foundry. So so
what about you going to medical school? Always if you
had asked me when I was a kid, that's what
was one to be, was a doctor. And I used
to read medical books and I followed my parents around
reading them facts and figures on that kind of stuff.
(39:07):
You know, what'd your mom and dad do? Uh? They
were both the teachers. My dad did a little bit
of everything. He had his own welding company for a while.
He had a repossession company for a while. Was he
didn't repo cars. He didn't like that in the middle
of the night and go and that's a dangerous it's
very dangerous. You got shot at a couple of times.
He said he didn't like that. So, yeah, he had
(39:30):
he actually built since he was a welder. He built
this rig on the like a hook that that was
hydraulic and it would come out of the out of
the back of the pickup and the tailgate would lower
down and he would just back up to the cars
and pick him up and drive off with him. That's
a crazy line of word and thinking. As we get
as kids, we see adults do things more like that's
just kind of normal, right, But as you get to
(39:52):
be an adult and you see other adults repoint and
people shooting out over that's that's. Yeah. He didn't last
long with that. He didn't like that at all. And plus,
you know, you're having to and he just just the
human element of it. A lot of people who couldn't
you know, they were behind on their payments through whatever.
Some of them were just bumms, and some of them
just lost their jobs or something, you know, or we're ill.
(40:14):
And he'd after the bank, would you know, telling to
go get this car. You know. So I had to
work with the bank a lot. And so he didn't
like that either because then people had to come. He
had to te it to a yard, and then people
came to the yard and he had to be out
there while they gathered their belonging to the other repossessed car.
You know. Yeah, so he didn't like that. You were
inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah, it's a real
(40:35):
special thing. That was one of one of my highlights
of my career. I could consider it. You know, how
did you get told you were going to be in
the operation kind of the same way I got told
by a record deal. I went out to the opera
and and uh, I met with the guy who I
can't remember his name right now. He was the head
of it back then, and I just I thought, I
didn't know why we were even out there, and was
out there with my managers, and he goes, how would
(40:56):
you like to be remember the grand Ole Obrary. I
was like, yeah, so that really really that's how I
got my record deal and the Grand Ol Operathing. So
it's pretty cool, pretty low key, and it was very
low Yeah. Is it true that your parents and your
parents that you could sing harmonies when you were three
years old? Now you probably can't remember remember three, You
do remember three? I remember singing and are we had
(41:18):
to pick up and uh I had two sisters, have
two sisters, and so we would all be five or
five of us being the truck and to keep us
occupied and and you know, from screaming at each other,
they would sing solid, simple songs, you know, kids songs,
and we sing along with them. And at three you
can harmonize. I just hear, I just heard it. It
(41:38):
just it was in my head, I could hear it.
Were you always a really good singer as a seven
year old? Isn't a church or wherever you were singing?
You always think? I guess, you know, it's hard to value,
hard to judge it, you know, I guess were you
rewarded for your singing at a very young age? Were
people telling you why? Joe? Yeah, I mean I remember
my aunt got me up in front of with her
band and I got up and saying you're my son
(42:00):
and giant or something like that, you know, and so
it's pretty cool. What was that like in the nineties,
touring with no internet and no cell phone and no
Google Maps. Do you ever just end up with the
bus in a wrong talent? Absolutely? Oh you would, Yeah,
you know, of course you have to get the map
at and then you had to know, you, hey, even
our satellite we had did have a satellite dish, but
(42:21):
your bus had to be stopped and you had to
like physically enter in, get the atlas out and figure
out your latitude and your longitude and enter those coordinates
in and then it would raise up. Yeah. Would you
ever get somewhere because there weren't cell phones realized there
was no show happening anymore, or like you get there
and like no, we tried to get ahold of you,
(42:42):
but they carryer pigeon, you know. No, unfortunately, never had
that happen. But what kind of countryms of artists you
drawn to? Now? I guess I have a tendency to
lean more towards the country. You're the country side of
the things, you know, which you know, so you know,
I enjoy Luke and you know, Brad Paisley and a
couple of other guys that that I think are good,
(43:04):
good singers. You know, growing up, who was your favorite?
Oh man, well, it'd probably have to be George Jones,
and that's who I emulated, so you know, learned a
lot by emulating him. But I mean I I had
a whole rangement. Of course, I had the regulars that
everybody mentions, Haggard, Jones, Johnny Cash, you know, Conway, there
(43:26):
was you know, a whole plethora of those people. But
but I you know, I actually like I loved Loretta
Lyon and Dolly Parton as well, you know, and Connie Smith,
and so I heard a lot of those being from Oklahoma.
And I'll perhaps it with my story. I'm from Arkansas.
So it was Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty and you can,
I mean listen, which tall Liman was so big to
(43:47):
anybody from Arkansas was a big deal to us because
there weren't a lot of us who made it on
any sort of national stage being from Oklahoma. Who was
it that you looked at and was like, wow, like
this is one of our guys doing or one of
our girls doing it? Well, I mean obviously, you know,
but they aren't that much older than I am, but
I mean, Reba advanced, they were already involved in doing
(44:09):
stuff before I ever removed to Nashville. So that was
pretty cool to see that, and you know, you kinda
kind of take that and you know, feel good about it. Man,
that's crazy. Like I did the Michael was I think
in DC. I did with Reba Kennedy Honors. I did
the Kennedy Honors for Reba. I got to go. I did,
went up and did ten minutes to stand up, and
(44:31):
there was like six of us the presented Reeve. It
was me and Brooks and Dunn and Kristin Chenowyth and
Kelly Clarkson. But anyway, so I go up and I'm
doing comedy but I'm also talking through as I'm doing comedy.
Reba's Oklahoma Alive where she was it was, you know,
doing uh that the roadwork in the rodeos, like singing
the rodeos and you know, just thinvered singing the national
(44:52):
anthem at the rodeo, tex Ritter. I think the one
who for you saw you sing, I know you got
a record of it. Who saw you randomly if in
one and they were like, man, I think there could
be like you're actually pretty good there, Joe, did you
ever have one of those? A little drunk guy at
the bar before you go? He threw literally through five
dollars after he said, telling you out a mood to Nashville,
(45:12):
you're really good. So have you ever see anybody cover
your songs nowadays? And you go, man, that's a really
good version of that song. I've heard it a couple
of me. That sounds really good. You know, it's fun.
It's fun to me to hear them. You know, if
you could pick one of your songs to be covered
again now and be made a hit again, which which
song would you like to see a reborn? That's a
good question. Uh, well, I know my favorite song is
(45:35):
the ships that don't come in. Oh come on, I
love the only place. Let me, let me listen. That's
all never died in bed, insane lot loomsoon allless down
a man. So everybody listening right now, there's a lot
(45:55):
of artists listen to this podcast. Ships that don't come in.
That's the cover to do it is that's that's such
a great song. I've I've told the writers that David
gives the Paul Nelson I said that song didn't need me,
but it needed somebody to see it because it's just
such a great song. I think it could have been
a hit with anybody, you know. So I was glad
I got it. Anybody cool ever come up to you
(46:17):
that You're like, man, they're a fan of you. But
You're like, that's really cool. They're a fan of me.
A lot of yeah, a lot uh some people I revere,
you know. I mean, I walked I was gonna introduce
myself to Merle Haggard one time at the A c M.
And I walked up to because, Joe, how you doing, Man,
I'm a big fan of here, And I'm like, Merl
Hackard knows my name. It's just blows my mind. You know,
(46:39):
Ronnie Millsnap told me it was you know, so yeah,
those that's a really special thing when somebody who you
who you idolize, tells you that, you know, can you
go to dinner in Nashville with are in Tennessee without
being bothered? Yeah, And it's people are pretty cool. They're
really they are. And and I just always I feel
(47:00):
like it's really not a bother. I mean, the only
time I never even kind of gets under my skin
a little bit is if I'm in the middle of eating.
You know, I often say if people are eating or
with their kids, those are really the only two times,
because otherwise everyone neces what they signed up for, right figure,
your public figure. But eating like literal food on the table,
fork in my hand, eating something and something. Yeah, but
(47:22):
I mean, and of course people don't mean any harm
by it, you know, a fact fact. George Jones and
I were at dinner one night, one evening, and and
this lady came up, and we were in the middle
of eating, and she comes up with a little boy,
and and she goes, I don't mean to bother you guys,
And George goes, but what are you doing it for?
He was teasing, of course, you know. So what is
(47:43):
it like to be a fan of George Jones and
then here you are having dinner? Now I couldn't I
don't even know how. I couldn't even talk to him.
I didn't know what to even ask him. I'm assuming
he has to invite you. Yeah, and did you got
where did that relationship? How did it start? Just from
doing a couple of shows to other and uh? And
I sang on on his hit song, I don't need
(48:05):
your rocking chair, I don't need yeall you met a game. Yeah,
so that was one of the most special things. Not
only because of that, but I got to take my dad.
I didn't tell him where we were going. He was
George Jones, his idol, you know, so I just took him.
I took him. He said, where are we going? I said,
just come on, you know. So I took him in
(48:26):
there and and uh, there was all he saw Alan Jackson,
Clint bike and all these people. He was like, what
is this? What's going on here? Then the limo pulls up.
George gets that. He was just I've never seen he
was speechless. He just was stunned by you know. So
that's really cool, right, Like, of all the moments, I
getting to do things for the people that you care about,
at least for me, has been that kind of the
coolest thing to do. Absolutely, that's pretty cool that you're
(48:48):
a big fan of George Jones and the next then
you're at dinner with Really it took me a couple
of times, uh before I was able to converse with
him because I was just really so Nerve was some
and he was just such an icon in my eyes.
But he I found it later on. He was He
was just so he's just so country, you know, He's
like and he's like talking to your grandpa. He couldn't
(49:09):
hear it real good, you know, So you say something
and he goes, you know. So then I got even
to sing on a on a song with me and
it was really cool too. Did you ever meet Tammy? Oh? Yeah,
Tammy was once. She loved my singing. Yes, you asked
about that earlier. She I forgot about Tamm but she
was a huge fan of mine. In fact, I sang on.
She did an album of duets with a lot of
(49:31):
rock artists, and I think me and wend known Over
the only two country people she has to be on there.
So that was really neat to get to sit there.
I mean, you're talking about bizarre. All of a sudden,
I'm sitting there right next to Tammy Win that and
we sang it live, we sang it down live. It
was you know, there was no overdubbing or punching in.
(49:51):
It was that. That's what it was. So were you
around when they were doing the tours of stars homes
when they would actually dry by people's houses, which nowadays
seems really weird. It's a it's a pain in the rear.
You'll be up more on your lawns all the time. Yeah,
So I'm only what happens. You're all sweating, and you
know they you know, here there comes that bus, little
(50:12):
people and they are all taking pictures of you and
you're sweat and dripping off of you got grass all
over you. You know, it's like hill. You know, how
would they find your house? I don't know how that.
I don't know. I don't know how they did it,
because if they did that nowadays, that would be the weirdest. Well,
I asked him, I asked made request. I said, Look,
(50:33):
not only it's it's bothering me, but it's bothering my
neighbors as well, to have these busses coming and stopping
in that and everybody getting out and all this. We
get out of the bus a couple of times I did, yeah,
so and I guess it's not illegal. No. I actually
called and asked, is there any way we can make
this stop? And they're like no, so okay. So it
(50:54):
was kind of weird. So after that, literally I'll be
up more on the lawn or doing something outside and
and i'd be watching because I knew about what time
of day they came by it. So I just watched
for when I go hide, you know, run behind the shed.
Everybody check it out. Joe Joe, Joe Diffy. Each album
is individually autographed and numbered, and it's at Joe Diffy
(51:15):
dot com slash vinyl. But I'm sure if you just
go to Joe Diffy dot com there's also a link
up there that says for the vinyl right if you
can't spell vinyl, cause I'll be honest, not a great
word to spell. B I N Y L not No,
I'm not. I would have been anyone on that um
as long as there's a bar. Yeah, tell me about
that A couple of great friends of mine wrote that
(51:37):
guy Gaylan Griffin and uh and Brian Keith Burns who
was in Trick Pony and he played bass for me
for like seven years early in my career, and so
they wrote this song. It just reminded me of brought
me up a little bit. So that's that's that's most
of the reason I did it. With a lot of
the music from when I was a kid in the
nineties where you have a bunch of your number one
songs kind of re emerging as a big deal. Did
(51:59):
that help your touring nineties country? Like? Was it? Like? Absolutely?
It was like a whole new rebirth of touring for you. Absolutely, yeah,
helped it and tremendously. And like I say, uh, with
the advent of that song in the nine I've got
so many new art, new fans and you know, younger fans.
It's just really it's really been pretty amazing to me. Well,
I'm super happy that that you came by. Good luck,
(52:21):
Hope yourself. So many of these these vinyl records that
you're so annoyed having to sign, that's problem to have
is the best I would get so irritated signed these
books and be like, I'm so happy to be irritated.
It was the greatest irritation you gotta Sometimes, you know,
you get a little a little by ester who or
just worn out with things over time when you you
(52:43):
kind of it's good to get a little, uh, you know,
check once in a while, just to kind of a
little gut check and say, okay, wait a minute, I'm
doing the best. I got the best job in the world.
You know. I could be at roof and house and
I used to do that. You know, I could be
back on doing clean I used to do clean up
from moving house, which is even the ruinouse. All right,
so I have I'm I'm just so lucky and so blessed,
(53:04):
like a great family, you know, and so great friends.
So you know, it's it's a it's a pleasure for me. Well,
you're always welcome. I got a Christmas card from you,
all right, Yes? Did you know that I did? Yes.
I felt like I was giving I felt like I
was giving him news. Mike. He was like, he was like, oh,
you gotta Christmas. I got a Christmas car from a
couple of days. It's just a gazillion, but we're glad
(53:25):
that you're on the list, so it was news to you. Well,
she told me about it, yes, okay, good before yesterday. Regardless,
I thought it was pretty cool. I'm not gonna lie
to you. Thought it was pretty cool. Joe Diffie dot
com slash Vinyl Joe, good luck and good to see
you again. Thank you. Episode to seventeen here on the
Bobby Cat
So Joe Diffy passed away literally saw it just now,
so I thought I would get on and say a
few things and also put back the episode we did
with him just a few months ago. I was lucky
enough to have become buds with Joe over the last
few years, especially the last couple of years. He first
came on the radio show, which to me was a
big deal because it's always awesome getting to hang out
(00:21):
with the people that you liked when you were a kid,
and that was definitely the case with Joe Diffy. I
just got a text from a country singer just now said, dude,
Joe Diffy, so sad. I'm really glad he was on
your podcast. It was the only long form interview that
I heard from him. So we're gonna play it back
if you didn't get to hear it. And we also
did this around Christmas time, I think last year, right, Yeah,
(00:44):
so it we weren't really able to promote as much
as we would like. I would have liked to as well,
So I hope you like it. Just a couple of
things before we get into it. Joe Diffy died at
sixty one, and this is a few days after his
positive coronavirus. His tests came out, just made a bunch
of hits throughout the nineties. By the way, I don't
(01:06):
know what day you're listening to this, but he did
die Sunday due to complications related to COVID nineteen. Um.
You know, there's a lot of quotes here. I'll go
because with these funerals or with people dying during coronavirus time,
what really sucks is you can't get a bunch of
(01:27):
people together to appreciate and pay respects. So that that stinks,
because you know, you want to show that you love people,
you want to be there for them. Joe Diffy was
a grand old oprety member. It was a Grammy winner.
(01:48):
We're gonna go through some of his catalogs in a second,
But to me, he was just a a good old
normal dude who whenever he put out his new record
he saved me is very first final and he wrote
on a one of five hundred, so our condolences out
to the whole family there. You know, when Joe came
over and did the Bobby cast, I think he brought
(02:09):
his whole family with him. Were like they were in here, yeah,
like an audience and his daughter was a huge fan
of the show. You know, I was able to play
the opery with Joe a couple of times. It just
it sucks. It does it really sucks. There's really nothing
more to the point except it sucks. Um. My favorite
song from Joe Diffy was problem Me Upside of the the
(02:31):
jew Box. I know. I got to sing it with
them on the radio show because I was like, Joe,
I love it, but let me sing it with you,
and he was like, all right, so this is my
favorite on the video we talked about it coming up.
John der Green, Hey, everybody knows this one. On that
(02:54):
hot summer night. It cut man all my lives and
trapped me jams and just set off and win and
lack about a pick up man. Third Rock from the Sun,
which is one of those weird songs that I learned
every word too as a kid because there are so
many words and I was so proud of myself that
(03:14):
I could sing all of it. When do I come
on the radio, I play a cool but like, oh
I like this song, but I know every word and
I want to look at them too. I'll just be
singing it and hopefully they'd appreciate. I knew every word
of the song. And then ships that don't come in.
Here's to all the souls who have ever died in bed,
(03:38):
insane loughter looms, all this down, all man, those to
stand around him, these shoes and it's bead against the wind,
and those who wait forever. Ships don't recipes. Joe. I
(04:03):
love you as a kid, love jagain as an adult,
probably loved you all that time in the middle two.
That sucks. It sucks, It sucks. Um. Here is the
Bobby cast I did with Joe Diffy that I was
so excited for that. I did it on vacation during Christmas,
and I was like, holy crap, I hope you enjoy it,
(04:27):
share it with your friends, and here you go. I
welcome to episode to seventeen with a guy I really
like and we've been a big fan of for yours
Joe Diffy. Good to hear you, good to see you,
Thank you, thank you. You know. I was looking up.
I know most of the stuff about you, like I've
been a fan before we've been able to be friends.
(04:48):
I was just a massive fan of you growing up,
and so as I kind of went on the deep
dive because I always like to find out. You know,
what do I not know about the people that are
coming over to the house listen to this. I don't
know if you eve knew? Oh Lord, here we go.
On this day, December six, you had the number one
song on the Billboard Country chart with Pickup Man. It
(05:10):
was your longest lasting number one. I haven't spent four
weeks in number one from December four to January. Did
you know that was today? No? I didn't know today.
I knew the rest of that, but I didn't realize
the date of it. That's pretty cool on this day
and four number one? Yeah. Yeah. So for example, Luke
Combs just spent three weeks at number one. Um, and
(05:32):
that's a for a song, the last three weeks number one,
especially today, it's a really big deal when you have
a song that numbone for four weeks in what's really
the the vibe of that? Well, I mean it was
unusual because back then, you know, they put out a
lot more songs. The frequency you have, you know, you
put out four, four or five songs a year, and
now you might have one song that stays on the
(05:53):
charts lingering there at some point for almost a year.
You know, so so that was kind of the weird
part we had. We had to wait to see what
how long it was gonna stay number one before we
could put out another record. So did you feel like
that song was going to be a number one song?
I knew it from the instant I heard it. I
really did. Yeah. I don't know why, I just something
(06:13):
about it. I just you know, have you been able
to name and nail boasted most of your big songs
when the first time you heard them? Yeah? Pretty much. Uh,
there was a couple that it didn't like John dear
Green I hated when I first heard it. Yeah, why
well because the demo and now this is it's a
(06:34):
long sago, but but when I first heard it, Uh,
it was done by the writer named Dennis Lyndy, and
he had a very eclectic sound in voice, and he
did all his own demos at his house. So it
had like a Jews harp playing like aren't Arnie? And
I was like, what the heck is that? You know?
And then my producer so we just he said, ignored
(06:54):
the demo part. I have to add right now that
that I subsequently, uh loved all of Dennis Lindy's demos
they were so cool. After you got after you kind
of figured out what was what was happening, you know,
any of My producer said listen to the words and
uh and uh. I was like, man, I just don't
like it at all. He goes, well, he said, he said,
I think this is a hit, And I said, well,
(07:15):
we can try it, you know, we'll go on the
studio and cut and if it doesn't work out, then
we scrap it, you know. So luckily it worked out.
So you go in and at what point is it
during the session? Is it during the track? When do
you go, oh, there might be something here with John
der Gran when we tracked it, you know, because obviously
it was a lot different than the demo, you know,
so yeah, we once once we started tracking, I was like,
that's that is a pretty good song right there. What
(07:38):
song of yours when you play it gets the biggest response?
And you know what's funny about that? It was not
a number one song? Isn't that weird? And it's you know,
I talked with a lot of young artists now and
they're like, I just want that number one. Like I
get it, you do. But and and in Keith were
gonna have talked about this where his a lot of
his biggest songs weren't number one, and then we werena
(07:59):
you know was back in those days. I mean there
were severally over like four or five different charts, so
I think it did go number one and one of
them I don't know which one, but but yeah, that's
always that is a strange phenomena some of your some
songs that do go number one don't sell as as well, etcetery.
You know. So for me, when I think about your music,
like my favorite song has propped me out, and that
(08:22):
was not a number one song on the on the
radio chart. I mean when I think, Joe Diffy, this
is the song from me. I know every word. Remember
when it came out, I bought the CD and I
memorized every word so I could sing all of I
did that and third rock because the third rock is
a little harder because the words are a lot faster.
But this, this is the song for me that if
someone's like, what your favorite? A matter of fact, when
(08:44):
you came in, I was like, Joe, you gotta play
problem me up? And you did and and again is
it peaked a number three on the radio chart. It's weird.
There's a big record from you. The video though for
this song is what I really remember from this song
as well, because back in the day we used to
really watch mt from music video right a lot. Yeah,
all you know what I remember about the video mostly
(09:04):
filming the video. It was so hot, man, it was,
And they had this these buckets of like sea bree
remember sea breeze. It was kind of like a facial
cleanser or some kind of deal, and it was like
but it had like an aromatic kind of effect and
they were dabbing all of us with it stuff. You know.
That's just remember was so hot and and plus the
dead guy. Yeah, it was so funny, man. I mean
(09:26):
that that that to me is those two songs. And
again as I started deep diving, and I was like, man,
my favorite two songs number five and a number three.
And you say that John der Green gets the biggest.
When you do your set list, what do you start with?
What's the first song? A third rock from the sun?
You come out of high energy, huh, Which this wasn't
number one song for you. Yeah. I just would have
a problem going out and doing the fast up quick
(09:48):
because if you had a breath for the next three
songs that has happened. Yes, like especially I said right
where it happened to me a lot as if I'm
you know, on the oprey for some reason makes you nervous.
And if you ever get backwards during your breathing in
that song, you were screwed. I mean, it's it's over,
you know. Tell me about this song Third Rock. So
you heard it, were you like? What's this about? Like? What? Um?
(10:11):
I always thought it was like a little mini movie,
you know, which I heard a lot of songwriters say,
you try to dude, right, I try to write it
a little three minute movie, you know. But honestly, this
was one that I mean, even though I liked it.
They there was the same publisher had played two different
songs for us, and uh, and I like the other
one better actually and so uh you know. So anyway
(10:35):
I ended up getting both of them. Had to do
to the wheel and dealing some some guy apparently that
I don't know. I can't verify this, but I was
told this. Garth Brooks wanted Third Rock as well. So
and how did you get Third Rocket? What was the wheel?
We cut both? We would do both of their songs.
Do you know what the other song was. It was
called uh something. But if you're having to think, I
(10:58):
guess that really was never seen. There was never a single. Yeah,
did you put it on the record. Yeah, it's that.
I'm gonna run through your number one's real quick. Let's
do home. Yeah, your first the debut singers is that right?
First song out and you go number one for six,
number one, six in a row. So do you think
(11:19):
after let's say two or three, do you have a
figured out? Um? You know what I felt like? Such
I was. I felt a little bit like a rube.
I was so naive about the whole process. I mean
even though I kind of knew. I kind of knew
about stuff, but man, when you know when you get it,
when you when you start off like from what I did.
I mean, I was on the road three hundred days
a year, and so I didn't really have time to
(11:41):
think about stuff. I was busy, you know, traveling and
doing shows and me doing meet and greets and all
that stuff. You know, So what brought you to Nashville?
Meaning I know the music, I know that the thought
of country music. But there's always something where something you
get that push or you can kind of the itch. Well,
I got laid off from my job I had. I
(12:02):
was working on a foundry back in Duncan, Oklahoma, and
they shut the plant down, laid us all off, and
you know, and I've been singing a little VFWS and
twenty moved. I moved to Nasville when I was also
a little bit older. Yeah, compared to like the nineteen
two years are moving here now exactly? So you get
(12:23):
laid off, ye, And I said. And I had been
to Nashville once before with my aunt and a friend
of mine. We had we we did this little thing
as a trio, and we came in and my aunt
had known somebody here in Nashville, and so anyway, we
met with him and I spent in love with the
city then. But I didn't have the opportunity because I
still had a job at the time, you know. But
(12:43):
when I got laid off, I was like, well, you
know what, I think, I'm just gonna try it. So
I just loaded up everything I could get in this
whole beat up car I had, and off I went.
So at home, you know, you're you're playing around bar?
Are you playing on bars at home at all? Not
a lot honestly, my background was more of a I
sang in a gospel group then I then I went
from that to a bluegrass group. I played bluegrass for
(13:07):
six years with this group called the Special Edition. Were
you known as the guy that was doing music while
working at the plant by your workers? Yeah? Are your
co workers? Yeah? They always asked me to sing, you know,
would you ever sing at work? I don't remember gather
them around and be like all right, boys, yeah, I
mean I just they sing that song, you know whatever.
Isn't it funny how the things at the time that
seemed this happened over my career in my life too.
(13:29):
We're really I put finger quotes up. Unfortunate things that
happened to us turn out to really be blessing, dude, blessing,
the biggest blessing ever. Yeah, because if I hadn't got
laid off, I probably would have never left there. You know.
So when you get laid off, do you remember how
that happened? Did you did your your boss your form
and come in and go all right, you're done. No,
it was just more of a I got a phone call,
I think, and they said, yeah, play shut down, don't
(13:51):
go out there and then immediately do you go all
right time to go to Nashville? Like, was it kind
of in the chamber already? No, it took a took
a couple of once, you know, drawing unemployment, and I thought, well,
you know, I might as well think of something. I
had a good friend of mine. We used to discuss
thing he wanted. He moved to Dallas and became an
accountant and you know, and I said, I want to
(14:13):
He said, yet, you know, you gotta try music. You're
really good at it and all that stuff. So and
when you got to town, did you feel like you
were good enough to get in the mix immediately? Um?
I just felt really lost, honestly when I first got
to town, because I just gotten divorced and I missed
my kids and you know, and I was just in
this new place and I didn't have a place to live,
and you know, and all this kind of stuff. Would
(14:35):
you do what you I finally moved in with a
with a musician, a guy named David Greer, and we
we rented at a house with no heater and for
about a year. And what are you doing when you
first moved to Nashville? Meaning are you out trying to
meet people play right around, like what what what happened
with the new artists? Me? I was trying. I needed
(14:55):
some incouncil. I got a job. I knew a guy
that worked at Gifts and Guitars, and so they hired
me I there to work in the warehouse shipping guitars everywhere.
So and then after that I would just do whatever
I could. I'd go to two showcases and you know,
just go hang out, just just to get my get
out there and meet people. You know, it's so interesting
(15:16):
to hear about because, like I know, you was the
county music legend. But I love hearing like the origin
story of the hustle because I think so many people
don't know that there's a hustle for everyone. Man, I
tell you what there was. There was days seriously, Uh
you know we didn't have anything in the house to eat.
I mean nothing. One time I had I think I had,
like I don't know, seventy five cents on me and
(15:36):
I went by this funniest thing ever. I didn't know
they didn't have white castles in the duncan. So I
saw instead of Hamburger cents, I thought, oh yeah, I've
got I can you know, so I stop. Yeah, so
I know, I said, the guys canna help you? I said,
I like a Hamburger police. He goes, uh, just one.
I said, yeah, I didn't know they were, you know tiny.
(15:59):
Let's talk about this new prob jack. So it's the
first ever vinyl, right, and so it's called Joe Joe
Joe Diffy, Right, so tell me about this. It's just
a compilation of of of some number one songs we
had and uh, and we included a new song on it.
I just always kind of wanted a vinyl and it
seems to be kind of coming back in fashion right now.
(16:21):
So where can people get it? Joe Diffy dot com
slash vinyl And each album is individually autographed and number
you sign them all? Did you have the family sign
them all? No? I signed every stinking one. They're all different. Thing. Yeah,
I was. I was trying to be meticulous about it,
because you know, you signed five or anything. After a while,
you're like, man, I just don't care, you know. I
(16:43):
know at first, because I was like when I do
my books, the first book I wrote, I was a
little more like I'm gonna make everything so pride after
and you're like, you know what, I think they're gonna
even like to you start convincing yourself to Sloppy's cooler.
My arts decide. Even at one point earlier, earlier in
my career, because I was signing so many things, I
was trying to come up with a faster way to
(17:04):
sign my name, just like make a line and two
dots or something, you know, but I just never do.
Look right, you're living here, you you're in the same roommate.
Are you still together while you're working out the guitar place? Uh?
For a little while. Then I moved out. And that's
kind of how I got my first break actually in
the music business. Was I moved out with from with him,
and I moved in with his brother and sister who
(17:26):
I worked with, the brother at Gibson and uh as
it happened, uh super you know, talented songwriter, a guy
who lived next door, and as as Johnny Neil and
uh and so Johnny you know he can't see he's blind.
So my friends John that I moved in with, this
is not getting too complicated. Any time John would would
(17:50):
you take him to various things too? Whatever you need
to do sessions or whatever. And then one day John
was working in so Johnny asked, He said, A, man,
I think somebody he called the house, you know, and
I answered the phone. He said, man, I need John
to come get me. A said, well, he's not here,
and he's like, well, wow, man, I don't know what
to do, and I said, I'll come get you. Really,
(18:10):
so I didn't really know him, you know. So anyway,
if we hit it off and we started writing songs together,
that's how I got my first publishing deals through him.
Was that a big deal to you to get paid
to write song? Oh? Lord, yes, absolutely. They paid me
a hundred dollars a week to write songs, and then
they paid for you know, the demos. The cost of
the demos. So, and that's how I got kind of discovered.
(18:31):
You know, I guess, quote unquote are you singing the demo?
I was singing the demos. So then you know, the
musicians and other guys were like, hey, I gotta come
seeing my demo for me. You know. So what do
you think about your your vocal style? What do you
think it was that attracted people to you? Oh that's
a good question. I don't know. I really I don't
(18:51):
know if I can answer that. How would you classify
yourself as a singer but pretty country? You know? I mean,
but I'm able to kind of ran child. On this
new project, I did a duet with with an incredible
singer named Mark Brossard. He's like Louisiana. Yeah. Yeah, he's fantastic,
and I just happened to get you know, I was
(19:14):
listening to him as we were riding along with the bus,
we listening to various music, and he happened to be
in town recording the same time Iowa. So we contacted
him and I just want to go meet him and
say hi, you know. So I did, and he played
me some of this new album he was working on,
and so we became friends. You know, we're not like
super close friends or anything. But then I said, man,
(19:34):
I'm looking to do some do ats. I s would
you be interested in singing something? Because yeah, So he
came over and we're looking at each other, like, well
what do we do? He goes, I don't know. I said,
you know, pride and joy I said kinda r yeah,
I said kind of, I kind of do yeah, and
so you know, we said let's do that one. So
we end up doing that that's pretty cool. Here it
is right here, my lad, she's lean. You're that sweetheart.
(20:12):
You see him baby, that's on the new Final Project.
Hey Mike, we you see me from Louisiana. Okay, I
just I never want to mess it up. But like
I felt like you as Karen Karen Crowe Louisiana and
you grew up in Oklahoma mostly when you were growing up,
and is it true you were so good at all
(20:32):
the sports that they named you like athlete at the
year of school. Is that true? What that's the old days?
But yeah, well what was your sport? Well? Mostly I
was probably the best at football. I played like we
It was a small school, you know, so they both
ways played both ways. We did never really never left
the field really, you know. That was a deep gun,
punched and kickoffs. And then I also was like you know,
(20:55):
I never left the field. So you sell a big
football fan. Oh yeah, here's your team. I mean, of course,
I like the Pros are like the Titans and the
course of Cowboys. That's who I grew up around, was
near the cow the Cowboys. So college jam Oklahoma, Oh yeah,
big center fans. Yeah, So did you watch the Hisman ceremony.
(21:15):
I did not. I was working. Jalen got third, got third? Um,
great season, and but oh use in it. They're playing ls.
It's four verses. One. That's gonna be a tough game. Brother,
that's gonna be everyone. It's gonna be a real tough
Gamel's loaded. Well, so you're a good football player, your pompershner,
huh yesh. Yeah, I returned a few points. And I'll
(21:38):
tell you what I did not like with standing there
vulnerable as that ball is coming down and you can
just feel without even seeing you can you know, if
you're in a room Joe and you know somebody's looking
at you, and you don't have to look up to
feel someone's eyes on you exactly, but you're imagining that
with nine or ten guys coming at you hard, same
kind of feeling, and you're like trying to judge do
(21:59):
and do I by waves. Once it looks like earte
you that, Yeah, because you have to have tremendous focus, right.
And once I didn't fair catch and I thought I
wanna I'm gonna just take off with this ball. I
thought I had some space and the ball is coming
down and I get a little little alligator arm and
it hits my hand and I bobbled it. It's on
the ground. And it was the only time that I
(22:20):
really lunged for a fumble in my because I mostly
played wide receiver um and I didn't return a lot
of punt, especially after this the story here. But I
botched the ball and I was like, I gotta go
dive for it, and and diving for the fumble was
I think the most physical part of because it was
just everybody's piling on diving and I was on the
(22:40):
bottom and I was like, I'm done. Do you ever
hear those guys scream on the bottom, you know, because
they're down there and then something's happening to him. Then oh,
hear that terrified people grabbing in twists, And it's the
whole thing. So you play football, play basketball, basketball, baseball, baseball, track, golf,
five sport guy, Huh if you think I'm playing college
(23:01):
at all? Uh? I thought about. But I never did
get any scharlar scholarship offers for football. I actually had
some small college offered me a side on the same
basketball scholarship, oddly enough, and I wasn't that great. I mean,
I was okay, but you know, but uh, but no.
I have a cousin that played at Oklahoma State and
(23:22):
he was younger than I, and so he I asked
him and said, do you think I could could have
played that? He goes, I absolutely really not so. But
I never get any scholarship offers. I had a coach.
Couple of coaches and small colleges asked me to walk
on and if it worked out, they'd give me a scholarship.
I never So you're in Nashville, and so you're driving Jimmy, right,
(23:47):
Johnny Neil, Johnny excuse me, there's John and Johnny. You're
driving Johnny Neil and so you go pick him up
the first time. And then how does that relationship turn
into something? Because you guys started well, I had to
him a couple of times that I'd love to write
with it. You know. Of course, I'm just a newbie,
you know, I didn't really know much about it, and
he kind of gave me the old brush off. You
(24:08):
know maybe one day, well maybe maybe, you know, but
we just hit it off. We had a moment a
few minutes that I actually talking and you know, and
goofing around, and so he said, well, come on over
so we wrote a couple of songs and and he
had a little studio at his at his house that
and so we turned those demos in and his publisher
(24:28):
at the time signed signed me as well. So that's
kind of how I got started and our want to
you know, I don't think Johnny and I ever got
We got a couple of cross I got one on
the member of the Forster Sisters. Yeah, it's called Come
Hold Me. And then uh so then I started writing
with another guy named Lonnie Wilson's great drummer, session drummer
and writer and singer. And we had first first top
(24:52):
five record with Holly Dunn had There Goes My Heart
Again was the name of it. So so a top
five song back in eight eighties. Did you make any
money off that? Dude? I went to the mail by
and we're seeing that much money in my life? Really
like the first installment, you know, yeah, I was like,
I gotta write war songs. That's pretty cool. And how
long do those checks keep coming? Oh? They the first
(25:15):
years pretty good. And after that it tapers off significantly
and almost down to nothing, you know, and you're cutting
these demos that people lynched in your in your singing style,
which we were on a minute ago. So when did
it become a thing where you go, Okay, I think
it's time for me to try to be an artist. Well,
I mean, that's kind of what I had in mind
all all along. But I just knew that songwriting would
(25:37):
be a good avenue to meet people and and you know,
just because it was part of the music. But that's
such a significant part. So I just but I always
had that in my mind being an artist, but h
and I didn't really have any way to that that
I knew. It takes somebody to promote you, basically, And
so I started doing demos for these the couple of guys,
(26:00):
and they knew they were good friends with Bob mcgomery,
who was Epic Records at the time, and uh and
so after they played him some demos, so he called
me over and met with me, and I said, how
would you like to have a record deal? And I'm like,
uh so, yeah, it's pretty cool. So that was the conversation.
They kind of changed it off, how would you like
(26:21):
to have a record deal? Conversation? Yeah, exactly, that's pretty cool. Yeah,
he said, I said, a man, I wanted to do
this my whole life and he said, no, you haven't.
I was like, I looked at him and I was like,
what do you mean? He goes, you don't lived your
whole life? You guys thought, okay, one of those guys.
How long from when you were laid off until you
got your record deal? Three years? So you spent a
(26:42):
couple of months figuring it out. You moved here, you wrote,
so three years from there to there? Right? Do you
feel like you mad sued a lot as an artist
at that time in those three years? Probably just just
from the sheer volume of demos and stuff I did,
you know? They're all various styles and um, so you
kind of had to learn to to do that kind
(27:03):
of you know, just so yeah, I think so. You
know a lot of the artists and a lot of
my friends too, that that that are here, that you
kind of come in in classes. You don't do it
on purpose, but when you moved to town, you start
meeting other people that moved town around the same time,
and that kind of becomes your pack that you grow
up with because you're all on a similar level exactly
when you move here, like, who is some of the
folks in your class, well, to see. There was Tricia
(27:25):
your Wood, Um, there was a t. Graham Brown. There
was you know, Garthur singing some demos. I don't know
if any of the other ones were as you know,
but I mean the same guys that there's you know
in my generation or you know of course the Mark
Chests and Tracy Lawrence and those guys. You know. So
(27:46):
what was Tricia doing? Was she working at Mary tell
Moore Music or was she singing demos? I'm not sure.
I just I had only met her a few times
when we sing a couple of demos together, yeah, which
is cool. And then I got I got her just
saying one a chick song quote unquote that I had
and so she's saying for me. So we've been friends
ever since. So whenever you hear or you see someone
like Gartha Tricia back then, were you like, man, there's
(28:08):
something special about them, like you think or is it
or is it just the land of the Giants where
everybody's good? Most everybody was good? You know, it's it
was just you felt like it was just kind of
a crap. Shoot. You know, somebody's gonna get lucky and
get that deal. And something I happened I tell you
a weird story and people might think this is really odd.
I've done this twice in my life. I went to
(28:30):
see I went to the showcase where it was Garth
and it was at the Douglas Corner and I was
sitting around having a beer, you know, walking talking to
some friends of mine, and I look up and he's
playing it up there and I saw an aura around him.
I'm not kidding, you know. So I started looking around
the room. I thought, was the lights, guys, be weird,
that's something weird going on here. And I didn't find
(28:51):
I couldn't find any reason that he had a blue
aura around him. I swear to good it was the
weirdest thing. And the other time was my my wife Tara.
I saw her. She had an oar. Now do you
think that that's in your eyes? Do you think that
you saw something special? I didn't know what it was,
just I saw. I saw it, and I asked, I said,
y'all see that. Everybody else like no, and I'm like, man,
(29:12):
I's okay, I'm I'm gonna get quiet here. So did
you ever talk to Garth in the early days where
you guys time, we didn't we weren't super close or anything.
You know, who were your buds musically and who did
you like tour with? Who'd you liked to werow with? Well,
I've had a lot of him, you know, I like
all of the people I've toured with. But let's do
this mount rushmore of your favorite tour buddies four and
(29:33):
four you only get four. Oh gosh, that's that's hard, man,
I'm putting it. I'm putting the screws to you. I mean,
of course, I mean I toured with Garth, so that
didn't do a whole lot. We Uh he used to
open shows for me oddly enough, Yeah, and so but
we did that and I opened some shows for him
after that. Of course. You know my one of my
closest buddies Mark Chestnut, and uh, you know he's he's
(29:56):
always really consistent. And uh, who else would it be?
Uh that I toured with, uh, you know, Travis Tritz
and an incredible singer. A year long tour with him.
How was that? Because I know Travis a little bit
and he's at times it's very in your face and
at times it's super's super warm yew, how about you
(30:17):
in Travis relationship? It was good. Yeah, it was very good. Yeah. Uh,
you know, we just we just had a good time
as me, Travis, myself and Leroy Partnell. We're out there
and it was a good package. You know, we had
a lot of fun. You got one more on the aunt, Rushman,
Garth Chestnuts, Tracy Lawrence. You know, Tracy is always good.
(30:38):
You know when you good when you go see him.
I'm trying to say who else I toured with. I've
done so many, you know, various packages here and there
that I can't even remember. You ever put a kid
opening and that kid turned out to be a big
starway later on? Uh, let me think I want I
almost said Brad Paisy, but I'm not sure that ever happened,
you know, because I've see some I met a kid
(31:00):
the other night that uh came open. He opened for
me and Chestnut. We're doing an acoustic thing and he
came up and saying, this kid was really good. You
know what was remember? I don't remember, right is me? Yeah? Man,
it's it's under the little place in Texas we were in. Man.
We got him up to saying and he was like,
you nailed. He's saying, is it cold in here in
my song. So here's another number one. This is it's
(31:22):
the Devil Danced, The Devil Dance pocket. Do you have
a ball? He said? A swing in that song? Yeah,
that's Is that your second number one song? I know?
I think that was like the third one? Yeah, I
believe so home hits. You have a number one. What
(31:43):
was the second big one for you? If you want
me to? Okay, if you want me to? And then
I think devil Oh actually may have been new what
laughing old flying? I can't remember. I lost track? Pick
up man? Which jam? Where do you put this into
that list? Oh? It's fourth or fifth. It's gotta be
interesting to put together set less for you because you
have so many biggs. It's really hard. I remember, I
(32:05):
remember touring. I got the final with George Straight but
put him on that Mount Rushmore when I first started.
What year was that? It had to have been ninety
one or two somewhere in that arrange. What does a
tour like with you and George Straight? Well? I didn't
really get to see George very much, you know, he
was he was kind of a private person and uh,
(32:26):
you know, and he didn't really come to sound checks
or anything. So I mean, I saw him occasionally and
he's super super nice man. He just and I just
remember I was. I was pretty tickle when he finally,
you know, say hey, Joe, how are you doing, I'm like,
all right, George, what was my name? Now? So bigger
than the Beatles, here's right here. Number one for you
(32:47):
Beetles Wild. You know, for me, whenever I would hear
you as a kid, I always felt like you were
smiling when you were singing like that. That is part
of him, you know when you're trying to I mean
you do think of that. I try to emote, you know,
put your feelings into the songs you're saying. Say yeah,
(33:10):
I always felt like when and when I think about
your songs, I always thinking, man, Joey sounds like he's
he's having a good time. Yeah, absolutely that that would
be if I were to I talk about if someone's like,
what should it sounds like it's it's not like he's smiling,
like he's having fun singing about country saying what do
you How do you feel about these artists like the
the Luke Combs. Um, I'm setting you up here, but
(33:30):
but the guys that are really super traditional style again
does that excite you. I love it. Yeah, I mean
country has always been a little bit scyical, you know,
and it's a it goes from one thing to another
kind of vacillates back and forth. So I love Luke.
I got to, along with Vince Gil and a couple
of other folks, got to induct him to the Grand
(33:52):
Old Opry recently, so that was pretty cool. Whenever the
al Dean song came out and the famous lyric is
Joe Joe Joe Diffe, did you know this was coming? Yeah? Yeah,
I actually had heard it started up. Somebody contacted me said, man,
there's a song somewhere out there that has your name
in them. So really so somehow we got a copy
(34:15):
of it. It It was a demo, you know. Thomas Rhett
was one of the writers on that, and so the
first time I heard it was Thomas Rhet's version, you know,
and it was a lot more kind of rap feeling
than than that Jason's version. Jason has a lot more
guitars and stuff. So yeah, I just like my and
my band members were sitting around, I said that here's
that song got my name in it apparently, so I
(34:37):
put it in there and had all that. We're looking
atach other like, what the hell is that? You know?
So Jo, did you did bring you out all out?
Or wait? Where was it that they did this in
an award show? It was a C M S They
had had the giant head? Is that what it was?
I remember seeing it was, That's what it was, the
giant head dropped out of the sea. Did you find
(34:58):
when that song comes out that people were going like
younger kids were like, who the heck is Joe diffy?
Like twelve year old dude. I'm that's a good setup
for for saying this that that because of Jason and
Thomas Ricks. Thomas does that song on his show as well,
you know, and so they're getting it's being heard by
a lot of people, you know, and so we are.
(35:18):
Our crowds have just been tremendous and a lot more
you know, younger people, and they know every day I
got word to every song was pretty amazing. Back in
the day, there was that the TV commercial there was
I think they did pick up man. Pick up Man
was using and maybe a card truck commercial, board truck
commercial and did they read the words a little bit
(35:38):
in it? Well, yeah, they get another singer what was it? No,
that was that was actually me on camera that that's
the same one you're talking about. That That commercial actually
day aired on the super during the super Bowl, So
that's when that commercial you were in the super Bowl commercial. Yeah,
that's pretty cool. That cool. I got more people though
(35:59):
that had no do I was that saw that and
we're like, hey, you're that pickup guy. You know, people
would recognize you for being the pickup guy from the
commercial more because I was on camera too. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
but they would see you from the It's interesting. I
was talking to Brad Paisley a couple of weeks ago
and I said, Hey, what are people like coming up
to you as the insurance guy? And He's like, yeah,
a lot of people don't even know that I do music,
if they don't know country music, and they only know
(36:19):
me from the I think the nationwide commercials. Yeah that's right, Mike. Yeah.
And so people were coming up to you and you're
the super Bowl commercial guy. Is that a nice paydy
to the super Bowl commercial? Yes, it's very nice. I
love pay days. I grew up a song though has
made me probably more money than any of the other
songs I've had, and I didn't write the song. A
couple of friends of mine wrote it, and uh so
(36:41):
they get paid as well, you know, but for for
the royalty publishing and all that stuff. So but I
was also an Apple beachs commercial and was it there
like cars to ghost services, like yeah you pick up Yeah,
they changed the lyrics on it, and uh I'll tell
you the miracle of modern stuff, you know, I had
to do in my house. And and so somehow we
(37:03):
got my book and agents got they said that they
were interested in using Pickup Man as a part of
an Apple Beach commercial, and so they sent me a
CD of it, just the music and the lyrics changed
that they had rewritten it basically, and uh so I
just stuck it into the thing and read the lyrics,
(37:24):
singing it down. Tell me about an hour, and I
sent it back. I thought it was gonna be like
a presentation or a demo for them, and they used
it and they ken't renew it. Man, it is like
this is great, I said, kind I guess some more
of those commercials. Is that where it is like in
the sink stuff? Yeah, yeah, if you can get it,
if you can get a get in one of those
(37:44):
deals this pretty good deal. What's that touring like for you? Now?
It's great? You done a much shows a lot. Yeah,
this is I've been working, working a lot and uh
probably uh you know, just staying really busy, which is
really good. I like working. You know, we were talking
earlier that travel part gets a little old. You know,
you get tired from that. But I mean, you know,
(38:05):
get the thing due play around and messing around all
the times. Like it's like I told my guys that
it's like we're on a big camping trip all the time,
you know, so we have fun. You worked in oilfield
for a while. I did. You drove a truck the
pump cement? Is that true? What does that work? Like?
It sucked? Yeah. It was for a company called Halliburton
(38:25):
and uh oddly enough, who were headquartered They used to
be headquartered in Duncan, Oklahoma. But I had to move
to Alas, Texas to get to work for him because
I had an uncle that worked for them, and uh
so I did. I didn't do that for very long.
I was there for about I don't know, three or
four months or so, and I just it was like
you're gone all the time, and you know that the
(38:47):
pay was not that great, and uh so I just
decided I didn't like that, so I moved back to
Duncan and got a job in that foundry. So so
what about you going to medical school? Always if you
had asked me when I was a kid, that's what
was one to be, was a doctor. And I used
to read medical books and I followed my parents around
reading them facts and figures on that kind of stuff.
(39:07):
You know, what'd your mom and dad do? Uh? They
were both the teachers. My dad did a little bit
of everything. He had his own welding company for a while.
He had a repossession company for a while. Was he
didn't repo cars. He didn't like that in the middle
of the night and go and that's a dangerous it's
very dangerous. You got shot at a couple of times.
He said he didn't like that. So, yeah, he had
(39:30):
he actually built since he was a welder. He built
this rig on the like a hook that that was
hydraulic and it would come out of the out of
the back of the pickup and the tailgate would lower
down and he would just back up to the cars
and pick him up and drive off with him. That's
a crazy line of word and thinking. As we get
as kids, we see adults do things more like that's
just kind of normal, right, But as you get to
(39:52):
be an adult and you see other adults repoint and
people shooting out over that's that's. Yeah. He didn't last
long with that. He didn't like that at all. And plus,
you know, you're having to and he just just the
human element of it. A lot of people who couldn't
you know, they were behind on their payments through whatever.
Some of them were just bumms, and some of them
just lost their jobs or something, you know, or we're ill.
(40:14):
And he'd after the bank, would you know, telling to
go get this car. You know. So I had to
work with the bank a lot. And so he didn't
like that either because then people had to come. He
had to te it to a yard, and then people
came to the yard and he had to be out
there while they gathered their belonging to the other repossessed car.
You know. Yeah, so he didn't like that. You were
inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah, it's a real
(40:35):
special thing. That was one of one of my highlights
of my career. I could consider it. You know, how
did you get told you were going to be in
the operation kind of the same way I got told
by a record deal. I went out to the opera
and and uh, I met with the guy who I
can't remember his name right now. He was the head
of it back then, and I just I thought, I
didn't know why we were even out there, and was
out there with my managers, and he goes, how would
(40:56):
you like to be remember the grand Ole Obrary. I
was like, yeah, so that really really that's how I
got my record deal and the Grand Ol Operathing. So
it's pretty cool, pretty low key, and it was very
low Yeah. Is it true that your parents and your
parents that you could sing harmonies when you were three
years old? Now you probably can't remember remember three, You
do remember three? I remember singing and are we had
(41:18):
to pick up and uh I had two sisters, have
two sisters, and so we would all be five or
five of us being the truck and to keep us
occupied and and you know, from screaming at each other,
they would sing solid, simple songs, you know, kids songs,
and we sing along with them. And at three you
can harmonize. I just hear, I just heard it. It
(41:38):
just it was in my head, I could hear it.
Were you always a really good singer as a seven
year old? Isn't a church or wherever you were singing?
You always think? I guess, you know, it's hard to value,
hard to judge it, you know, I guess were you
rewarded for your singing at a very young age? Were
people telling you why? Joe? Yeah, I mean I remember
my aunt got me up in front of with her
band and I got up and saying you're my son
(42:00):
and giant or something like that, you know, and so
it's pretty cool. What was that like in the nineties,
touring with no internet and no cell phone and no
Google Maps. Do you ever just end up with the
bus in a wrong talent? Absolutely? Oh you would, Yeah,
you know, of course you have to get the map
at and then you had to know, you, hey, even
our satellite we had did have a satellite dish, but
(42:21):
your bus had to be stopped and you had to
like physically enter in, get the atlas out and figure
out your latitude and your longitude and enter those coordinates
in and then it would raise up. Yeah. Would you
ever get somewhere because there weren't cell phones realized there
was no show happening anymore, or like you get there
and like no, we tried to get ahold of you,
(42:42):
but they carryer pigeon, you know. No, unfortunately, never had
that happen. But what kind of countryms of artists you
drawn to? Now? I guess I have a tendency to
lean more towards the country. You're the country side of
the things, you know, which you know, so you know,
I enjoy Luke and you know, Brad Paisley and a
couple of other guys that that I think are good,
(43:04):
good singers. You know, growing up, who was your favorite?
Oh man, well, it'd probably have to be George Jones,
and that's who I emulated, so you know, learned a
lot by emulating him. But I mean I I had
a whole rangement. Of course, I had the regulars that
everybody mentions, Haggard, Jones, Johnny Cash, you know, Conway, there
(43:26):
was you know, a whole plethora of those people. But
but I you know, I actually like I loved Loretta
Lyon and Dolly Parton as well, you know, and Connie Smith,
and so I heard a lot of those being from Oklahoma.
And I'll perhaps it with my story. I'm from Arkansas.
So it was Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty and you can,
I mean listen, which tall Liman was so big to
(43:47):
anybody from Arkansas was a big deal to us because
there weren't a lot of us who made it on
any sort of national stage being from Oklahoma. Who was
it that you looked at and was like, wow, like
this is one of our guys doing or one of
our girls doing it? Well, I mean obviously, you know,
but they aren't that much older than I am, but
I mean, Reba advanced, they were already involved in doing
(44:09):
stuff before I ever removed to Nashville. So that was
pretty cool to see that, and you know, you kinda
kind of take that and you know, feel good about it. Man,
that's crazy. Like I did the Michael was I think
in DC. I did with Reba Kennedy Honors. I did
the Kennedy Honors for Reba. I got to go. I did,
went up and did ten minutes to stand up, and
(44:31):
there was like six of us the presented Reeve. It
was me and Brooks and Dunn and Kristin Chenowyth and
Kelly Clarkson. But anyway, so I go up and I'm
doing comedy but I'm also talking through as I'm doing comedy.
Reba's Oklahoma Alive where she was it was, you know,
doing uh that the roadwork in the rodeos, like singing
the rodeos and you know, just thinvered singing the national
(44:52):
anthem at the rodeo, tex Ritter. I think the one
who for you saw you sing, I know you got
a record of it. Who saw you randomly if in
one and they were like, man, I think there could
be like you're actually pretty good there, Joe, did you
ever have one of those? A little drunk guy at
the bar before you go? He threw literally through five
dollars after he said, telling you out a mood to Nashville,
(45:12):
you're really good. So have you ever see anybody cover
your songs nowadays? And you go, man, that's a really
good version of that song. I've heard it a couple
of me. That sounds really good. You know, it's fun.
It's fun to me to hear them. You know, if
you could pick one of your songs to be covered
again now and be made a hit again, which which
song would you like to see a reborn? That's a
good question. Uh, well, I know my favorite song is
(45:35):
the ships that don't come in. Oh come on, I
love the only place. Let me, let me listen. That's
all never died in bed, insane lot loomsoon allless down
a man. So everybody listening right now, there's a lot
(45:55):
of artists listen to this podcast. Ships that don't come in.
That's the cover to do it is that's that's such
a great song. I've I've told the writers that David
gives the Paul Nelson I said that song didn't need me,
but it needed somebody to see it because it's just
such a great song. I think it could have been
a hit with anybody, you know. So I was glad
I got it. Anybody cool ever come up to you
(46:17):
that You're like, man, they're a fan of you. But
You're like, that's really cool. They're a fan of me.
A lot of yeah, a lot uh some people I revere,
you know. I mean, I walked I was gonna introduce
myself to Merle Haggard one time at the A c M.
And I walked up to because, Joe, how you doing, Man,
I'm a big fan of here, And I'm like, Merl
Hackard knows my name. It's just blows my mind. You know,
(46:39):
Ronnie Millsnap told me it was you know, so yeah,
those that's a really special thing when somebody who you
who you idolize, tells you that, you know, can you
go to dinner in Nashville with are in Tennessee without
being bothered? Yeah, And it's people are pretty cool. They're
really they are. And and I just always I feel
(47:00):
like it's really not a bother. I mean, the only
time I never even kind of gets under my skin
a little bit is if I'm in the middle of eating.
You know, I often say if people are eating or
with their kids, those are really the only two times,
because otherwise everyone neces what they signed up for, right figure,
your public figure. But eating like literal food on the table,
fork in my hand, eating something and something. Yeah, but
(47:22):
I mean, and of course people don't mean any harm
by it, you know, a fact fact. George Jones and
I were at dinner one night, one evening, and and
this lady came up, and we were in the middle
of eating, and she comes up with a little boy,
and and she goes, I don't mean to bother you guys,
And George goes, but what are you doing it for?
He was teasing, of course, you know. So what is
(47:43):
it like to be a fan of George Jones and
then here you are having dinner? Now I couldn't I
don't even know how. I couldn't even talk to him.
I didn't know what to even ask him. I'm assuming
he has to invite you. Yeah, and did you got
where did that relationship? How did it start? Just from
doing a couple of shows to other and uh? And
I sang on on his hit song, I don't need
(48:05):
your rocking chair, I don't need yeall you met a game. Yeah,
so that was one of the most special things. Not
only because of that, but I got to take my dad.
I didn't tell him where we were going. He was
George Jones, his idol, you know, so I just took him.
I took him. He said, where are we going? I said,
just come on, you know. So I took him in
(48:26):
there and and uh, there was all he saw Alan Jackson,
Clint bike and all these people. He was like, what
is this? What's going on here? Then the limo pulls up.
George gets that. He was just I've never seen he
was speechless. He just was stunned by you know. So
that's really cool, right, Like, of all the moments, I
getting to do things for the people that you care about,
at least for me, has been that kind of the
coolest thing to do. Absolutely, that's pretty cool that you're
(48:48):
a big fan of George Jones and the next then
you're at dinner with Really it took me a couple
of times, uh before I was able to converse with
him because I was just really so Nerve was some
and he was just such an icon in my eyes.
But he I found it later on. He was He
was just so he's just so country, you know, He's
like and he's like talking to your grandpa. He couldn't
(49:09):
hear it real good, you know, So you say something
and he goes, you know. So then I got even
to sing on a on a song with me and
it was really cool too. Did you ever meet Tammy? Oh? Yeah,
Tammy was once. She loved my singing. Yes, you asked
about that earlier. She I forgot about Tamm but she
was a huge fan of mine. In fact, I sang on.
She did an album of duets with a lot of
(49:31):
rock artists, and I think me and wend known Over
the only two country people she has to be on there.
So that was really neat to get to sit there.
I mean, you're talking about bizarre. All of a sudden,
I'm sitting there right next to Tammy Win that and
we sang it live, we sang it down live. It
was you know, there was no overdubbing or punching in.
(49:51):
It was that. That's what it was. So were you
around when they were doing the tours of stars homes
when they would actually dry by people's houses, which nowadays
seems really weird. It's a it's a pain in the rear.
You'll be up more on your lawns all the time. Yeah,
So I'm only what happens. You're all sweating, and you
know they you know, here there comes that bus, little
(50:12):
people and they are all taking pictures of you and
you're sweat and dripping off of you got grass all
over you. You know, it's like hill. You know, how
would they find your house? I don't know how that.
I don't know. I don't know how they did it,
because if they did that nowadays, that would be the weirdest. Well,
I asked him, I asked made request. I said, Look,
(50:33):
not only it's it's bothering me, but it's bothering my
neighbors as well, to have these busses coming and stopping
in that and everybody getting out and all this. We
get out of the bus a couple of times I did, yeah,
so and I guess it's not illegal. No. I actually
called and asked, is there any way we can make
this stop? And they're like no, so okay. So it
(50:54):
was kind of weird. So after that, literally I'll be
up more on the lawn or doing something outside and
and i'd be watching because I knew about what time
of day they came by it. So I just watched
for when I go hide, you know, run behind the shed.
Everybody check it out. Joe Joe, Joe Diffy. Each album
is individually autographed and numbered, and it's at Joe Diffy
(51:15):
dot com slash vinyl. But I'm sure if you just
go to Joe Diffy dot com there's also a link
up there that says for the vinyl right if you
can't spell vinyl, cause I'll be honest, not a great
word to spell. B I N Y L not No,
I'm not. I would have been anyone on that um
as long as there's a bar. Yeah, tell me about
that A couple of great friends of mine wrote that
(51:37):
guy Gaylan Griffin and uh and Brian Keith Burns who
was in Trick Pony and he played bass for me
for like seven years early in my career, and so
they wrote this song. It just reminded me of brought
me up a little bit. So that's that's that's most
of the reason I did it. With a lot of
the music from when I was a kid in the
nineties where you have a bunch of your number one
songs kind of re emerging as a big deal. Did
(51:59):
that help your touring nineties country? Like? Was it? Like? Absolutely?
It was like a whole new rebirth of touring for you. Absolutely, yeah,
helped it and tremendously. And like I say, uh, with
the advent of that song in the nine I've got
so many new art, new fans and you know, younger fans.
It's just really it's really been pretty amazing to me. Well,
I'm super happy that that you came by. Good luck,
(52:21):
Hope yourself. So many of these these vinyl records that
you're so annoyed having to sign, that's problem to have
is the best I would get so irritated signed these
books and be like, I'm so happy to be irritated.
It was the greatest irritation you gotta Sometimes, you know,
you get a little a little by ester who or
just worn out with things over time when you you
(52:43):
kind of it's good to get a little, uh, you know,
check once in a while, just to kind of a
little gut check and say, okay, wait a minute, I'm
doing the best. I got the best job in the world.
You know. I could be at roof and house and
I used to do that. You know, I could be
back on doing clean I used to do clean up
from moving house, which is even the ruinouse. All right,
so I have I'm I'm just so lucky and so blessed,
(53:04):
like a great family, you know, and so great friends.
So you know, it's it's a it's a pleasure for me. Well,
you're always welcome. I got a Christmas card from you,
all right, Yes? Did you know that I did? Yes.
I felt like I was giving I felt like I
was giving him news. Mike. He was like, he was like, oh,
you gotta Christmas. I got a Christmas car from a
couple of days. It's just a gazillion, but we're glad
(53:25):
that you're on the list, so it was news to you. Well,
she told me about it, yes, okay, good before yesterday. Regardless,
I thought it was pretty cool. I'm not gonna lie
to you. Thought it was pretty cool. Joe Diffie dot
com slash Vinyl Joe, good luck and good to see
you again. Thank you. Episode to seventeen here on the
Bobby Cat
Host
Bobby Bones
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