by Julian Spivey
Joe Diffie, the affable blue collar ‘90s country music hitmaker that made us all feel like he was a buddy we could pull up a barstool next to and have a beer with, died at 61 on Sunday, March 29 after succumbing to Covid-19, a death that makes this pandemic hit home a little closer for those of us who haven’t known any loved ones who’ve contracted it.

Diffie was terrific at two kinds of country music – the kind of honky tonk that made you want to dance and the kind of honky tonk that made you want to cry in your beer.

Here are Diffie’s 10 best singles:

10. "Pickup Man"
In today’s country music songs about trucks have become nauseating, but it hadn’t yet gotten to that point when Diffie released “Pickup Man” in 1994. The fun romp, written by Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips, about how women love a man in a pickup truck topped the Billboard country chart, one of Diffie’s five No. 1 hits and the longest charting one at four weeks. 

9. Is It Cold In Here

It wasn’t that long ago that I was flipping around the radio dial and stopped on a song that immediately hit my ear. I wasn’t very familiar with it, but immediately knew it was Diffie. The song was the heartbreaking ballad “Is It Cold In Here” about a dying love. Despite owning “The Essential Joe Diffie” compilation it wasn’t one of his hits I was familiar with, but I immediately fell in love and wished for this era of country music to return. The song, which peaked on the country chart at no. 5 in 1992, was co-written by Diffie, Danny Morrison and Kerry Kurt Phillips. 

8. New Way (To Light Up An Old Flame)

“New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)” was the fourth and final single off Diffie’s debut albums A Thousand Winding Roads and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard country chart. The song co-written by Diffie and Lonnie Wilson is a perfectly twanged honky-tonker about searching for a new way to bring the fire back in a relationship. It’s one of Diffie’s best vocals. 

7. Ships That Don’t Come In

Joe Diffie’s no. 5 hit “Ships That Don’t Come In” from 1992 is potentially his most emotional single, at least the most emotional on this list. The ballad, co-written by Paul Nelson and Dave Gibson, tells the story of two men sitting at a bar having a conversation about life’s difficulties and how someone always has it worse off than you do. It’s a touching song that helps put life into perspective, especially in hard times like right now. 

6. John Deere Green

It’s quite possible “John Deere Green” would be higher on this list had it not been for radio oversaturation. I don’t have exact numbers, but I’d be shocked if this wasn’t Diffie’s most played song of all-time. The story song, written by Dennis Linde, tells the story of small town love between Billy Bob and Charlene, a love so special he climbs the town’s water tower to write he loves her in John Deere Green. The No. 5 hit (really seems like it would’ve/should’ve charted higher) from late 1993 led to one of the most memorable online tributes to Diffie this weekend when the John Deere company tweeted: “Forever John Deere Green” with a broken heart emoji. 

5. Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)
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“Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)” was a no. 3 hit for Diffie in 1993 and unfortunately became an immediate “too soon” joke upon his death Sunday. The single, written by Rick Blaylock, Howard Perdew and Kerry Kurt Phillips, begins as a slow piano ballad about not being afraid of death, but rather the thought of being dead and not being able to go to the local honky tonk on a Saturday night. When the narrator comes up with the way to handle his potential death the song becomes a fun honky tonker about all the good times his buddies could have with his corpse at their local haunt. 

4. If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)

Diffie’s third career single, and second career No. 1 hit, “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)” is one of the most unique sounding singles of his career with its bouncy, almost Western Swing themed music, which wasn’t common in the early ‘90s. It’s a breezy and humorous take on the old “devil-made-me-do-it” phrase about how the devil would have a ball in the narrator’s pockets because he always seems to find himself broke.  The song was co-written by Ken Spooner and Kim Williams. 

3. So Help Me Girl

“So Help Me Girl” is both the best love song and best vocal of Diffie’s career. I could see how some might find the ballad of finding a girl that he never dreamed of being able to fall in love with as sappy, but Diffie’s sells it completely with those vocals. The song was written by frequent Diffie songwriters Howard Perdew and Andy Spooner and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard country chart. 

2. Third Rock from the Sun

Diffie’s 1994 No. 1 hit “Third Rock from the Sun” is probably his most fun release of his career. It tells the story of a cheating Chief of Police in a small town bar and the chain of chaos that ensues as a result of his extramarital affair. It’s a rip-roaring number that burns off a fast-paced, humorous story while barely giving those singing along at the top of their lungs the chance to breathe. The song was Diffie’s first No. 1 in three years. 

1. Home

It’s funny how often I think a country star’s first single is their greatest: Garth Brooks’ “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” and Mark Chesnutt’s “Too Cold at Home” are two notable ones from Diffie’s era. I also find Diffie’s debut single “Home” off the album A Thousand Winding Roads to be the greatest single he ever released. Diffie took a long road to stardom working blue collar gigs and playing in honky tonk bands before his first hit in his 30s came along in 1990 with “Home.” I think it’s this hard earned, much traveled road that gives the heart in his vocals to the Fred Lehner and Andy Spooner written song about there always being a home at the end of the day one can return to. “Home” went to No. 1 and Diffie never looked back. 

by Julian Spivey
Garth Brooks is considered by many to be the most entertaining performer in the history of country music, but the PBS concert special that aired on Sunday, March 29 in which Brooks was honored with the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song was anything but entertaining.

The prestigious event took place at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. on March 4 shortly before the entire world seemingly came to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The evening began with a rip-roaring collaboration between Brooks and country music hitmaker Keith Urban doing the 1993 no. 1 “Ain’t Going Down (‘Til the Sun Comes Up)”. It seemed like the perfect wat t kickoff the night.

As is the case in most of these honors a multitude of performers came on stage to perform some of Brooks’ greatest hits in front of him.

Chris Stapleton would follow with great performances of “Rodeo,” Brooks’ top-five hit from 1991, and then “Shameless,” the Billy Joel-penned song that Brooks would score a no. 1 with also in 1991.

Keb Mo would take the stage for a performance of Brooks’ 1992 no. 1 hit “The River” and then Urban would return to the stage for “We Shall Be Free,” which thanks to some unnecessary controversy via country radio was the only single Brooks would release from the start of his career in 1989 until 1995 that didn’t reach the top-10.

Lee Brice would perform Brooks’ most recent no. 1 “More Than a Memory,” which he co-wrote with Billy Montana and Kyle Jacobs, and was basically the highlight of Brooks’ first minor comeback in 2007. It was at this point that I realized many of Brooks’ biggest and best songs weren’t being played.

That feeling was momentarily laid to rest when Country Music Hall of Famer Ricky Skaggs, he only veteran of the genre appearing during the night, brought out his mandolin for a terrific performance of “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” which Brooks took to no. 2 in 1994.

Brooks’ wife and ‘90s country superstar on her own right Trisha Yearwood then took the stage and things got really sappy with her singing personal love songs to Brooks.

Following these performances Brooks accepted his honor with a short speech and began to perform for the second-half of the two-hour special. This is where things completely left the format you typically see at these events.

This must have been Brooks’ choice, because I guarantee artists would have been lining up to perform his greatest hits in his honor.

For what seemed to last forever while watching Brooks would take queues from his Las Vegas residency in which he performed songs from his many influences, except he only played snippets of classics like Jim Croce’s “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels),” Don McLean’s “Vincent,” Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home,” Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” Cat Stevens’ “Wild World,” Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and more.

I understand why Brooks wanted to pay tribute to his songwriting influences in an event celebrating his songwriting, but it just made for a boring, uninteresting broadcast. If he had chosen one or two songs to perform in their entirety.
Once Brooks finished this medley of hits from his legendary influences the show ended on a good note with him performing a run of his hits like the 1993 no. 1 “That Summer” and the 1991 modern classic “The Thunder Rolls.”

Brooks told the audience filled with political luminaries that one of the things he dreamed of as a young man was being able to write a song that could be sung by everybody in an audience and he launched into 1990’s “Friends in Low Places,” which has become such a classic that Sirius XM recently named it the greatest song in country music history. I just take one little issue with Brooks’ statement … he didn’t write or co-write “Friends in Low Places,” it was written by Dewayne Blackwell and Earl Bud Lee.

He would finish the special with a performance of “The Dance,” one of the songs he’s definitely most synonymous with but is also a song he didn’t write or co-write – it was written by Tony Arata.

by Julian Spivey
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Elton John has always been the go to guy when it comes to charities and raising money for them, so it was no surprise when he quickly formed a celebrity benefit performance to raise money for Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation to help children in need during the Covid-19 pandemic in our country.

Elton John partnered with Fox and iHeartRadio for the iHeartRadio Living Room Concert for America on Sunday, March 29 bringing many stars from multiple genres performing in taped appearances from their living rooms to raise money for those worthy causes.

At the beginning of the telecast Elton John said: “Here we are together at home, you’ve got your family and loved ones and I’m keeping mine close too. We’re taking care of each other, looking out for each other, doing what we can during this crisis. There’s a lot of grief out there, uncertainty and fear, but let me tell you what’s going to keep us together: all the goodness that’s still happening in the world, those doctors, nurses and scientists on the frontline, they’re living proof that most superheroes don’t wear capes.”

15-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys got the performances started with “Underdogs,” an ode to the selfless health workers helping the many sick and dying in this country and don’t ever quite get the ovation and recognition they deserve.
Elton John said he wished he could perform but was quarantined in the only house of his without a piano. He would borrow one of his son’s keyboards to perform a snippet of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down” at the end of the broadcast.

One of the most interesting performances of the night was boy group Backstreet Boys performing their 1999 smash hit “I Want It That Way” from five different locations across the country including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando in a spliced together video that looked effortless.

My two favorite performances of the evening were the rockers “My Hero” by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Armstrong’s performance included a cute and quick cameo from one of his dogs.

Tim McGraw’s pups also made cute and quick cameos during his performance of his 1999 no. 1 country hit “Something Like That,” which he sung while setting on his pool’s diving board while his band was spliced in from their homes. It was the benefit’s lone country music performance.

One of the most stellar performances of the evening was Grammy sensation Billie Eilish and her guitar player/producer brother Finneas who performed their hit “Bad Guy.” It was fantastic to see a stripped down, acoustic version of “Bad Guy,” as it’s such a production in it single, hit form and this version really allows the listener to hear the terrific vocals by Eilish.

Other performances on the show included Sam Smith doing “How Do You Sleep?” acapella. I believe it was the only truly acapella performance of the evening. In what was possibly the weakest performance of the show Camila Cabello was joined by her pop star boyfriend Shawn Mendes on guitar for “My Oh My.” At least the two have gotten to quarantine together. R&B star H.E.R. sounded terrific as always on a performance of a song that I unfortunately do not know the title too, but she never disappoints. Demi Lovato also performed a short version of 2011 top-10 hit “Skyscraper.”

Even with all of these stunning and hitmaking artists performing during the benefit one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the entire telecast was the showing of a performance by two doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. who became viral superstars earlier in the week with their rendition of John Lennon’s classic “Imagine.” Dr. Elvis Francois, an orthopedic surgeon, shows off flawless vocals on the song with accompaniment from Dr. William Robinson on piano.

The wonderful hour of music and charity wrapped up with Mariah Carey performing her 1995 hit “Always Be My Baby,” showing off her fabulous range.

Hopefully Sunday’s telecast did incredibly numbers for Feeding America and First Responders Children’s Foundation. If you would like to donate to these causes you can do so at feedingamerica.org and 1strcf.org.

If you missed the telecast and would like to check it out it’ll be on iHeartRadio’s YouTube channel until April 1.

by Tyler Glover
"Who doesn't know what I am talking about?" is a lyric from the Dixie Chicks song, "Wide Open Spaces” and it also described the Dixie Chicks themselves in 2003. Everyone knew who the Dixie Chicks were. This female country group, comprised of Martie Erwin Maguire, Emily Erwin Robison and lead singer Natalie Maines, had seen success after success. This includes commercially and critically successful albums, number one hits, multiple Grammy wins, and tons of fans screaming their names. Their songs were infectious, joyful, feisty, vulnerable, sad, and spoke to the world we lived in. They also stayed very true to the country music genre. The Dixie Chicks were on top of the world until it would all come to an abrupt halt when during a London concert on March 10, 2003, Maines told the audience: "We don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States (George W. Bush) is from Texas." This was just days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Americans were upset at her comments. CDs were burned, radio stations stopped playing their music, and they were blacklisted by networks. Their career appeared to be over. They would go on to make one more album 2006’s Taking The Long Way, which would go on to win all five Grammys it was nominated for, including Album of the Year. It would also win Song and Record of the Year for "Not Ready To Make Nice." However, after this album, the Dixie Chicks would take a very long break from making music. It has been 14 years since the Dixie Chicks have made new music by themselves and this particular fan could not be more excited for their new album, Gaslighter, set to be released on May 1. The Dixie Chicks have never disappointed and I feel like they are going to be back on top of their game. To celebrate this upcoming new album, I am going to be counting down the top 10 Dixie Chicks songs of all time.

10. "Tonight The Heartache's On Me"
This Dixie Chicks song depicts the situation of running into an ex at a bar when they are with someone else. The song cleverly uses typical bar talk about people buying drinks for other people by saying "this one is on me" and uses it to reference the situation going on. The Dixie Chicks sing "Tonight the heartache's on me, on me/Let's drink a toast to the fool who couldn't see/Bartender, pour the wine/Cause the hurtin's all mine/Tonight, the heartache's on me." One thing I admire about the Dixie Chicks is they have always remained true to who they wanted to be as an artist. There is nothing wrong with wanting to switch genres (Taylor Swift transitioned over perfectly.) However, nowadays, country groups tend to either veer over into pop by collaborating with them (Dan+Shay and Justin Bieber) or just by making music under the country genre label that is not actually country music. This song is just such a great country music song done by a true country female group who always feel like no matter what they do, they are who they say they are doing what they say they are doing.

​9. "I Can Love You Better"
This song reminds me of the John Michael Montgomery song, "I Can Love You Like That" thematically. While Montgomery is singing very romantically and full of humility, the Dixie Chicks are very sure of themselves. They CAN love him better and they are going to prove it. They ARE going to break the spell that the girl he is with now has on him. Sung with strong conviction and self-assuredness, the Dixie Chicks have us believing that if they say it, they CAN and WILL do it!

​8. "Once You've Loved Somebody"
This song is one of the more vulnerable songs by the Dixie Chicks. They sing of how it is difficult to move on once you have loved someone so much. You can try to go out with someone new, but the effects of the previous relationship linger. They sing "Once you've loved somebody/It ain't that easy to do." This song shows that even though the Dixie Chicks can do energetic and infectious country songs like no other, they still can deliver strong emotional material as well.

​7. "Cold Day In July"
This emotional song, from their album Fly, definitely flies right into your heart to shatter it. We all have been in those relationships where the other person promises never to leave but sometimes, they break that promise. This particular partner told her that the day he would leave her would be a cold day in July. My favorite lyric from the song is the very beginning where the Dixie Chicks sing: "The moon is full, but my arms are empty/All night long how I've pleaded and cried." It is a simple story to tell but a devastating one that many listeners can identify with. It is definitely a tearjerker but one of my favorite works of art from the Dixie Chicks.

​6. "Gaslighter"
This song is their latest single and it definitely suggests they are back to rule country music. This song fits right into pop culture right now with the #Me Too movement. Men are being held accountable for their abuse of women and this song has the Dixie Chicks calling out their man for his emotional abuse. For those who may not know what gaslighting is, it is basically someone manipulating someone to the point they question reality and what really happened. Gaslighters are fitting everything into the narrative they want put out there even if it is not the truth. My favorite lyric in the song is when they sing "You're sorry but where's my apology?" This is a really clever take on them being a sorry person and actually being sorry for what they did. This song definitely suggests they are back and if this is just the lead single, I cannot wait to hear the rest of their new album.

​5. "Goodbye Earl"
It has always surprised me about what this song manages to accomplish. It is a catchy and infectious song that fans want to sing along to every time it comes on, but it is tackling a very serious issue (spousal abuse). The song tells the story of Mary Anne and Wanda, who are two best friends in high school. They graduate and Mary Anne leaves town to pursue her dreams while Wanda ends up with Earl, who becomes abusive to her. After Earl puts Wanda into intensive care, the girls plan to kill him. This song manages to make some statements about abuse that I completely agree with and never heard addressed before. The Dixie Chicks sing that "Earl walked right through that restraining order and put her intensive care." This addresses that flaw in our system where abusive people are not stopped because of the law. They do not play by those rules and it leads to people getting hurt or worse. This song manages to tell a very detailed story and keep you engrossed into what is going to happen next. All we know shortly into the song is we are most definitely going to be saying goodbye to Earl.

​4. "Wide Open Spaces"
This Dixie Chicks song depicts that moment when we all have to go out on our own, make our own mistakes, and just live life free from what may be holding us back. The song's chorus: "She needs wide open spaces/Room to make a big mistake/She needs new faces/She knows the high stakes." I think this song is so high on my list because I did not get the support of one of my parents in my dreams and it held me back from going for them. This song shows a woman who is ready to embrace the risks that she is taking. I personally see this character and wish I would have taken the risks for my dreams that she does.

​3. "Travelin' Soldier"
This song is country music at its finest. This song was originally recorded by its songwriter (and Emily’s former brother-in-law) Bruce Robison, but the Dixie Chicks released it as a single from their album, Home. It tells a beautiful story about a young soldier going off to war and the letters he writes to a girl he meets shortly before leaving. The two form a bond through these letters. The best lyrics in the song are: "Our love will never end/Waiting for the soldier to come back again/Never more to be alone when the letter says the soldier's coming home." It definitely belongs in the top three in large part due to the powerful vocal performance of lead singer Natalie Maines.

​2. "You Were Mine"
This song is the most emotional and devastating song to me that the Dixie Chicks have ever released. The song depicts the end of a relationship when the man has decided to leave because he has found someone else. This is a subject that gets tackled a lot in music but this one stands out to me because it adds a new dynamic that other songs don't always address. The song is devastating already and then the Dixie Chicks sing: "He's two and she's four and you know they adore you/So how can I tell them you changed your mind?" I love that this song addresses that more people are affected than just the two people in the relationship. Years later, my eyes still fill with tears when hearing that lyric. This is definitely one of their best to date.

1. "Not Ready To Make Nice"
This song is one of the best examples in music that sometimes when bad things happen to artists, it can lead to their best works of art. This song addresses the way the Dixie Chicks were treated after speaking out against the war in Iraq. There are so many powerful lyrics in this song but some of my favorite are: "Forgive/Sounds good/Forget/I'm not sure I could" and when they sing "It's too late to make it right/Probably wouldn't if I could." There is a lot of respect in this song from me for the Dixie Chicks because even though it put a huge strain on their career, they were not sorry for what they said because after all, in America, we do have free speech. They also sing: "How in the world can the words that I said/Send somebody so over the edge that they write me a letter saying that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over?" This lyric really shows just how much this controversy affected the Dixie Chicks on a personal level. This song would also go on to win the Grammy for Song and Record of the Year. After all the Dixie Chicks had went through, this was definitely a nice surprise.

What's your favorite Dixie Chicks song? Let us know in the comments!