Country star Joe Diffie dead at 61 due to coronavirus complications

Just two days after it was revealed that Joe Diffie had tested positive for COVID-19, his publicist, Scott Adkins, has confirmed that the country legend has died due to coronavirus complications. No further details of Diffie’s death have been given at this time. The Grammy-winner and 25-year member of the Grand Ole Opry was 61 years old.

Diffie was the first country star to go public with a coronavirus diagnosis, announcing in a statement Friday: “I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment. My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic.”

Joseph Logan Diffie was born Dec. 28, 1958, in Tulsa, Okla., and he began performing at age 14 in his aunt’s band. After with toying with the idea of becoming a doctor, he dropped out of medical school in the late ’70s and eventually launched his music career with the gospel group Higher Purpose and bluegrass band Special Edition. After moving to Nashville in 1986, he began working at the Gibson Guitar Corporation while also recording demos of his own songs in his home studio; some of those compositions would later be recorded by country stars like Billy Dean and Alabama. In 1990, Diffie was signed as a solo artist to Epic Records Nashville by Bob Montgomery, a songwriter and record producer known for working with Buddy Holly.

Related Video: 5 Things About Country Star Joe Diffie

Over the course of his career, Diffie scored 35 Billboard Hot Country chart hits, including his debut single "Home,” "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets),” “Third Rock From the Sun,” “Pickup Man,” and “Bigger Than the Beatles,” all of which went to No. 1. “Home” also topped the country charts published by Radio & Records and the Gavin Report, making Diffie the first recording artist to achieve that feat.

In addition to these singles, Diffie made Billboard’s country charts with songs he co-wrote for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, and others. He won a Grammy in 1998 for Best Country Collaboration for “Same Old Train” (an all-star recording with Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Patty Loveless, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, and Dwight Yoakam); earned a Grammy nomination for his Mary Chapin Carpenter duet "Not Too Much to Ask”; and won an Academy of Country Music Award for 1993’s Vocal Event of the Year for "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" with George Jones, to whom he had often been vocally compared.

While Diffie had not cracked the country top 10 since 2001, he remained a favorite among younger country artists. Jason Aldean’s single “1994” was in part a tribute to Diffie, with lines like “1994, Joe Diffie comin’ out my radio,” and “Hey Joe, come on and teach us how to Diffie.” Chris Young’s “Raised on Country” also featured an homage to Diffie. As news of Diffie’s tragic passing broke Sunday, various country stars took to social media to mourn.

Diffie had reportedly been planning to release his first studio album in seven years, I Got This, though there is no update regarding that project.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Crossover country superstar Kenny Rogers dies at age 81

• McCoy Tyner, jazz piano legend, dies at 81

• Genesis Breyer P-Orridge dead at 70

Follow Lyndsey on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon and Spotify.