Country Artists Respond To Joe Diffie’s Death

(Left) The Charlie Daniels Band / Instagram /(Right) Steve Wariner / Instagram

On March 20, country music lost Kenny Rogers. Then, just nine days later, the country community was forced to mourn the loss of another one of its icons…Joe Diffie.

The “John Deere Green” singer passed away on March 29 due to complications from COVID-19 (coronavirus). He was 61 years old.

Diffie’s death was announced via a short statement on his social media profiles.

View this post on Instagram

It’s with a sad heart that i have to post this. Tara

A post shared by Joe Diffie (@officialjoediffie) on

Country artists quickly took to social media to mourn Diffie’s passing. Many shared photos that captured the memories they shared. Others wrote about how much his music meant to them growing up. All of them expressed an overwhelming sense of sadness.

Here, we’ve gathered up some of the many artist responses to Diffie’s death. We have also included statements from organizations and venues attached to the country music community, such as the Grand Ole Opry and the ACM.

Look through the list of reactions below.

Rodney Atkins

Tim McGraw

Travis Tritt

Toby Keith

Trisha Yearwood

I met Joe Diffie when I moved to Nashville in the mid-80’s. I started getting called to do a lot of session work, demos…

Posted by Trisha Yearwood on Sunday, March 29, 2020

Brad Paisley

Scotty McCreery

Jon Pardi

Luke Combs

Big & Rich

Kelsea Ballerini

Charlie Daniels

Steve Wariner

Chely Wright

Chris Young

Carrie Underwood

Darryl Worley

Jason Aldean

Granger Smith

Michael Ray

Trace Adkins

Sara Evans

The Bobby Bones Show

Grand Ole Opry

ACM

 

Based on all of these artists’ reactions, it’s clear that Diffie was dearly loved and appreciated. He will be missed.

As you can see, many artists mentioned Diffie’s 1992 single, “Ships That Don’t Come In.” It’s a song that struck a chord with all who listened to it.

In Diffie’s honor, we’re sharing the official music video for “Ships That Don’t Come In” below. May he rest in peace.