Country Pop Bites: Joe Diffie – September 24

Did you know that on this day in Country Music History in 1994 Joe Diffie's "Third Rock From The Sun" snagged the #1 position on the Billboard country singles chart?

It's true! Check out the video!

Here are 5 interesting facts about Joe Diffie.

• His first musical performance came at age four, when he performed in his aunt’s country music band. His father, also named Joe, played guitar and banjo, and his mother sang.
• In his last two years in high school, he played football, baseball and golf in addition to running track; in his senior year he was recognized as Best All-Around Male Athlete.
• After graduating, he attended Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Although he initially earned credits toward medical school, he decided against a medical profession after marrying for the first time in 1977, and ultimately dropped out before graduation.
• He first worked in oil fields, then drove a truck that pumped cement out of oil wells in Alice, Texas, before he moved back to Duncan to work in a foundry. During this period, he worked as a musician on the side, first in a gospel group called Higher Purpose, and then in a bluegrass band called Special Edition.
• From 1992 to the early 2000s, he held a charity concert and golf tournament benefiting First Steps, a nonprofit organization for the education of mentally and physically impaired children. His contributions to this organization won him a Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters in 1997.