Joe Diffie’s biggest problem on tour these days may be creating the set list. He could pick “Is It Cold in Here” and leave off “So Help Me Girl.” Or he might play “Home” but leave “Bigger than the Beatles” for the next time.
“Luckily I’ve had a fruitful career — I have a lot of songs to choose from,” he said. “That’s a good problem to have.”
Diffie and his band take the stage at Coyote Valley Casino on Saturday night. And, yes, he can pull from a collection of ballads, so-called novelty songs, bluegrass favorites and other songs that all shook the charts.
Of course, it wasn’t always that way. After the release of his first album in 1990, Diffie hit the road opening for George Strait. He recalls watching the country star reel off hit after hit while he struggled to fill his slot.
But Diffie did have a song rocketing up the Billboard list.
His first single, “Home” reached the top of the industry’s most coveted chart. He followed up with a series of memorable songs — “If You Want Me To,” “John Deere Green,” “Prop Me Up Against the Jukebox” and more.
For someone who worked blue collar jobs during the day and played the local bar circuit at night before heading to Nashville to write, sudden success came as something of a shock.
“I thought ‘hey, this is easy — I should have done it earlier,’” Diffie recalled with a laugh.
In 1994 he released the album “Third Rock from the Sun,” which included two number one hits. “Pick Up Man” held the top spot for four weeks — a difficult feat in the crowded 1990s. But he may be best remembered for the title song, a clever circular tale that starts with a woman walking into a bar and ends in small town chaos.
“It’s like a mini movie,” Diffie said, again laughing. “I’m drawn to those songs.”
Some called “Third Rock,” “Prop Me Up” and others novelties, but not in a dismissive tone. The stories were tight, the twists engaging and the package — Diffie’s voice and the band’s force — impossible to ignore.
But, Diffie points out, “I did ballads, too.”
In fact, he has performed bluegrass, duets, and even taken “pitiful” — his word — stabs at rock. Again, he has plenty to select from when he steps on stage.
“We have a set list, but I vary it,” Diffie said. “Once in a while I try to stump the band — or stump myself.”
He admits to tripping up every now and then, reaching back to perform “Next Thing Smokin’” or “New Way (to Light Up an Old Flame).”
“Anyone in this business has done that,” he explained.
No matter. He still has fun on stage after all these years. And he knows that translates to the audience. And Diffie plans to continue touring just as long as people turn up to hear him play.
“What would I do?” he asked. “I’m going to keep going as long as the voice holds out. It beats working.”
