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joediffie.jpg" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="5" VSPACE"5"> "Tougher Than Nails," Joe Diffie's inaugural project is destined to surpass all of his previous projects. Joe Diffie has had a stellar career that has included 9 #1 hits and 17 top ten hits. Joe has sold over 4 million albums in his career. The respect that he has garnered from both the fans and fellow artists would be difficult to match and his songwriting skills and ability to interpret the emotion of a song have served him well. Joe has put his heart, soul, and extraordinary voice into every song on the "Tougher Than Nails" project, writing or co-writing 5 of the 12 cuts. When released as the first single from the project, the title cut, 'Tougher Than Nails" launched Diffie back onto the top of the country charts; a position he's no stranger to. Diffie's first project produced four #1 songs.

"Tougher Than Nails" is out to beat that benchmark, and so is Joe himself. No stranger to the top of the charts,Joe Diffie is enjoying yet another out-of-the-box hit with the title track of his new album, Tougher Than Nails. But this collection, his first for Broken Bow Records, is about more than another round of commercial success for a performer with 10 No. 1 records and six million in sales to his credit.

First and foremost, Tougher Than Nails is an expansive vehicle for one of the most respected vocalists in country music. And his voice continues to draw the support of the music industry's top talent--from songwriters, to producers, to one very high-profile country legend.

Beyond that, the album strikes a delicate balance by returning to Diffie's beginnings while tipping its hat to the future of country music. In terms of material and style, the album is the most diverse offering since his first. Perhaps most importantly, Tougher Than Nails illuminates Diffie's continued growth as a songwriter.

"We started on this album with a clean slate creatively," Diffie says. "I've tried to approach this project as I have every other album--find the best songs. I choose songs on gut instinct, but when I sat down and started writing it really helped the album take shape. We started to see things that lent themselves to a lot of different styles, like my first album. A lot of people tell me that first release was their favorite, so we didn't hesitate for a second to let this one recapture those roots."

Joe Logan Diffie was born and raised in Tulsa , Oklahoma , where he was immersed in music from a young age. His first public performance came in his aunt's country band when he was only four. It was songwriting, interestingly enough, that lured Diffie to Nashville after his song "Love On The Rocks" was recorded by Hank Thompson.

Diffie found work in the Nashville-area Gibson guitar plant and soon established himself as one of Music Row's top demo singers. "When I first came to Nashville I sang a lot of demo recordings--songs that would be pitched to other artists," he explains. "I had worked in a foundry in Oklahoma , and singing for a living seemed like a piece of heaven. I took it very seriously, making sure I told each song's story the way I thought the songwriter intended.

"I'd written a few songs that had been recorded," he continues. "Holly Dunn recorded my song, 'There Goes My Heart Again,' and when I heard her version it confirmed that her interpretation of my lyrics was what made it a hit. So I've always learned the 'story' before I sing the song."

That innate sense of phrase and meaning, that relentless attention to detail, served Diffie well as he made the transition from demo singer to major label recording artist. Early hits including "Home," "If You Want Me To, "If The Devil Danced In Empty Pockets," and "New Way To Light Up An Old Flame" established Diffie as, arguably, country music's foremost balladeer.

As his career progressed, Joe began flashing a more playful side on up-tempo smashes like "John Deere Green," "Third Rock From The Sun," "Bigger Than The Beatles" and "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)." Over the course of the nineties, Diffie used his steady radio success to build a solid fan base while notching his belt with 17 top 10 hits, two platinum albums and two gold albums.

JoeDiffie.com (Opens New Window)

Source: Broken Bow Records Label Profile Error processing SSI file