Lowndes COUNTY, GA - Country Music ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Bob Hurst JOE DIFFIE ALIAS `PICKUP MAN' MARK CHESNUTT KNOWN AS `BROTHER JUKEBOX' BLAKE SHELTON HITS CHARTS WITH `THE BABY' By Robert Latimer Hurst One is described as a "Pickup Man," while the second has gained the name "Brother Jukebox," and the dimpled third is called "The Baby" by some. And this strange mixture recently joined together at Wild Adventures in Valdosta to create a diverse country music experience for a large audience who never stopped cheering. Oh, the uninitiated might know these three singers as Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt and Blake Shelton. Diffie, who received top billing at this concert, points out that it has been ten years since he received the label "Pickup Man" because of his hit song about joys of manhood; it is time, perhaps, to move to something else. But the singer responds to a Q/A session with Jennifer Webb, adding "I actually drive a Ford Expedition, kinda like a pickup truck." Well, the audience could take their pick from many favorites: "If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets," "Is It Cold in Here," "Ships That Don't Come In," or "Honky Tonk Attitude." What about "Third Rock from the Sun," "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox" or "Bigger Than the Beatles"? One could on and on about the hits this musician has recorded. In fact, because of this popularity in and talent for country music, this vocalist was given a place beside Hank Thompson, Kay Starr and Charlie Christian in The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame for 2002. Joe underscores that, out of all the titles recorded for video, his favorite is "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox" because "It was a lot of fun." Considered an outstanding high school athlete in all sports, Diffie showed a bulldog competitiveness while participating in football, basketball, baseball and track. The attitude, say his critics, is carried over into his musical career, which had its start with his parents providing a musical background for the young man. Now, the father of five --four already considered adults --the performer points to Jerome Stumps, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Johnny Cash, The Eagles, George Jones and Merle Haggard as inspirations and guiding lights in his work. But there is something else that also inspires this man. It is called "First Steps Foundation," and this school's purpose centers on helping youngsters with disabilities. This Nashville-based program allows those kids to have their first steps into life, tells Joe. Mark Chesnutt, already considered a "country classic," is known for his "real emotional resonance and world-class voice," allowing him to deliver his music in a way that easily gains an audience. At only 17 years old, he performed in Beaumont, Texas, honky tonks, having learned his trade from his father, but the style from copying Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Waylon Jennings. With his dad's help, Mark got into the Nashville scene with "Too Cold at Home," soon winning the CMA Horizon Award. After that the hits came to the youngster as he recorded such chart toppers as "Bubba Shot the Jukebox," "I Think of Something," "Brother Jukebox," "Blame It on Texas," "Old Flames Have New Names," "It Sure Is Monday" and many others. Chessnutt claims that he loves listening to music, but the real addiction is being out there making it. "I live for the stage," he declares. "I make records because I want people to come see my show." And seeing him really becomes an emotional experience for many of his fans. Blake Shelton told Reporter Dan MacIntosh that he began his career with blind faith also at 17 years of age and adds that what he did was mostly from being naive: "At 17, you don't really know that much about the world, and I had no idea what I was getting into when I moved to Nashville. I just thought it would be easy --that you go there, you meet the right person, get a record deal and be rich and famous in no time," With the success of his first record, "Austin," Shelton found himself being singled out by Warner Brothers. Later, he would reflect how his move then would probably not have been the move he would have made if he had waited. With support from Mae Boren Axton, "Heartbreak Hotel" composer, Shelton did boldly go and says that he is "glad I made every decision that I did along the way. I wonder what might have happened if I had waited until now," reflects the 27-year-old performer. He credits music as the one thing that kept him going in school. He admits that he was not interested in school, but the love of music allowed him to have a purpose. Inspired by the Nashville talent, Shelton centered his skills on songwriting, but found shortly that his talent did not lie in this direction. It did lie in his rendition of songs like "Ol' Red" and "The Baby." And he knew that his listeners could relate to stories of the dog and stories about a son or daughter leaving home. Now, the performer understood what worked for him, and one can pick up that relationship by hearing such melodies as "The Dreamer" or "My Neck of the Woods." The artist says that his favorite letters from fans are those that example a relationship to the meaning of the song: "The kinds of songs you sing matter. They mean something to people. It's not just background music."