HARDY, Morgan Wallen, and Post Malone paid homage to the late Joe Diffie with covers of two of his biggest hits during the 2023 CMA Awards. Now, the trio is revealing the driving force behind their ’90s country cover set.
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Immediately following the live CMA Awards broadcast on Wednesday night (November 8), HARDY announced details of the upcoming third installment of his HIXTAPE collaborative album series. Set for release on March 29 of 2024, HIXTAPE VOL. 3: DIFFTAPE will pay homage to tracks from Diffie’s extensive musical catalog.
Through a partnership with Diffie’s estate, the songs will mix the country star’s studio recordings with new recordings from a variety of modern hitmakers.
“The Diffie Estate is thrilled to partner with Big Loud and HARDY in preserving and revitalizing Joe Diffie’s musical legacy,” a statement from Joe Diffie’s estate reads. “With their shared excitement and passion, this collaboration promises to carry on the incredible journey of a true legend.”
“I’m super excited about DIFFTAPE. I think it’s a one-of-a-kind project, and we’re the first people to do something like this,” HARDY added. “Especially having the original recordings and the fact that we have his family’s blessing to do it, it’s all really special.”
Ahead of the full-length project’s release, studio versions of the two songs HARDY, Post Malone, and Wallen performed on the CMAs are now available to stream. “Pickup Man,” featuring Post Malone, and “John Deere Green,” with added vocals from HARDY and Wallen, are available on streaming platforms or for purchase via iTunes. The two tracks were released early to mark the 30th anniversary of “John Deere Green,” the iconic single from Diffie’s 1993 album, Honky Tonk Attitude.
“Joe epitomized the ’90s country voice—he was so good about hearing and cutting hits, recording amazing songs,” explains HARDY. “On a personal level, I only got to meet Joe once, but he was extremely nice to me, and this was in my first year of being an artist when I was an absolute nobody. He was so, so kind to me, and that memory I have of him is truly special to me, too.”
Listen to “John Deere Green” featuring HARDY and Morgan Wallen below:
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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