TOP 5 deaths we want to forget

There have been several Country Stars that have passed away the last several years.  There are five (5) country stars in particular that people seem to forget passed away.  Maybe that haven’t really forgotten, they just prefer to forget. All 5 of them also have a connection to the armed services.  They don’t know the when, why or how about these country stars deaths.  In this article we are going to give you the facts about the Country Stars people don’t realize have passed away.

Connection to the Military:

1. George Jones was a US Marine;
2. Charley Pride was in the Army;
3. Kenny Rogers was in the Air Force;
4. Joe Diffie supported the military his whole career ending with Operation Cherrybend in 2017;
5. Merle Haggard was another huge supporter of the military, his biggest military hit was Soldier’s Last Letter.

George Jones

Country Stars people don’t realize have passed away

Jones was born on September 12, 1931 and passed away on April 26, 2013. This is an except from  his biography.

Jones died on April 26, 2013, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The 81-year-old had reportedly been hospitalized with irregular blood pressure and a fever just a week earlier. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Jones is regarded as one of country music’s all-time greatest stars. His clear, strong voice and ability to convey so many emotions won over thousands of fans, as well as earning him the envy of his peers. As fellow country star Waylon Jennings once said, “If we could sound the way we wanted, we’d all sound like George Jones.”

Country Stars people don’t realize have passed away

On the morning of April 6, 2016, his 79th birthday, Merle died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Palo Cedro, Shasta County, California. Haggard was buried in a private funeral at his ranch on April 9, 2016; longtime friend Marty Stuart officiated.   Haggard and Jones were friends. Merle Haggard said it was one of the greatest compliments of his life when George Jones called him his favorite country singer. The two became close friends, even releasing two duets albums, A Taste of Yesterday’s Wine and Kickin’ Out the Footlights.

Kenny Rogers

Country Stars people don’t realize have passed away

Kenneth Donald Rogers was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame occurred in 2013. Kenny was born on August 21, 1938, in Houston Texas and passed away on March 20, 2020, in Sandy Springs, GA.

Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted more than 120 hit singles across various genres, topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone. He sold more than 100 million records worldwide during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In addition, his fame and career spanned multiple genres: jazz, folk, pop, rock, and country. Consequently, he remade his career and was one of the most successful cross-over artists of all time.

Charley Pride

Charley Frank Pride was born on March 18, 1934 and died on December 12, 2020.  Covid-19 stole Charley’s life from him. Pride was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis Presley.

During the peak years of his recording career (1966–1987), he had 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 30 of which made it to number one. He won the Entertainer of the Year award at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971.

Pride is one of three African-American members of the Grand Ole Opry (the others being DeFord Bailey and Darius Rucker). He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.

 Joe Diffe

Joe Logan Diffie was born on December 28, 1958 and passed away on March 29, 2020. He was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records‘ Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffie charted 35 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, five of which peaked at number one: his debut release “Home“, “If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)“, “Third Rock from the Sun“, “Pickup Man” (his longest-lasting number-one song, at four weeks) and “Bigger Than the Beatles“.

In addition to these singles, he had 12 others reach the top 10 and ten more reach the top 40 on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Jo Dee Messina, and recorded with Mary Chapin Carpenter, George Jones, and Marty Stuart.  You can watch his MEMORIAL SERVICE at his website at: https://joediffie.com/

In Conclusion

It was so hard to say goodbye to these guys so many of us just didn’t.  We think that is why they are Country Stars people don’t realize have passed away. Let’s take this Memorial Day the place and time to say goodbye by celebrating their lives and music.