Chris Young honored the late Joe Diffie with a performance of "Pickup Man" during the ACM Presents: Our Country Pre-Show on Sunday (April 5).
The iconic hit, written by Kerry Kurt Phillips and Howard Perdew, was the second single from Diffie's Third Rock the Sun album. It hit No. 1 in 1994 and ended up staying on stop for four weeks.
"We're gonna miss you, Joe," Young said at the end of the song.
Ahead of tonight's performance, Young turned to Instagram to share that he was "honored to honor" Diffie.
"I used to drive back and forth from Texas to TN listening to nothing but @officialjoediffie songs," Young shared at the time he heard of Diffie's passing. "I was lucky to get to know him... #RIP"
Diffie passed away at 61-years-old on March 29 after contracting coronavirus (COVID-19). The country singer was one of the most iconic voices of the '90s, earning him five No. 1 singles in the first half of the decade: âHome,â âIf the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets),â âThird Rock From the Sun,â âPickup Man,â and âBigger Than the Beatles.â
All in all, he charted 18 Top 10 singles during his illustrious career. The singer-songwriter also won a Grammy for his work on "Same Old Train" in 1998 and an CMA for "I Don't Need a Rocking Chair" in 1993.
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