15. Joe Diffie

Some people take a while to learn their musical skills, but it comes a bit easier when you are the son of a guitar playing father and a singing mother. Claiming to be able to sing harmony at three years old, Joe tried his hand at a music career beginning in the late 1970’s. After a number of setbacks, he finally got the ball rolling in the mid-1980’s when he moved to Nashville and got his foot in the door with song writing. Getting artists like Holly Dunn, Ricky Van Shelton and Alabama to record his songs then helped him to getting his own recording contract in 1990. His first song going to number 1 set off a string of classic songs for over a decade. By the time his radio career faded in the early 2000’s, he had become an ACM nominee and Grammy winner. Unfortunately passing away from covid in 2020, his legacy still lives on in newer artists like Jason Aldean and Chris Young praising him as an inspiration. That legacy may someday lead to a Hall Of Fame plaque.