Coronavirus: Joe Diffie Dies 3 Weeks After Rialto Show

JOLIET, IL — Three weeks after Joe Diffie performed in downtown Joliet at the Rialto Square Theatre as part of his "Country Unplugged" tour, the 61-year-old Grammy-winning country music star died Sunday after being diagnosed with the coronavirus last week.

Diffie, who was a member of the Grand Ole Opry, played in Joliet on Saturday, March 7, as part of his national concert tour, along with Mark Chesnutt and David Lee Murphy.

On Friday, Diffie's family issued a statement informing fans of his illness, WCCQ reported.

"I am under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment," Friday's statement from Joe Diffie read. "My family and I are asking for privacy at this time. We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic."

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When reached for comment Sunday night, Rialto Square Theatre Executive Director Val Devine told Joliet Patch she was truly saddened by news of Diffie's untimely passing.

Devine said Diffie and the other members of the country music trio did a standard meet and greet with several V.I.P. guests during their visit to Joliet.

"It was a great, great show," she said.

For her, the news of Diffie's death from the coronavirus is "quite overwhelming. It's an odd time in our world right now," Devine told Joliet Patch.

The Country Unplugged performance was one of the final shows that the Rialto held before it was forced to shut down its performing arts venue, which can seat nearly 2,000 guests, because of the international health crisis.

Over the past two weeks, Devine and her staff have been busy rescheduling several shows that were supposed to occur later this month, April and May.

Some of the big shows, including Chicago, Miranda Sings, country music outlaw Gary Allan and world-renowned Beatles tribute band Rain, have been take off the spring calendar and given new dates later this year or in 2021, as is the case with Rain.

At the time of his death, Diffie had a dozen No. 1 hits. He had 20 Top 10 hits and was a Grammy and CMA Award winner who put out 13 albums, according to his music bio.