Country singer Joe Diffie Photo: Crystal K. Martel

Country singer Joe Diffie, whose No. 1 hits included "Third Rock from the Sun" and "Bigger than The Beatles," died Sunday from complications of coronavirus, COVID-19, according to his publicist. He was 61 years old.

A brief statement only said that, "His family respects their privacy at this time."

Diffie released a statement Friday afternoon to fans saying he was "under the care of medical professionals and currently receiving treatment." It's unclear if he had underlying medical conditions.

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Diffie released more than a dozen albums, including last year's "I Got This." He was born in Oklahoma and moved to San Antonio as a child. He also worked in the oilfields in Alice before becoming a country star. He scored a string of hits throughout the '90s and won a Grammy in '93 for a duet with Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Diffie wrote songs for Tim McGraw, Conway Twitty and Jo Dee Messina. His own hits include "Home," “If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets),” “New Way (To Light Up An Old Flame),” “Ships That Don’t Come In" and “Honky Tonk Attitude."

He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 25 years and was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter. Get experts’ picks for concerts, kids’ stuff, fine arts, movies and more by subscribing to the Preview entertainment newsletter.