Grammy-Award winning country singer Joe Diffie died Sunday at the age of 61 from the coronavirus, USA Today reports. A rep for the singer confirmed the death, after he'd been hospitalized on Friday.

Diffie scored early '90s hits with songs like "Pickup Man," "Home," and albums like Honky Tonk Attitude, and Third Rock From The Sun. Diffie broke into Nashville first as a songwriter penning hits for artists like Ricky Van Shelton, Alabama and Holly Dunn, before signing a three-record deal with Epic.

He won a Grammy in 1998 for his collaboration with Marty Stuart called "Same Old Train." He was also an influence on many country stars who followed, including Jason Aldean and Chris Young.

Most recently he hosted a mid-day show on a Tulsa radio station starting last year. 

The Travis Tritt comeback continues! Billboard reports that the country icon has just signed to a new label and will team up with legendary Nashville producer Dave Cobb to put out his next album. 

“I’m very excited about recording the new album with Dave Cobb. I’m also glad to be partnering with the Big Noise team and I’m looking forward to promoting this album with them in my corner,” Tritt said in a statement.

Tritt is now the first country artist to sign with the L.A.-based Big Noise label, which is also home to The Used, Ashley Tisdale, DJ Holiday, and New Politics.

Earlier this year, Tritt returned to the country charts for the first time in 13 years when he teamed up with Dierks Bentley's Hot Country Knights on their debut single, "Pick Her Up." 

Tritt's also touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd this month before joining Brooks and Dunn on their tour in May. 

Shania Twain opens up about how vocal cord surgery has changed her personally and professionally in a preview for Sunday TODAY. "I’m never going to have my old voice again, and that’s just the way it is," Twain tells Willie Geist. "I mean, it's there. I have to go with it. I don't mind it."

In fact, the 54-year-old country icon thinks her voice actually sounds better after the surgery, which she underwent after contracting Lyme disease. "It's given me more room to play, to be honest," she explains. "I have gravel; I think it's kind of sexy."

Twain was originally misdiagnosed with a vocal cord disorder called dysphonia in 2011 and has since undergone two open-throat surgeries. This past June, she told Extra about her ordeal, "That was really, really, really tough and I survived that, meaning emotionally I survived, and am just ready to keep going."