Editing Joe Diffie (section)

===1994–1996: ''Third Rock from the Sun'', ''Mr. Christmas'', and ''Life's So Funny''===
[[File:Gary Barlow performing in Glasgow, 2017 (2).jpg|200px|thumb|right|Joe Diffie's "So Help Me Girl" was later covered by Gary Barlow.|alt=A waist-up shot of Gary Barlow, singing into a microphone.]]
''[[Third Rock from the Sun]]'' was Diffie's highest-charting top country album (where it reached number six<ref name="amgalbum"/>), as well as his second consecutive platinum album.<ref name="riaa"/> It was also the first album that he co-produced, doing so with Johnny Slate.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Third Rock from the Sun |others=Joe Diffie |year=1994 |type=cassette insert |publisher=Epic Records |id=64357}}</ref> The album included two consecutive number-one singles in its [[Third Rock from the Sun (song)|title track]] and in "[[Pickup Man]]". The latter of those two songs was Diffie's longest-lasting number one, at four weeks. Both songs also entered the hot 100, respectively peaking at 84 and 60.<ref name="whitburn" /> In 2005, "Pickup Man" was repurposed by the [[Applebee's]] restaurant chain for use in its television commercials.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1495181/diffies-pickup-man-remade-for-applebees-ad.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325084351/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1495181/diffies-pickup-man-remade-for-applebees-ad.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 25, 2010 |title=Diffie's "Pickup Man" Remade for Applebee's Ad |access-date=July 19, 2010 |work=CMT.com}}</ref> The album's next single, "[[So Help Me Girl]]", peaked at number two on the country charts and 84 on the pop charts, in addition to topping the ''RPM'' country charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.9044&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=pbmhin1cp8jd8p8q5scdlmudc0|title=RPM Country Tracks|date=May 1, 1995|work=RPM|access-date=July 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017214135/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.9044&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=pbmhin1cp8jd8p8q5scdlmudc0|archive-date=October 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song was covered in 1997 by English singer [[Gary Barlow]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bronson|first=Fred|date=October 25, 1997|title=Jackson Lassoes No. 1 with 'Rope'|magazine=Billboard|page=102|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Gary+barlow%22+%22joe+diffie%22&pg=PA102}}</ref> Diffie followed the song with [[I'm in Love with a Capital "U"|"I'm in Love with a Capital 'U{{'"}}]] and "[[That Road Not Taken]]", which respectively reached country peaks of 21 and 40.<ref name="whitburn" /> ''Third Rock from the Sun'' received critical praise for adding more rock and up-tempo material. Thom Owens wrote that he began "adding more rock flourishes" on this album,<ref name="owens">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r203090|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Third Rock from the Sun'' review|last=Owens|first=Thom|work=Allmusic|access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref> and Nash said that Diffie "not only understands the blue-collar ethic from the inside out – he's also familiar with its humorous underbelly."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,303121,00.html|title=''Third Rock from the Sun'' review|last=Nash|first=Alanna|date=July 29, 1994|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 20, 2010|archive-date=April 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421105833/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,303121,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In mid-1995, he recorded the title track for [[Columbia Records]]'s ''Runnin' Wide Open'', an album comprising [[NASCAR]]-themed songs by various artists.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r229148|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Runnin' Wide Open'' review|last=Phares|first=Heather|work=Allmusic|access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref> He issued two albums later in the year. The first was a Christmas project titled ''[[Mr. Christmas (Joe Diffie album)|Mr. Christmas]]'', which comprised covers of traditional Christmas songs, as well as newly written songs. One of these original songs, "LeRoy the Redneck Reindeer", was issued as a Christmas single late in the year, peaking at number 33 upon its initial release and re-entering the country music charts for the next two years based on Christmas airplay.<ref name="whitburn" /> Of this album, [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] said, "it's pleasant, but it's not particularly distinguished."<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r229321|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Mr. Christmas'' review|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|work=Allmusic|access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref>

His other release that year was the studio album ''[[Life's So Funny]]''. It was led off by "[[Bigger Than the Beatles]]", the last number-one single of his career. The album's other two singles were "[[C-O-U-N-T-R-Y]]" and "[[Whole Lotta Gone]]" (previously the B-side of "Bigger Than the Beatles"), both of which peaked at 23 on the country music charts in 1996.<ref name="whitburn">{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|pages=125–126|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}</ref> ''[[Country Standard Time]]'' critic George Hauenstein praised the album for containing "songs that are slightly different from [what] those other artists sing."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=1424|title=''Life's So Funny'' review|last=Hauenstein|first=George|work=Country Standard Time|access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref> Owens thought that it was a "varied collection of ballads and midtempo rockers", but said that it was not "as consistently engaging" as ''Third Rock from the Sun''.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r229369|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Life's So Funny'' review|last=Owens|first=Thom|work=Allmusic|access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref> Nash gave "Bigger Than the Beatles" a C-minus rating, calling it "just a lame device to evoke the names of beloved rock heroes."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,290929,00.html|title="Bigger Than the Beatles" review|last=Nash|first=Alanna|date=January 12, 1996|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 21, 2010|archive-date=April 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427124255/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,290929,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>