Joe

10Jul

By Web TeamNo Comments

High Profilers, Profiles, United States

Billy Joe Driver, mayor

Billy Joe Driver, the longtime Clanton Mayor, passed away on July 9, 2020, after complication from COVID-19. The 84-year-old mayor was admitted to St. Vincent’s Chilton on Sunday (June 28) for treatment of the virus. On the following Tuesday, Driver was transferred to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham. Driver was first elected to the Clanton city council in 1972. In his nearly 50 years in politics Driver never lost a race. Prior to becoming politically active, Driver had worked for the city of Clanton since 1953. In 2011 Business Alabama Magazine named Driver as one of Alabama’s favorite mayors. Driver described the City that he served for seven decades as “Clanton, a growing city with a rich history, is the seat of Chilton County Alabama, the stat...

Joe Gonzalez, Restaurateur

Joe Gonzalez ‑ the owner of Mamacitas restaurants and El Jardin in East End ‑ died from the coronavirus on July 8, 2020. He was also Dr Laura Murillo's brother, who is the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Murillo posted a photo of her brother on Facebook. It's not known how long Gonzalez had been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. ABC13

Joe Diffie, singer

Joe Logan Diffie ‑ an American country music singer – succumbed to Covid-19 on March 29, 2020. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffie charted 35 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, five of which peaked at number one: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)", "Third Rock from the Sun", "Pickup Man" (his longest-lasting number-one song, at four weeks) and "Bigger Than the Beatles". In addition to these singles, he had 12 others reach the top 10 and ten more reach the top 40 on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Jo Dee Messina, and recorded wi...