''Third Rock from the Sun'' is the fourth studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffie ...

. Diffie's breakthrough album, the first five tracks were all released as singles, and all charted on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts. Of these five singles, "Pickup Man" and the title track were both Number One hits, "So Help Me Girl" reached #2, "I'm in Love with a Capital 'U'" reached #21, and "That Road Not Taken" peaked at #40. "Pickup Man" was also Diffie's longest-lasting number one, having held that position for four weeks.

Track listing

Personnel

*Lee Bogan - background vocals (1, 11) *Walt Cunningham - electric keyboards (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), synthesizer strings (3, 5, 9), special effects (6) *

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition ''Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, h ...

– background vocals (10) *John Dickson - cow sounds (11) *

- lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (all tracks), cow sounds (11) * Stuart Duncan - fiddle (4, 6, 7, 9, 10) *Craig "Flash" Fletcher - background vocals (1, 11) * Paul Franklin -

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

(1-7, 9) *Clay Keith - background vocals (5, 6) *Larry Keith - background vocals (5, 6) *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

- harmonica (8, 10) *

Brent Mason Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music. Guitar World Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". ...

- electric guitar (all tracks) *

Tim Mensy Timothy Ray Menzies (born August 25, 1959), sometimes known as Tim Mensy, is an American country music artist. Initially, he was a member of the band Bandana, in which he charted several singles on the Hot Country Songs charts in the 1980s. Af ...

- acoustic guitar (5, 8) *Larry Paxton - bass guitar (3-6, 8-11) *

Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Matt won the 'Best Traditional Pop Voc ...

- piano (all tracks) *Johnny Slate - cow sounds (11) *

Billy Joe Walker Jr. Billy Joe Walker Jr. (February 29, 1952 – July 25, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He composed singles for Eddie Rabbitt, including " I Wanna Dance with You", " That's Why I Fell in Love with You" and " ...

- acoustic guitar (all tracks) *

Lonnie Wilson Lonnie Wilson is an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer, known primarily for his work in country music. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Wilson was originally the lead singer of the band Bandana, which charted ten singles on the Hot Co ...

- drums (all tracks), percussion (1, 2, 8, 10, 11) *

Glenn Worf Glenn Worf is an American bassist known mainly for his work as a session musician. He has recorded with many major country music acts and also tours with Mark Knopfler. Early life and education Worf was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Mad ...

- bass guitar (1, 2, 7) Track information and credits adapted from ''

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

'' and ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

Notes