Outlaw Country Singer David Allan Coe (1939 - 2026)

[Zoneboy]

https://themusicuniverse.com/david-a...oogle_vignette

The Music Universe can confirm that country music legend David Allan Coe passed away today (Wed, Apr 29th) in the hospital. He was 86 years old.



According to a representative, Coe passed away in intensive care at approximately 5 pm ET today. Speaking to the Music Universe, the representative said, “David is a musical treasure,” and that even in his years of declining health, “David appreciated all of the fans.”



Born in Akron, Ohio, Coe was sent to a reform school at age nine. He spent much of the next 20 years in and out of correctional facilities, including the Ohio State Penitentiary. Coe famously claimed for years that he killed a man in prison and spent time on death row. Later research suggested this was likely hyperbole, though he did serve significant time for various felonies.

After his final release in 1967, he lived in a hearse parked in front of the Grand Ole Opry to get noticed.


Coe was a key architect of the 1970s outlaw country movement alongside Willie Nelson (who’s 93 today) and the late Waylon Jennings, though he remained more “underground” than his peers.

Iconic songs in his catalog include “You Never Even Call Me By My Name,” which he released in 1975. Written by Steve Goodman, this is considered the “perfect country and western song” because of its humorous final verse covering every country cliché of prison, trains, trucks, mama, and getting drunk. In 1983, he released”The Ride,” a haunting ballad he wrote about a hitchhiker meeting the ghost of Hank Williams. He released “Longhaired Redneck” in 1976, which perfectly captured the 70s tension between hippies and traditional cowboys.

Coe was often labeled too “wild” for mainstream radio, with many of his songs containing sexually explicit, profane, and—most controversially—racist lyrics. Coe later defended them as humor and pointed to his diverse friendships, but they remain a permanent stain on his mainstream reputation.

Despite this, his songwriting earned him major success through other artists. He wrote Johnny Paycheck’s signature “Take This Job and Shove It,” which hit No. 1 upon its release in 1977. Tanya Tucker recorded “Would You Lay With Me (In A Field of Stone),” which she took to the top of the country charts as a teenager in 1973.

Coe battled the IRS for years, losing his home and allegedly living in a cave for a time, and struggled with bankruptcy in the early 2000s. In the early Oughts, Coe collaborated with members of the metal band Pantera (Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and Rex Brown) to create a country-metal fusion album called Rebel Meets Rebel, which became a cult classic.

[Zoneboy]

[Dude111]

Very very sad

[JO Sweet Heart]

At the 11:08 mark of this clip, a butt kicking cover of his song named "The Ride" is done.



God bless you and his family and John always!!!

Holly

[Hawkee]

One of my dad's favorite David Allan Coe songs is Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile and it's one of David's best ballads ever written and if you ever get the chance listen to Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile and you'll see why it's a good ballad