Country Outlaw David Allan Coe Dies At 86

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David Allan Coe. Photo: Matthew Woitunski via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Talented country star David Allan Coe has died at age 86.

The charismatic performer was known for recording such hits as “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile”, “The Ride”, “You Never Even Called Me by My Name”, “She Used to Love Me a Lot”, and “Longhaired Redneck.” He notched 63 singles on the Billboard charts.

Coe was a talented songwriter, with artists including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, The Oak Ridge Boys and many more recording his songs. His biggest hits as a songwriter were “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone),” recorded by Tanya Tucker, and Johnny Paycheck’s iconic rendition of “Take This Job and Shove It,” which later inspired a movie of the same name.

Coe often spurred controversy with lyrics, with frequent profanities, tales of drug use and sexually explicit material. His rebellious attitude and image garnered him the title of the ‘outlaw’s outlaw.’

Coe was born in Akron, Ohio on Sept. 6, 1939. As a boy, he was sent to the Starr Commonwealth For Boys reform school. Coe would spend the next 20 years in correctional facilities, including three years at the Ohio Penitentiary.

After ending a prison term in 1967, Coe moved to Nashville where he reportedly lived in a hearse which he parked in front of the Ryman Auditorium. While street performing, he caught the attention of the owner of the independent record label Plantation Records, Shelby Singleton, who signed him.

In 1970 Coe released his debut album Penitentiary Blues. In 1971 he signed to Pete and Rose Drake’s publishing company Windows Publishing Company, and when Tanya Tucker’s recording of his “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)” went to the top of the charts, Coe was signed to Columbia Records. He cut his own version of the song for his second Columbia album, Once Upon a Rhyme, released in 1975.

Once Upon A Rhyme also contained Coe’s biggest hit, “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” written by John Prine and Steve Goodman.

His third album, The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, was named for the rhinestones suit and a Lone Ranger mask he wore to perform.

Coe would go on to release a handful of more albums throughout the ’70s, including Longhaired Redneck (1976), Human Emotions (1978), Family Album (1978), Compass Point (1979) and Spectrum VII (1979).

In 1980 Coe enlisted producer Billy Sherrill for I’ve Got Something to Say, which included featured vocals from Guy Clark, Bill Anderson, Dickey Betts (of The Allman Brothers Band), Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson, and George Jones.

Coe’s 1983 album Castles in the Sand would prove to be a mainstream success for Coe, peaking at No. 8 on the country albums chart. Its success was spurred on by “The Ride,” which spent 19 weeks on the Billboard country singles charts, reaching a peak of No. 4. The song tells the story of a hitchhiker’s encounter with the ghost of Hank Williams, Sr. in a ride from Montgomery, Alabama to Nashville.

1984’s Just Divorced contains Coe’s second biggest chart hit, “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile”, which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard country singles chart.

Coe’s 1986 album Son of the South featured contributions from fellow country outlaws Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Jessie Colter. His final album for Columbia, a concept album A Matter of Life…and Death, was released in 1987.

Throughout the 1990s, Coe toured throughout the United States and Europe. In 1990 he reissued his independent albums Nothing Sacred and Underground Album on CD, as well as the compilation 18 X-Rated Hits–which were very controversial for racist, misogynist and homophobic lyrics.

In 2003, Coe wrote a song for Kid Rock, “Single Father,” which appeared on Kid Rock’s self-titled album, and was released as a single. He released Rebel Meets Rebel, with Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul, and Rex Brown, in 2006, two years after Darrell’s murder.

Coe is survived by his son Tyler Mahan Coe, who created the country music podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones and the podcast Your Favorite Band Sucks. He is also survived by his daughter, Shelli Coe Mackie. He is preceded in death by his son-in-law, the late Michael Mackie, formerly of Texas band Thunderosa.

LB Cantrell
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