Ever controversial country musician David Allan Coe has passed away at the age of 86.
Confirming the news, the singer/songwriters’s widow Kimberly took to Rolling Stone with:
“One of the best singers, songwriters, and performers of our time (and) never to be forgotten.” “My husband, my friend, my confidant and my life for many years. I’ll never forget him and I don’t want anyone else to ever forget him either.”
Best known for his 1970s and 1980s songs ‘You Never Even Called Me by My Name,’ ‘Longhaired Redneck,’ ‘The Ride’ and ‘Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile,’ Coe also penned hit songs for other artists, including ‘Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone)’ for Tanya Tucker and ‘Take This Job and Shove It,’ by Johnny Paycheck, the latter of which earned Coe a Grammy nomination.
Throughout his career, the Ohio native recorded 40 full lengths, including the controversial Nothing Sacred and Underground Album, and while he used racist language before, his lyrics sparked outrage over the use of racial slurs, hate speech and homophobic and misogynistic lyrics in those two LPS.
In the 2010s the musician also got into legal trouble, and in 2015 Coe pleaded guilty to obstructing America’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from collecting taxes and was ordered to pay some $1,000,000.00 in 2016.
Married six times, David Allan Coe is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and his five children: Tyler, Tanya, Shyanne, Carson and Shelli.
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Author: Al Dente
Photo: Matthew Woitunski from Amesbury, MA, USA