David Allan Coe died at the age of 86. Coe died about 5:08 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, according to his representative in a statement to PEOPLE. While David Allan Coe cause of death was not known, his death came after years of worsening health and a previous COVID-19 hospitalisation in 2021.
Coe was a member of the country’s outlaw movement in the 1970s, and he was heavily criticised for using slurs and racial stereotypes in his songs, as well as routinely utilising the Confederate flag.
Coe was born in Akron, Ohio in 1939. At the age of nine, he was taken to a reform school and spent the following two decades in correctional facilities. His passion for music developed when he was confined. After being released in 1967, he moved to Nashville to attempt a music career, busking on the streets for money.
Coe’s debut album, Penitentiary Blues, was released in 1970. Though he struggled to find success as a performer, others scored hits with songs he wrote. Tanya Tucker recorded his song “Would You Lay with Me (In a Field of Stone),” which went to number one on the country charts in 1973.
Johnny Paycheck also reached No. 1 on the chart in 1977 with Coe’s “Take This Job and Shove It.” The song also earned Coe his only Grammy nomination.
The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy, released in 1974, was Coe’s first country album. The name stemmed from his performance attire, which included a mask, a bedazzled jacket, and a hat.
The next year’s Once Upon a Rhyme featured his first successful single, “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” which peaked at number 10 in the country. Steve Goodman first recorded the song, which he penned with John Prine.