Singer, songwriter, and country music outlaw, David Allan Coe passed away on Tuesday, April 29th. He was 86 years old.
DAC was born in Akron, Ohio, on September 6, 1939. From an early age it was evident that he was a rowdy child. Most of his early adult years he spent in correctional facilities. While locked up, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins convinced Coe to take up songwriting.
In 1967, he was released from prison and moved to Nashville and lived in a hearse that was parked out front of the Ryman Auditorium. His debut album Penitentiary Blues was released in 1970.
Some of DAC’s iconic songs include “The Ride,” Longhaired Redneck,” and “You Never Even Called Me By My Name.” However, he also pinned the legendary songs “Take This Job and Shove It” sang by Johnny Paycheck and “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field Of Stone)” sany by Tanya Tucker, and was the first one to record Dean Dillon’s iconic “Tennessee Whiskey.”
