Outlaw country star David Allan Coe dies at 86
David Allan Coe, the country singer-songwriter born in Akron who wrote the working-class anthem “Take This Job and Shove It” and had hits with “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” and “The Ride” among others, has died. He was 86.
Coe’s wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, confirmed his death to Rolling Stone on Wednesday.
She described him as one of the best singers and songwriters of our time.
A statement from a Coe representative to People said he died around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
Whether he was labeled outlaw or underground, Coe was clearly an outsider in Nashville’s music establishment, even throughout his successes as an in-demand songwriter and singer, eventually developing a core following around his raw, often obscene lyrics and a checkered, somewhat mysterious past.