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Controversial Country Outlaw David Allan Coe Dies at 86

4/30/2026

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Summary

David Allan Coe Dies

David Allan Coe died at 5 p.m. on April 29, 2026, aged 86, cause undisclosed.
He wrote Tanya Tucker’s “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)” and recorded the hit “Take This Job and Shove It”.
His 1978 “Nothing Sacred” and 1982 “Underground Album” were criticized for racist, misogynistic lyrics, and he is survived by wife Kimberly Hastings Coe, son Tyler Mahan Coe and daughter Tanya Coe.

Summary

Coe Breaks Barriers

David Allan Coe broke gender barriers by forming country music’s first all-female band and hiring Black drummer Kerry Brown.
He claimed polygamy and invoked Mormonism to justify his lifestyle.
Coe publicly supported the Native American community, adding an inclusion dimension to his persona.
His 1975 documentary-style film at Marion Correctional Institution showed his pursuit of notoriety beyond prison walls.

History

Historical Context

In February 1975 MCA Records issued Loretta Lynn’s controversial single “The Pill,” a song about birth-control that sparked bans on many country stations and stalled at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while reaching #70 on the Hot 100. Its frank discussion of women’s reproductive choice expanded country music’s social scope, paving the way for later artists to address gender and racial issues.

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David Allan Coe Dies

David Allan Coe died at 5 p.m. on April 29, 2026, aged 86, cause undisclosed.
He wrote Tanya Tucker’s “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)” and recorded the hit “Take This Job and Shove It”.
His 1978 “Nothing Sacred” and 1982 “Underground Album” were criticized for racist, misogynistic lyrics, and he is survived by wife Kimberly Hastings Coe, son Tyler Mahan Coe and daughter Tanya Coe.

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