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| David Allan Coe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Alan Coe |
| Born | September 6, 1939 |
| Origin | Akron, Ohio |
| Genre(s) | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | vocals guitar |
| Years active | 1956 – present |
| Label(s) | Billy Bob's (Smith Music Group) |
| Associated acts | Rebel Meets Rebel, Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies |
| Website | http://www.davidallancoe.com/ |
David Allan Coe (born September 5, 1939 in Akron, Ohio) is an American country music singer who achieved his greatest popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He has written and performed over 280 original songs throughout his career. As a songwriter, his best-known compositions are "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)," originally recorded by Tanya Tucker, and "Take this Job and Shove It." The latter was a #1 hit for Johnny Paycheck, and it was later turned into a hit movie (both Coe and Paycheck had minor parts in the film).
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Style
In addition to humorous songs like "You Never Even Call Me By My Name", a Steve Goodman/John Prine composition that purports to be the "perfect country and western song," he also includes references to himself in his songs to self-promote himself through his music. He references big stars of country music in his lyrics in a way that makes himself their equal, such as in "Willie, Waylon, and Me," and on the line "Johnny Cash helped me get out of prison" in "Longhaired Redneck", a song said to be written about his influential early "outlaw" group with songwriter Danny Sheridan, The Eli Radish Band."
His long career has included twenty-six LPs, with 1987's Matter of Life... and Death being one of the most successful and critically acclaimed. He even put out a concept album, Compass Point, that threads his autobiography (or that of his persona) through an encounter with the famous Caribbean studio for which it was named and where it was recorded.
Rebel Meets Rebel
Controversy
Coe was in and out of reform schools, correction centers and prisons from the age of 9. According to his publicity campaigns, he spent time on Death Row for killing an inmate who demanded oral sex. After receiving a conflicting account from prison officials, a Rolling Stone[1] magazine reporter questioned Coe about the claim. His response was to write the song, "I'd Like to Kick the Shit Out of You." In any event, he was incarcerated at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield OH (NOT the location of Ohio's Death Row at the time) and was paroled in 1967.1
Coe recorded two albums in 1978 and 1982 containing racist and misogynistic lyrics of extreme vulgarity and racial crudity: "Nothing Sacred" and "Underground Album." Also available is a best of the X-rated albums compilation entitled "18 X-Rated Hits". Coe has defended the songs (such as one deriding an adulterous wife who leaves her white husband and children for a black man as a "Nigger Fucker") as bawdy fun which never made him much money. This has also led to confusion regarding offensive works by other artists, especially Johnny Rebel, whose songs are often mistakenly attributed to Coe.23
Discography
Books
- Just For The Record...the Autobiography
- The Book of David
- Ex-Convict
- Poems, Prose and Short Stories
- Psychopath
- Whoopsy Daisy (audio book)
Notes
- ^ http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/coe_david_allan/bio.jhtml
- ^ Netherland, Tom (November 2000). "David Allan Coe rebuts racism charge". Country Standard Time. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ Leroy, Dan (July 14, 2005). "Coe Revisits Penitentiary". Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
References
- Tucker, Stephen R. (1998). "David Allan Coe". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 102.
External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Coe, David Allan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Coe, David Alan (birth name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Country music artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 5, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Akron, Ohio, United States of America |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
