April 30, 2026

David Allan Coe — the hard-edged outlaw country legend behind “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” “The Ride,” and Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” — is dead at 86, his wife confirmed. A towering, often toxic figure in country music, Coe built a career on prison lore, defiance and raw talent, but his legacy remains scarred by offensive racist songs he defended as parody. His death closes the book on one of the genre’s most notorious and controversial voices.

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