David Allan Coe

David Allan Coe is an American singer-songwriter born in 1939 in Akron, Ohio, known as one of the most colorful and controversial figures in outlaw country music. Before his musical career took off, Coe spent time in the Ohio State Penitentiary, where he was encouraged to write songs by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, an experience that shaped the rough, defiant persona he carried into his recordings.

Coe built his reputation on an unpolished, rebellious brand of country that stood apart from the polished Nashville sound of the era, aligning him with the outlaw country movement alongside artists like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. His life outside the studio was as unconventional as his music, including periods living in a hearse parked outside the Grand Ole Opry and in a cave after losing his home in Key West, Florida.

He is best known for songs such as «You Never Even Called Me By My Name» and «The Ride», which remain staples of the outlaw country catalog, while songs like «Longhaired Redneck» and «If That Ain't Country» capture his defiant attitude toward the mainstream. Coe also released two explicit, X-rated albums, «Nothing Sacred» and «Underground», which added to his controversial reputation even as his mainstream country songs secured his lasting legacy.