Sad day for the country world. Outlaw country legend David Allan Coe has passed away at the age of 86, confirmed by a representative who said that the singer passed away this evening while in an intensive care unit. When you think of the genre “Outlaw Country,” Coe will undoubtedly be one of the first names to come to mind. The country legend had a rough upbringing, being sent away to reform school at the age of 9 and spending the majority of his childhood and early adulthood either in reform school or behind bars. But while serving time in prison in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Coe developed a love for songwriting, and moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music after being released in 1967. Because he hardly had a dime to his name at the time, Coe lived in hearse that he would park outside of the Ryman Auditorium, standing on top and playing for audiences heading into shows on weekends. Sure enough, his plan worked worked, as a worker for an independent label liked what they heard and signed Coe to Shelby Singleton’s Plantation Records. Coe’s first two albums (which were much more blues in nature) were on Plantation, including Penitentiary Blues in 1970, and Requiem for a Harlequin in 1973. His career really began to take off in 1973, when Tanya Tucker had a #1 hit with Coe’s “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)” in 1973. Coe managed to catch the attention of the major labels and signed with Columbia Records. It was on that third album, his first with Columbia Records, that Coe began to make a name for himself in country music. The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy was a minor success, but his next album Once Upon a Rhyme ended up giving birth to one of his biggest hits, “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” which became his first top 10 hit. While Coe was often mentioned alongside other outlaw country legends of the time like Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and even released a song called “Waylon, Willie and Me,” Coe would often accuse his outlaw peers of “selling out,” which drew the ire of Jennings: “He wrote a song called “Waylon, Willie, and Me” at the same time he started taking pot shots at us in interviews, saying that Willie and Kris had sold out, that I was running around wearing white buck shoes, and none of us was really an Outlaw. He was the only Outlaw in Nashville. … I saw him in Fort Worth, and I put my finger right up to his chest. ‘You gotta knock that shit off’, I told him. ‘I ain’t never done anything to you.’ He protested, ‘They just set us up…you know I love you, Waylon.” … He could drive me crazy, but there was something about David that pulled at my heartstrings.” Among his legendary catalog, Coe is best known for songs like “Longhaired Redneck,” “The Ride,” and of course the original version of “Tennessee Whiskey,” which later also became a hit for George Jones and Chris Stapleton. And he also wrote songs like “Take This Job And Shove It,” which would become a hit for Johnny PayCheck. Coe suffered several health issues in recent years, including a long battle with COVID in 2021. His death come just months after sharing photos of himself in the studio and giving fans hope that there may be new music on the way. Rest in peace to a country music legend.The post Outlaw Country Legend David Allan Coe Dead At The Age Of 86 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.