Remembering one of the greatest outlaws in the genre. Last night, country music suffered a huge loss with David Allan Coe, who passed away at the age of 86 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 in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, 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. Despite being one of the quintessential names in the outlaw movement, up there with the names like Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and more, the “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” singer actually butted heads with the trio, calling them sell-outs on multiple occasions. Even with some callouts in interviews, Jennings would admit that he still had a love and respect for Coe: “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 who allowed the song to become just the third song in history to sell 20 million units and go double-diamond. Additionally, he also wrote songs like “Take This Job And Shove It,” which would become a hit for Johnny Paycheck. In honor of Coe’s passing, let’s take a look at 10 of his biggest hits throughout his storied career. 1. “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” Arguably Coe’s most signature song, “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” has been called the “perfect country song” on multiple different occasions. Unlike most of his discography, it actually wasn’t written by the Ohio native — instead being penned by the legendary Steve Goodman and John Prine (who asked to be uncredited). Appearing on his 1975 album, Once Upon a Rhyme, the track became one of a handful of Coe’s Top 10 hits throughout his career, peaking at #8. Additionally, it’s remained his most popular song in the 21st century, being his highest-streamed song on Spotify with over 129 million streams. Peak Chart Position: #8 2. “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” A bit surprisingly, “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” is actually Coe’s highest-charting song of his career, peaking at #2 in the summer of 1984 behind Eddy Raven’s “I Got Mexico.” It did, however, reach #1 up north, topping the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart on June 30, 1984. Peak Chart Position: #2 3. “The Ride” Another one of Coe’s signature songs, “The Ride” has remained one of his most popular songs into the 21st century. Upon its release, it would become his second-highest charting song, peaking at #4 in the summer in 1983. Like “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” it’s also remained a fan-favorite today, being his second-most-streamed track on Spotify with over 115 million streams. Appearing on his 1983 album, Castles in the Sand, “The Ride” famously tells the story of Coe meeting the ghost of Hank Williams Sr. on a drive back to Music City and has often made many’s best narrative country songs lists throughout the years. Peak Chart Position: #4 4. “Longhaired Redneck” Released as the lead single from his 1976 album of the same name, “Longhaired Redneck” was released immediately after “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” marking the most successful stretch of his career. Notably, Coe directly references the outlaw movement, calling out the suits who profited off of the movement. A protest about the commercialization of the movement at its core, “Longhaired Redneck” was undoubtedly one of Coe’s biggest statements early in his career. Peak Chart Position: #17 5. “She Used to Love Me a Lot” Originally a unreleased Johnny Cash song that was written by Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen and Kye Fleming, “She Used to Love Me a Lot” became one of Coe’s biggest hits from a chart perspective. Appearing on his 1985 album, Darlin’ Darlin’, the track would peak at #11 in 1985, becoming Coe’s final Top 20 hit of his career. Peak Chart Position: #11 6. “If This Is Just a Game” Unlike the last five tracks, “If This Is Just a Game” is a Coe track that received more love years after its release. Upon its release as the second single from his 1978 album, Human Emotion, the song would be a middling single, only peaking at #45. With that being said, it’s been one of his most popular song in the 21st century thanks to TikTok. Despite being a single that failed to reach the Top 40 upon its release, “If This Is Just a Game” has remained one of his most popular songs on the social media platform, garnering a staggering 44,000 unique video uses over the years. Because of this, its currently his #1 trending song on both Apple Music and Spotify, where it has over 36 million streams. Peak Chart Position: #45 7. “Willie, Waylon and Me” As mentioned previously, “Willie, Waylon and Me” created some problems for Coe due to the fact he criticized the pair after releasing the track. Despite this, it was still one of his most popular songs from a chart-perspective. Shortly after its release in 1976, it would become one of six Top 25 hits in his severely underrated career. Peak Chart Position: #25 8. “D-R-U-N-K” Just like “If This Is Just a Game,” “D-R-U-N-K” is another song that received a whole lot of love on social media and boosted it to the top of Coe’s discography in the streaming era. Unlike “If This Is Just a Game,” however, the track was not even released as a single, appearing as a deep cut on his 1981 Tennessee Whiskey album. Despite its status as a deep cut, it began going viral on TikTok in 2025, garnering over 18,700 unique video uses over the years. Thanks to the virality, its currently Coe’s sixth-most streamed song on Spotify with over 22 million streams. Peak Chart Position: N/A 9. “Need a Little Time Off for Bad Behavior” As one of Coe’s final officially-released radio singles of his career, “Need a Little Time Off for Bad Behavior” ultimately became one of his highest-charting songs of his career. Appearing on his 1987 album, A Matter of Life… and Death, the track was his final Top 40 hit, peaking at #34. Peak Chart Position: #34 10. “Tennessee Whiskey” As mentioned previously, despite George Jones popularizing the track and Chris Stapleton blowing it up into the stratosphere, Coe was the first one to record the track. Written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, “Tennessee Whiskey” appeared on his 1981 album of the same name. Famously, the song was not very successful for Coe as a single, peaking all the way down at #77 in 1981. With that being said, however, it would be remiss not to include the track on this list thanks to its importance to the genre 45 years later. Peak Chart Position: #77 The post Remembering David Allan Coe: 10 Of The Biggest Hits From The Late, Outlaw Legend first appeared on Whiskey Riff.