David Allan Coe, who wrote 'Take This Job and Shove It' and other country hits, dies at 86

Source: Associated Press, via NBC News

Pop Culture News
David Allan Coe, who wrote 'Take This Job and Shove It' and other country hits, dies at 86

Whether he was labeled outlaw or underground, Coe was clearly an outsider in Nashville’s music establishment.


-------- David Allan Coe performs at the Willie Nelson July 4th Picnic at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Ga. in 1983.Rudolph Faircloth / AP file

April 30, 2026, 2:35 AM EDT / Source: The Associated Press
By The Associated Press

David Allan Coe, the country singer-songwriter who wrote the working class anthem “Take This Job and Shove It″ and had hits with “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” and “The Ride” among others, has died. He was 86.

Coe’s wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, confirmed his death to Rolling Stone on Wednesday. ... She described him as one of the best singers and songwriters of our time. ... “My husband, my friend, my confidant and my life for many years. I’ll never forget him and I don’t want anyone else to ever forget him either,” she wrote to the publication. ... A statement from a Coe representative to People said he died around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed.

Whether he was labeled outlaw or underground, Coe was clearly an outsider in Nashville’s music establishment, even throughout his successes as an in-demand songwriter and singer, eventually developing a core following around his raw, often obscene lyrics and a checkered and somewhat mysterious past.

His wife posted on Facebook in September 2021 that he had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and he made few appearances since then.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/david-allan-coe-wrote-take-job-shove-country-hits-dies-86-rcna342828