Coe’s booking agent confirmed his death to EW, years after the songwriter was described in the media as having released “obscene and racist” material upon opening for Kid Rock on tour.

David Allan Coe, controversial country singer criticized for racist slurs in songs, dies at 86

Coe's booking agent confirmed his death to EW, years after the songwriter was described in the media as having released "obscene and racist" material upon opening for Kid Rock on tour.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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April 30, 2026 10:01 a.m. ET

Country singer David Allan Coe in 1994. Credit:

Paul Natkin/WireImage

- Country artist David Allan Coe has died at age 86.

- The performer was known for genre hits like "The Ride" and "You Never Even Called Me by My Name."

- Coe, who opened for Kid Rock's tour in 2000, drew criticism for "obscene and racist" lyrics throughout his career.

Controversial country musician David Allan Coe, known for genre hits like "The Ride" and "You Never Even Called Me by My Name" — as well as for including racist slurs in his earlier music from which he attempted to distance himself later in life — has died at age 86.

In an email statement to **, Coe's booking agent, David Wade, confirmed that the singer-songwriter "passed away in the hospital on Wednesday, April 29, at approximately 5:08 p.m." local time. An official cause of death was not immediately available.

"He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, and children, Shelli, Carla, Tanya, Tyler, Shyanne, and Carson," Wade continued. "He was a complicated man [and] outlaw, and a great songwriter, singer, and showman. He had fans from around the world and appreciated them all."

Country musician David Allan Coe in 1975.

Al Clayton/Getty

Throughout his decades-long career, Coe earned a reputation in country as part of the outlaw movement, releasing renegade singles that pushed societal buttons and included lyrics that the *New York Times* described as "obscene and racist" in a 2000 report tied to his status as the opening act for Kid Rock's tour.

"In the early 80s the outlaw country singer David Allan Coe released very small quantities of two underground albums of songs that are among the most racist, misogynist, homophobic and obscene songs recorded by a popular songwriter," the publication wrote at the time.

In a 2004 interview with with swampland.com, Coe pushed back against notions that he was racist.

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"Anyone that would look at me and say I was a racist would have to be out of their mind. I have dreadlocks down to my waist with earrings in both ears and my beard is down to my waist and it is in braids. People that read my books or whatever can see how I talk about living with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and we had an apartment together and I have a whole big feature story on him in my book," he said at the time.

He continued: "I lived next door to Charley Pride. I am a songwriter, you know, and to me it has always bothered me that actors in the movies can say whatever they want to say, kill people, rape people and do things and no one ever accuses them personally of being that way. But when you write a song and then all of a sudden you are being accused of something."**

David Allan Coe performing in 1994.

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In addition to stoking controversy with his lyrics, Coe also wrote material for other well-known acts.

Outside of penning tunes for artists like Johnny Cash and the Dead Kennedys, Coe wrote Tanya Tucker’s 1973 song "Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone)" and Johnny Paycheck’s "Take This Job and Shove It" in 1977 — both of which reached No. 1 on the *Billboard* Hot Country Songs chart.

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