David Allan Coe
Wed Oct 24, 8:00 PM - Wed Oct 24, 11:00 PM

As a singer, his biggest hits were Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile, The Ride, You Never Even Called Me by My Name, She Used to Love Me a Lot, and Longhaired Redneck. His best-known compositions are the No. 1 successes Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone) (which was covered by Tanya Tucker) and Take This Job and Shove It (which was later covered by Johnny Paycheck and inspired a hit movie; both Coe and Paycheck had minor parts in the film).Early in 1970, Coe released his debut album, Penitentiary Blues, followed by a tour with Grand Funk Railroad. In October 1971 he signed as an exclusive writer with Pete and Rose Drakes publishing company Windows Publishing Company, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained until 1977. Although he developed a cult following with his performances, he was not able to develop any mainstream success, but other performers achieved charting success by recording songs Coe had written, including Billie Jo Spears 1972 recording Souvenirs & California Memrys and Tanya Tuckers 1973 single Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone), which was a number one hit, and responsible for Coe becoming one of Nashvilles hottest songwriters and Coe himself being signed by Columbia Records. Coe recorded his own version of the song for his second Columbia album, Once Upon a Rhyme, released in 1975. AllMusic writer Thom Jurek said of the song, The amazing thing is that both versions are definitive. The album also contained a cover of Steve Goodmans and John Prines You Never Even Called Me by My Name, which was a Top Ten Billboard hit, and was followed by a string of moderately successful hits.Coe was also a featured performer in Heartworn Highways, a 1975 documentary film by James Szalapski. Other performers featured in this film included Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young, Steve Earle, and The Charlie Daniels Band. In 1977 Johnny Paycheck released a cover of Coes Take This Job And Shove It, which was a number one hit and Coes most successful song.During the 1980s, Coe enjoyed a resurgence in mainstream popularity, twice hitting the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with The Ride (1983) and Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile (1984). The Ride recounts a drifters encou