Rest in peace to one of the greatest outlaw country music legends, David Allan Coe.
The “Take This Job & Shove It” singer passed away yesterday evening, April 29, at the age of 86, after a day spent in the intensive care unit. While his cause of death is currently unknown, there’s one thing for certain, and that’s that the 1970s and 80s country icon left behind a pretty bada** legacy.
Born on September 6, 1939, the Ohio native etched his name into country music history thanks to his hits like “You Never Even Called Me By My Name,” “If This Is Just A Game,” and “The Ride.” Not to mention the fact that beyond his music, Coe had one of the wildest backstories of endless antics that fiercely earned him his “outlaw” title.
In his early days, he spent much of his youth in correctional facilities (which ended up working in his favor, considering this time in prison is where he met Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who encouraged him to write songs). While Coe may have worked his way up to Music Row and accomplished quite the feat of a successful music career, his rebellious behavior still followed him throughout the remainder of his life, where he continued to find himself getting arrested at a casino in 2008, owing over $300,000 in child support for his four kids back in 2007, and of course, his non-apologetic catalog of outspoken off-the-rail songs.
However, probably one of the greatest marks of his outlaw reputation came in 2015, when the then-76-year-old wound up owing the IRS nearly a million dollars after years of evading taxes, to which he later pleaded guilty to the criminal charges in 2016. In true renegade fashion, the singer-songwriter had reportedly been playing at least 100 concerts a year throughout 2008 and 2013.
Coe found a loophole in evading any taxes from the income by simply asking the concert fees to be paid upfront, first through wiring directly to his booking manager (who would disperse the sum to Coe), until eventually he just started asking venues for cash to avoid any tracking from the IRS. According to the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio, this money went to paying other debts, gambling, and pretty much anything but paying his taxes.
In the press release, they also note that Coe had a bit of a superstition when it came to the type of bills he’d collect, “The remaining balance of the concert fee was to be paid in cash only, by 3:00p.m.on the day of the concert, with no $50 dollar bills allowed as Coe believed they were bad luck and would not gamble with them.” Adding, “Coe’s road manager picked up the cash, which he used to pay himself and the other band members, and then provided the remaining cash to Coe either in person or through MoneyGram or Western Union.”
All in all, the bad luck still came to bite him in the back, considering the singer-songwriter found himself owing, “the IRS $388,190.94 for the 2009 income tax year, $35,640.10 for the 2011 income tax year, and $42,733.82 for the 2013 income tax year.” In total, he was left with a hefty fee to Uncle Sam of over $980,000 along with three years’ probation in Cincinnati federal court.
Now, while I’m not condoning tax evasion, it’s still a pretty epic legacy considering the late 70’s singer was cranking out so many shows a year and keeping up his rebel antics, which continues to cement his long-lasting hardworking demeanor in his legacy as one of country music’s greats.