Overview
- Booking agent David Wade said Coe died in a hospital at about 5:08 p.m. local time on Wednesday, with no cause released.
- His wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, confirmed the death to Rolling Stone, and a representative told People he was a “country music treasure.”
- Coe wrote hits for others including “Take This Job and Shove It” and “Would You Lay With Me,” first recorded “Tennessee Whiskey,” and had his own chart success with “You Never Even Called Me by My Name,” “The Ride,” and “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile.”
- He faced long-running backlash for two underground X-rated albums that used racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language and for Confederate imagery, accusations he later denied reflected his beliefs.
- His daughter Tanya Montana Coe said she was not told of his death and asked for funeral details, signaling family strain as fans and the industry reassess his complicated legacy.