David Allen Coe

He's lived in caves, worn Lone Ranger masks on stage and made records that have sent legions of the politically correct running for the stop button. But despite the cartoon outlaw image that has grown up around David Allen Coe, it's his myriad accomplishments as a songwriter, performer, author and actor that are inexorably becoming his hallmark. After a young adulthood spent in and out of prison, Coe emerged as a fully realized talent with his 1968 debut, Penitentiary Blues. His hard-bitten yet eloquent songs -- not to mention his raunchy underground recordings -- brought him acclaim in the early '70s. Subsequently, everyone from Tanya Tucker and Johnny Paycheck to Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash have lucratively covered his songs. Coe's upcoming release is under the name Rebel Meets Rebel, and it's a collaboration with the Pantera/Damageplan triumvirate of Rex Brown, Vinnie Paul and the late Dimebag Darrell that miraculously kicks ass. You just can't keep a weird old redneck down.