| Longhaired Redneck | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 at Columbia Studio in Nashville | |||
| Genre | Country, Outlaw country | |||
| Length | 28:16 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Ron Bledsoe | |||
| David Allan Coe chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Longhaired Redneck is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1976 on Columbia.
Longhaired Redneck was Coe's third album for Columbia in three years and the first where he wrote or co-wrote all the songs. Coe had already written several hits for other artists and scored his own Top 10 hit in 1975 with the Steve Goodman-John Prine composition “You Never Even Called Me by My Name.” By 1976 the outlaw country movement was in full swing as artists such as Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson were finally enjoying massive commercial success after years of fighting to record their music their own way. Coe, however, was still somewhat of an outsider, almost too outlaw for the outlaws, a predicament summed up well by Thom Jurek in his AllMusic review of the LP:
His wild, long hair; multiple earrings; flashy, glitzy rhinestone suits; Harley Davidson biker boots; and football-sized belt buckles had become obstacles to getting people to take him seriously as a recording artist. Other singers continued to record and succeed with his material, but the author himself - who was as good a singer as almost anyone and better than most - languished in obscurity. Rather than tone it down, Coe characteristically shoved the stereotypes in their faces. He retired the Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy persona and billed his new album as "David Allan Coe Rides Again as the Longhaired Redneck," something equally off-putting to institution types. [1]
The outlaw country zeitgeist was summed up well in the title track of Longhaired Redneck, which recounts playing in a dive “where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies who are praying they'll get out of here alive.” The song, which has an unmistakable rock swagger, features Coe performing an impressive imitation of Ernest Tubb, making it irretrievably country as well, illustrating the dichotomy of what was being referred to as "progressive" country music. Coe later explained, “It was terminology that I'd made up at the time. I was trying to tell people that not everybody with long hair was a hippie. Not everyone was the kind of person that thought you could punch them out, take their money and that they'd say, 'I won't do nothin' about it.'” [2] The song is also an early example of Coe's penchant for namedropping, as he mentions Merle Haggard and proclaims “Johnny Cash helped me get out of prison.”
Several of the songs, such as the prison lament “Revenge” and “Living on the Run,” play up to the outlaw image, while “Spotlight” explores the lonely wasted existence of a country singer. (“Roll me a smoke, give me some coke...”) and advises the press, “Don't waste your time or your flashbulbs, too many heroes are dead.” (In the same AllMusic review, Thom Jurek contends the song “sums up the way he views his life at this particular juncture, and given the lyrics, his mind couldn't have been a nice place to live.”) [1] Conversely, Longhaired Redneck also contains songs with warmer themes, such as “Texas Lullaby” (“See those tumbleweeds blowin’, Lord it makes me want to cry/It reminds me of my daddy and that Texas lullaby”) and “Family Reunion,” which boasts multilayered harmonies and an allusion to the bluegrass classic "Fox on the Run". “Free Born Ramblin’ Man” is a more obvious derivative paean to Southern rock, with its Allman Brothers-like guitar intro and title evoking that band's biggest hit.
Coe is backed by The Nashville Edition and The Jordanaires on vocals, as well as some of Nashville's top session musicians such as Reggie Young and Charlie McCoy.
AllMusic praised the album, opining "Like most of Coe's '70s material, this one's essential outlaw country that stands the test of time," but scorned the LP's closing track "Dakota the Dancing Bear, Part II," as "an exercise in cynical, pointless counterculture idiocy and, unfortunately, was the first of Coe's 'novelty' songs." [1]
All Songs written by David Allan Coe except where noted.
David Allan Coe is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville. He initially played mostly in the blues style, before transitioning to country music, becoming a major part of the 1970s outlaw country scene. 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".
A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic.
Penitentiary Blues is the debut album of American singer David Allan Coe. It was released in 1970 on SSS International Records.
The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy is the third album of American singer David Allan Coe, and his first on Columbia Records. Released in 1974, it is his first release in the country music genre.
Once Upon a Rhyme is the fourth studio album by American country singer David Allan Coe. It was released in 1975 on Columbia.
Rides Again is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1977 on Columbia.
Tattoo is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1977 on Columbia Records.
Human Emotions is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1978 on Columbia.
Spectrum VII is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe, released in 1979 on Columbia Records.
Compass Point is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1979 on Columbia.
I've Got Something to Say is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1980 on Columbia. Guy Clark, Bill Anderson, Dickey Betts, Kris Kristofferson, Larry Jon Wilson, and George Jones are all featured on this album.
Invictus (Means) Unconquered is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1981 on Columbia.
This is a detailed discography for American country music artist David Allan Coe. He started his career in 1970 on SSS International Records before signing with Columbia Records and staying with the label for 15 years. In the 1990s, he released albums through several independent labels such as his own DAC Records. Most of these releases have been reissued under different names and/or cannibalized for various compilations. Overall, Coe's discography consists of 42 studio albums, 4 live albums, 1 collaborative studio album, and 1 audiobook, plus many compilation albums.
Looks Like Rain is a 1969 concept album by singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury. After recording his debut album with RCA, Newbury was dissatisfied with the resulting album and left RCA to pursue a style closer to his tastes. Recorded at Cinderella Sound, as his next two albums would be, the result is widely considered his first real recording and represents a peak in the singer songwriter movement, especially for Nashville. The sound and style of the record would be highly influential during the Outlaw Movement during country music in the 1970s especially on albums by David Allan Coe and Waylon Jennings. Linking the tracks with delicate arrangements and liberal amount of atmosphere, the record contains some of Newbury's most celebrated compositions including "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye", "33rd of August", "I Don't Think Much About Her No More", and "San Francisco Mabel Joy". AllMusic's review of the album concludes, "Looks Like Rain is so fine, so mysterious in its pace, dimension, quark strangeness and charm, it defies any attempt at strict categorization or criticism; a rare work of genius."
"Longhaired Redneck" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist David Allan Coe. It was released in January 1976 as the lead single from Coe's album of the same name. The song is notable for its direct reference to the "outlaw" movement in country music during the 1970s, with which Coe was associated, as well as the chorus which features Coe impersonating classic country artists Ernest Tubb, "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson, and Merle Haggard. The song also makes reference to Johnny Rodriguez stealing an Angora goat from a ranch near Utopia, Texas owned by Uvalde County Judge Bob Davis, which ultimately led to Rodriguez being discovered. The song peaked at number 17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 23 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. It was written by Coe with Jimmy Rabbitt, who is also a popular radio DJ in Texas.
Tennessee Whiskey is a 1981 album by country singer David Allan Coe.
D.A.C is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1982 on Columbia.
Castles in the Sand is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1983 on Columbia.
Son of the South is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1986 on Columbia.
A Matter of Life ...and Death is an album released by country musician David Allan Coe. It was released in 1987 on Columbia.
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