Entertainment
David Allan Coe, country singer who wrote “Take This Job and Shove It,” dies at age 86
David Allan Coe, the country singer-songwriter who wrote the working class anthem “Take This Job and Shove It” and had hits with “You Never Even Called Me By My Name” and “The Ride” among others, has died, a representative for Coe confirmed to CBS News. He was 86.
Coe died in a hospital around 5 p.m. Wednesday, his manager David Wade confirmed to CBS News in a statement Thursday. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed.
“He was a complicated man, an outlaw, and a great Songwriter, Singer, and Showman,” Coe said. “He had fans from around the world and appreciated them all.”
Coe’s wife, Kimberly Hastings Coe, told Rolling Stone he was one of the best singers and songwriters of our time.
“My husband, my friend, my confidant and my life for many years. I’ll never forget him and I don’t want anyone else to ever forget him either,” she wrote to the publication.
Rick Kern/WireImage for Shock Ink/Getty Images
Whether he was labeled outlaw or underground, Coe was clearly an outsider in Nashville’s music establishment, even throughout his successes as an in-demand songwriter and singer, eventually developing a core following around his raw, often obscene lyrics and a checkered and somewhat mysterious past.
His wife posted on Facebook in September 2021 that he had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and he made few appearances since then.
He did concert tours with Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, Neil Young and others. He wrote “Take This Job and Shove It,” a hit by Johnny Paycheck in 1977, and “Would You Lay With Me (in a Field of Stone),” a hit by Tanya Tucker in 1974. He was also the first country singer to record “Tennessee Whiskey,” penned by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, that has since become a genre standard and hits for George Jones and Chris Stapleton.
His own country hit recordings included “You Never Even Call Me by My Name,” written by Steve Goodman and an uncredited John Prine; “The Ride,” and “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile.” Coe also appeared in a handful of movies, including “Stagecoach” and “Take this Job and Shove It,” which was named after his song.
Coe, born in Akron, Ohio, spent time in reformatories as a youngster, and served time in an Ohio prison from 1963 to 1967 for possession of burglary tools. He also has said he spent time with the Outlaws motorcycle club, but some of the tales about his prison time and his personal life have been wildly exaggerated over the years.
“I’d have never made it through prison without my music,” he said in an AP interview in 1983. “No one could take it (music) away from me. They could put me in the hole with nothing to do but I could still make up a song in my head.”
He recorded his first album, a blues album called “Penitentiary Blues,” using songs that he wrote in prison. He later told reporters that he tried not to lean too heavily on prison as a topic for songs because of the similarities to the backstory of Merle Haggard, but that his criminal history was all people seemed interested in focusing on.
Coe recorded next for Columbia Records and did the album “The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy,” which became his nickname after performing in a rhinestone suit and wearing a mask.
During the heyday of the outlaw movement, Coe placed himself at the center of the scene, with songs like “Longhaired Redneck,” which featured lyrics about performing in dive bars, “Where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies who are praying they’ll get out of here alive.”
He was featured in the acclaimed documentary about the outlaw country movement called “Heartworn Highways,” in which he performs a concert at a Tennessee prison.
Coe, himself heavily tattooed and sporting long hair, claimed a diverse fan base that included bikers, doctors, lawyers and bankers. His last record, released in 2006, was a collaboration with Dimebag Darrell and other former members of the heavy metal group Pantera.
He released two R-rated albums, 1978′s “Nothing Sacred” and 1982′s “Underground Album,” that he sold via biker magazines. The songs on these albums have been criticized for being racist, homophobic and sexually explicit. He told Billboard magazine in 2001 that author and songwriter Shel Silverstein convinced him to record the songs he had written, something he had come to regret.
“Those were meant to be sung around the campfire for bikers, and I still don’t sing those songs in concert,” he said.
In 2016, Coe was ordered to pay the IRS more than $980,000 in restitution for obstructing the tax agency and was sentenced to three years’ probation. Court documents say Coe earned income from at least 100 concerts yearly from 2008 through 2013 and either didn’t file individual income tax returns or pay taxes when he did file.
Entertainment
Kim Kardashian delights fans with pregnancy pic ahead of Met Gala: ‘Loading’
Kim Kardashian was always the queen of Met Gala pregnancy looks.
Hours ahead of the fashion’s biggest night on May 4, 2026, the reality TV star surprised fans with a pregnancy photo as she looked back on all her iconic Met Gala looks while preparing for her 13th appearance in a row this year.
“Year 13 loading…” she captioned the post, confirming that she will be gracing the Met Gala red carpet this year after skipping last year.
The first photo was from Kardashian’s first ever Met Gala look in 2013, when she was pregnant with her and then-husband Kanye West’s first child, North West. For her Met Gala debut, Kim wore a custom Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci dress created out of floral printed jersey.
The second picture showed the mom-of-four trying on her 2014 Met Gala dress — a blue strapless Lanvin gown with a black waistband and thigh-high slit.
The SKIMS founder stepped up her game the next year in a sheer crystal-embroidered Roberto Cavalli gown with feather detailing and a long train, with the whole look inspired by Cher.
At the time, she was pregnant with her second child, Saint West, who was born on December 5, 2015.
Kardashian kept outshining herself in the years that followed.
In 2016, she stunned in a futuristic Balmain look, which she described as a “bling sexy robot.”
Following her Paris robbery in October 2016, Kardashian was hesitant to wear much jewellery for the 2017 Met Gala, keeping things simple in an off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood Couture corset dress.
However, she turned up the heat again in 2018 — months after welcoming her third child, Chicago West — in a custom gold chainmail Versace dress featuring embroidered crosses.
2019 was one of Kardashian’s most memorable looks yet, featuring a custom Thierry Mugler dress with the vision of her as “this California girl stepping out of the ocean, wet, dripping.” Just days later, she welcomed her fourth child, Psalm West, via surrogate.
In the first Met Gala since the pandemic in 2021, Kardashian turned heads in an all-black Balenciaga dress, including a full face mask and gloves to cover her entire body. That was also the year she filed for divorce from Ye.
The next year, Kardashian attended the Met Gala with her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson, wearing an iconic Marilyn Monroe dress which earned her a lot of backlash.
In 2023, she stunned in a custom Schiaparelli haute couture design by Daniel Roseberry featuring a draped skirt and top adorned with more than 50,000 freshwater pearls and 16,0000 crystal pearls.
2024’s Met Gala saw Kardashian bringing back her cinched waist look with a silver corset and lace train featuring leaves and floral accents. The dress was a custom Margiela by John Galliano.
After skipping the 2025 Met Gala, Kardashian — who has entered a new chapter of her life after sparking a relationship with Lewis Hamilton — now has fans at the edge of their seats with what she has planned this year.
Entertainment
Govt to compensate One Constitution Avenue apartment owners at price originally paid
- Committee to review cases, submit report.
- PM approval awaited for compensation plan.
- Authorities have been told to halt action.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided in principle to compensate apartment owners of One Constitution Avenue by paying them their original purchase prices, with a formal announcement expected after approval from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
A high-level committee, constituted by the prime minister, has begun work to examine the legal and administrative aspects of the high-profile controversy, according to an official notification issued by the Cabinet Division. The committee is headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and includes Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, along with the secretaries of the Cabinet Division and Commerce Division.
The committee has been tasked with reviewing all related cases, listening to affected apartment owners and proposing a balanced course of action to address grievances while ensuring compliance with the court orders. It is scheduled to submit its report to the prime minister by May 8.
Until a final decision is taken, authorities including the Capital Development Authority (CDA), police and district administration have been directed not to take any action against residents.
The issue stems from a long-standing dispute over the project. In 2005, the CDA allotted 13.5 acres of land to a private developer for construction of a five-star hotel. The company secured the lease for Rs4.8 billion and was granted possession after making an initial 15 per cent payment. However, it subsequently defaulted on payments, leading to prolonged rescheduling and litigation.
In 2019, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the developer to pay Rs17.5 billion to restore the lease. The company has so far paid only Rs2.9 billion and remains in default of approximately Rs14.5 billion, resulting in cancellation of the lease in 2023.
Authorities also noted that in violation of the original agreement, the developer constructed 263 residential apartments on the site. Despite public notices warning buyers of the project’s disputed status, transactions continued.
Currently, only 69 of the 263 apartments are occupied, while the majority remain in the hands of investors. Of the occupied units, officials say only a small proportion are used for permanent residence, with many being rented out on a short-term basis.
Following directions from the Islamabad High Court, the CDA officials, accompanied by police, recently issued seven-day eviction notices to occupants in line with the court orders.
Despite earlier warnings, the government has now moved towards compensating affected buyers, signalling a conciliatory approach aimed at resolving the prolonged dispute.
Originally published in The News
Entertainment
The Marka-e-Haq win
The 72-hour armed conflict named Marka-e-Haq was another finest hour in Pakistan’s history after 6th September 1965, when the entire nation gelled together to defeat the nefarious aims of an aggressor, displaying courage, cohesion and maturity as a proud nation that valued peace but also knew how to defend its sovereignty.
On May 6, under the cover of darkness, India targeted civilian infrastructure in Pakistan at six locations – Ahmedpur Sharqia (Bahawalpur), Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh, Muzaffarabad and Kotli, martyring 36 innocent civilians, including men, women and children.
The attacks were launched by India employing dual-use, nuclear-capable BrahMos cruise missiles in a conventional role – an extremely foolhardy and provocative act for a nuclear state – which indicated Indian hubris and disregard for acceptable norms of human rights as well as the laws of war. This crass irresponsibility as a nuclear state was matched by the sententious rhetoric of the Indian leadership, trying to justify the unjustifiable. The most egregious Indian mistake was crossing the Rubicon of deterrence stability, introducing dangerous instability into the subcontinental nuclear equilibrium.
By firing nuclear-capable cruise missiles across the international border, India had cocked a snook at Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence. Nuclear scholars like Bernard Brodie and Thomas Schelling have highlighted the need to make nuclear deterrence credible by convincing the adversary that nuclear weapons would be used if deterrence were ever breached. In fact, another nuclear commentator, Martin Van Creveld, had categorically stated that “nuclear strategy is no strategy but pure deterrence”. Had Pakistan not responded effectively, Indian hubris might have expanded the conflict further.
Unfortunately, India has not yet learned from its humiliation in Marka-e-Haq and is busy reorganising its armed forces for ground incursions through terrain-optimised and mission-specific, combined-arms, brigade-sized groups like Rudra brigades, Bhairav light commando battalions, Shaktiban artillery regiments, Ashni drone platoons and Akash Prime air defence regiments, employing the ‘Cold Strike’ concept aimed at shallow territorial incursions to create a semblance of victory.
The casus belli for the Indian attacks on the night of May 6 was the alleged Indian false flag operation at Pahalgam, a tourist resort in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), where 26 tourists were gunned down by unnamed militants.
The objective of the Indian false flag operation and concomitant aggression against Pakistan was to project Pakistan as a terror-sponsoring state and to impose a war to browbeat Pakistan into making concessions at the negotiating table. The aggression was also meant to act as a shot in the arm for Prime Minister Modi’s electoral prospects ahead of the important state elections in Bihar.
India’s violation of international law by unilaterally suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was also a hidden motive, put into practice on April 23, following the false flag operation at Pahalgam on April 21, 2025.
The Indians, however, received a shock of their lives when Pakistan responded vigorously through air and ground retaliation. The crowning glory of Pakistan’s response was the downing of seven high-performance Rafale jets on May 7. The shocked Indian armed forces resorted to attacks using loitering munitions, targeting Pakistan indiscriminately, and on May 9, launched another wave of cruise missiles and drone strikes against the Nur Khan, Shorkot, Bholari, Jacobabad and Rafiqui airbases of Pakistan. Pakistan responded effectively, destroying 84 drones and disabling or misdirecting several missiles.
The main Pakistani response came on May 10 in the form of Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, during which 26 targets were attacked in IIOJK as well as mainland India, including Uri, KG Top, Nowshera Brigade Headquarters, and air/military bases at Halwara, Sirsa, Ambala, Jammu, Mamun, Naliya, Kandla, Bhuj, Swatragh, Poonch, and Rajauri, killing 50 Indian troops on the LoC alone.
The PAF destroyed several much-vaunted Indian S-400 missile systems, exposing gaps in Indian air defence. Having suffered grievous losses and an economic haemorrhage to the tune of $84 billion, the harried Indian leadership requested US mediation to end the conflict. The conflict resulted in an embarrassing defeat of Indian politico-military aims, alongside reputational damage after being dubbed an irresponsible nuclear state.
Pakistan has emerged as the undisputed winner in Marka-e-Haq, having effectively thwarted India’s war aim of pressurising Pakistan through accusations of terrorism and military coercion to extract concessions at the negotiating table under the overhang of international mediation. The military objective derived from this political aim was to attack alleged militant camps in Pakistan and inflict a crippling blow to Pakistan’s military and economic potential in order to weaken its resolve to stand up to Indian pressure.
Pakistan’s patient and responsible self-defence response, remaining within international law, earned it international goodwill and support. Its potent yet measured retaliation through Fateh I & II guided rocket artillery restored the balance of nuclear deterrence and forced India to rethink its war aims and ultimately acquiesce to US-mediated ceasefire efforts. The shift in Indian posture was a consequence of Pakistan’s effective conventional military response as well as its diplomatic and media strategy.
Marka-e-Haq, indubitably, is a watershed moment in the history of Indo-Pak conflicts, where a determined nation, courageous leadership and a better-trained and more motivated military leveraged technology-enabled network-centric warfare to defeat a much larger, yet poorly networked and platform-centric, Indian military. Pakistan emerged successful on multiple fronts – diplomatic, epistemic and military – to stand up to aggression and deliver a decisive response on the battlefield.
The strategic and diplomatic dividends of the Pakistani response, whose apotheosis was Operation Bunyanum Marsoos on May 10, are being realised in the form of enhanced international stature and increased clout as a ‘security stabiliser’ in the region.
The writer is a security and defence analyst. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer’s own and don’t necessarily reflect Geo.tv’s editorial policy.
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