John Prine Refused Writer Credit on This David Allan Coe Classic Over Fears of Offending the Country Music Community

Yet again, here is another story about a true craftsman creating a hit song for another artist. It’s the type of story that might seem redundant at this point. However, when the songwriters are revealed, it never ceases to amaze me. That being said, this story is about how John Prine and Steve Goodman wrote David Allan Coe‘s most famous hit “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”.

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When you look at the lyrics and the thematic tone of the song, it becomes clear that this isn’t Coe’s work. He simply would not have written a song that didn’t encompass getting drunk or going to jail. No shade to Coe; he had his niche, and he was good at it. It was just who he was, and why people listened to him. That being said, listeners should take a peak at the third to last verse of the song. It’s apparent Goodman wrote the song for Coe, but what isn’t apparent is the help he received from John Prine.

John Prine’s Personal Anecdote

At one of his concerts, John Prine opened up and told the story about how he and Goodman wrote “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”. It was 1971, and Prine and Goodman had just found their footing in New York City as musicians and were sharing a room at the Rosevelt Hotel. Prine went out on the town and when he came home, Goodman was writing “You Never Even Called Me By My Name”.

“I was feeling pretty good so I jumped up on the bed and acted like I had an imaginary fiddle,” Prine said. “I said ‘You don’t have to call me darling, darling, but you never even call me by my name.’”

The two then incidentally created David Allan Coe’s greatest all-time hit.

Prine Never Wanted Any Credit

Given that the two whipped out the song off the cuff, John Prine viewed it as a rather unserious song. That is exactly why he didn’t want to take credit for it. Prine found it to be a “novelty song” and didn’t want to “offend the country music community.” Also, Prine didn’t receive any royalties for the song. So, in hopes of paying him back, Goodman bought him a jukebox.

Despite not wanting any credit, Prine definitely got some credit for the song. David Allan Coe released the song in 1975 and it would go on to peak at no. 8 on the Billboard Country Singles chart for 17 weeks. Thanks to John Prine and Steve Goodman, David Allan Coe became an integral part of the 1970s outlaw country scene. The story makes one wonder… what other songs are the pair hiding from us?

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