R.I.P. Toby Keith
Please raise those red Solo cups up in tribute-
The Oklahoma Country singer-songwriter of #1 hits like “Who’s Your Daddy?” and “Made in America” and classics like “Beer for My Horses” (with Willie Nelson) and breakthrough hit, “Should Have Been a Cowboy”, Toby Keith succumbed to stomach cancer on Monday at his home at the age of 62, per his official website via Elaine Schock, his publicist.
Keith had previously announced in the summer of 2022 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and was being treated with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, but found enough strength for a final run of shows in Las Vegas in early December. (We were in Las Vegas during Keith’s run, covering U2 and Miranda Lambert, and are crushed that we didn’t make more of an effort to see him live, one last time).
He was born Toby Keith Covel in rural Clinton, OK on July 8, 1961, one of three children to an oil derrickhand and homemaker, and would live the great majority of his life in the Sooner state. He became first interested in music at his grandmother’s supper club in nearby Fort Smith, AR, eventually getting his first guitar at age eight. He would go on to play high school and semi-pro football, and worked in the oil industry after graduation, while playing in bands along the way.
After years on the bar band circuit, he finally broke through as a solo artist in 1993, with that initial defining single going on to become the most played country song of the decade, reaching the top of the Country charts, and also crossing over onto the Pop Charts as well.
Keith signed with Polydor Records Nashville for his sophomore album, 1994’s “Boomtown” which is when we met him at a radio station-sponsored concert and found him to be a large man with a former football player’s physique, but warm and friendly in conversation. In 1998, he left Polydor for new Nashville imprint, DreamWorks Records and the hits kept on coming.
In 2005 he founded his own label, Show Dog Nashville, which gave him more chart-topping singles like “Get My Drink On” and 2011’s “Red Solo Cup,” which also crossed over to the pop Top 20
Hard work, touring, and clever catchy songwriting (heralded with a 2015 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame) gave him wide appeal, as Keith usually wrote or co-wrote most of his own songs, and he would release more than 60 singles (twenty of which would top the charts) and logged over 40 million in album sales.
Other musical accolades included numerous CMA, CMT and ACM Awards, including the 2020 Merle Haggard Spirit Award by the Academy of Country Music and in 2021, he was a recipient of the prestigious National Medal of Arts. He also forayed into acting, commercial endorsements, and business ventures, like his well-known line of “I Love This Bar” establishments (that had locations in the KC and Minneapolis metros and more).
Keith was a firm patriot, injecting some of that fervor into some of his songs like the chart-topping, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”, which would be misunderstood by some, and cause public controversy and some post-9/11 backlash. Politically, Keith was actually a conservative Democrat (later changing to Independent), which surprised many that thought he was more of a stereotypical Republican.
Keith is survived by his mother; his wife of 39 years, Tricia; two daughters; a son; a sister, a brother, and four grandchildren.
Kyle Young, the CEO of The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum released the following statement:
"Toby Keith was big, brash, and never bowed down or slowed down for anyone. His story is a distinctly American one—a former roughneck oil worker who carved out his own space in country music with a sinewy voice and an unbending will to succeed. He wrote his breakthrough songs and later formed his own record label when he felt underserved by Nashville. He relished being an outsider and doing things his way. Proudly patriotic, he didn't mind if his clear-cut convictions ruffled your feathers. For three decades, he reflected the defiant strength of the country music audience. His memory will continue to stand tall."
