Country singer-songwriter Toby Keith, dies at 62
Toby Keith, the singer-songwriter behind the 1993 country hit "Should've Been a Cowboy," one of his 20 No. 1 singles and the most-played country song of the 1990s, died Monday at 62.
Keith, who was battling stomach cancer, died "peacefully" on Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted on the country singer's website. "He fought his fight with grace and courage," the statement said. He was diagnosed in 2021.
Keith revealed his diagnosis in a June 2022 Instagram post, noting he "spent the last 6 months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery."
"So far, so good," he wrote at the time. "I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can't wait."
He was in similarly good spirits at the People's Choice Country Awards, where he received the 2023 Country Icon award in September and performed "Don't Let the Old Man" from Clint Eastwood's 2018 film "The Mule."
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The performer noted that he chose the song to inspire anyone watching or sharing his cancer fight.
"It's a little bit of a roller coaster. You get good days and, you know, you're up and down, up and down," Keith told E! News. "It's always zero to 60 and 60 to zero, but I feel good."
Fellow Oklahoman and 2000s-era country star Blake Shelton offered an earnest yet humorous tribute at People's Choice, to which Keith retorted, "I bet you all never thought you'd see me in skinny jeans," which he wore instead of boot-cut or straight-leg jeans because of his health.
Keith, clearly shaken by the profoundness of the moment, sang, "Try to love on your wife / And stay close to your friends / Toast each sundown with wine / Don't let the old man in."
His wife of 39 years, Tricia, could not hold back tears. They were married on March 24, 1984.
Keith is survived by her and three children — two daughters, Shelley Covel Rowland, 43, adopted by Keith in 1984, and Krystal "Krystal Keith" LaDawn Covel Sandubrae, 38, plus a son, Stelen Keith Covel, 26, and four grandchildren.
Keith returned to performing late last year, including dual Las Vegas "rehab" shows, as he referred to them, to allow him to get reacquainted with performing.
Toby Keith's country music roots ran deep in Oklahoma
Keith was inarguably an artist as inherently beloved in Moore and Norman, Oklahoma, as Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton in Memphis and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
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Sometimes a polarizing figure in country music, the 6-foot-4 singer broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s, crafting an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger and writing songs that fans loved to hear. Over his career he publicly clashed with other celebrities and journalists and often pushed back against record executives who wanted to smooth his rough edges.
He was known for his overt patriotism on post 9/11 songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," and boisterous barroom tunes like "I Love This Bar" and "Red Solo Cup." He had a powerful booming voice, a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and range that carried love songs as well as drinking songs.
Among his 20 No. 1 Billboard hits were "How Do You Like Me Now?!," "Should've Been a Cowboy," "As Good As I Once Was," "My List" and "Beer for My Horses," a duet with Willie Nelson.
Keith attracted the interest of Mercury Records head Harold Shedd, who was best known as a producer for the hit group Alabama. Shedd brought him to Mercury, where he released his platinum debut record "Toby Keith," in 1993.
"Should've Been a Cowboy," his breakout hit, was played 3 million times on radio stations, making it the most played country song of the 1990s.
But the label's focus on global star Shania Twain overshadowed the rest of the roster and Keith felt that the executives were trying to push him in a pop direction.
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"They were trying to get me to compromise, and I was living a miserable existence," Keith told the AP. "Everybody was trying to mold me into something I was not."
After a series of albums that produced hits like "Who's That Man," and cover of Sting's "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying," Keith moved to DreamWorks Records in 1999.
That's when his multi-week "How Do You Like Me Now?!" took off and became his first song to crossover to Top 40 charts. In 2001, he won the male vocalist of the year and album of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, exclaiming from the stage: "I've waited a long time for this. Nine years!"
Songs like "I Wanna Talk About Me," a spoken-word song written by Bobby Braddock about a man frustrated by a talkative partner, got him attention for its similarity to the cadence of rap, which Keith dismissed. "They're going to call it a rap song, (although) there ain't nobody doing rap who would call it rap," he told "Billboard" magazine in 2001.
Politics, Toby Keith and the 'American way'
Keith often wore his politics on his sleeve, especially after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in 2001, and early on he said was a conservative Democrat, but later claimed he was an independent. He's played at events for Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the latter giving him a National Medal of the Arts in 2021. His songs and his blunt opinions sometimes caused him controversy, which he seemed to court.
His 2002 song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" included a threat— "We'll put a boot in your ass – It's the American way" — to anyone who dared to mess with America.
That song got pulled from a patriotic ABC Fourth of July special after producers deemed it too angry for the show. Singer-songwriter Steve Earle called Keith's song "pandering to people's worst instincts at a time they are hurt and scared."
Then there was the feud between Keith and The Chicks (formerly called the Dixie Chicks), who became a target of Keith's ire when singer Natalie Maines told a crowd that they were ashamed of then-President George W. Bush. Maines had also previously called Keith's song "ignorant."
Keith, who had previously claimed that he supported any artist's freedom to voice their opinion about politics, used a doctored photo of Maines with an image of Saddam Hussein at his concerts, further ramping up angry fans.
Maines responded by wearing a shirt with the letters "FUTK" onstage at the 2003 ACM Awards, which many people believed was a vulgar message to Keith.
He also publicly called out actor Ethan Hawke, who had written a story in Rolling Stone that described an argument between Kris Kristofferson and an unnamed country star that sounded a lot like Keith. During a backstage press conference during an awards show, Keith was furious at Hawke (and reporters for repeating the story) for what he called a "fictitious (expletive) lie."
Keith, who has acknowledged that he holds onto grudges, walked out of the ACM Awards in 2003 early because he had gotten snubbed in earlier categories, causing him to miss out when he was announced as entertainer of the year. Vince Gill accepted on his behalf. He came back the next year and won the top prize for a second year in a row, along with top male vocalist and album of the year for "Shock' n Y'all."
His pro-military stance wasn't just fodder for songs, however. He went on 11 USO tours to visit and play for troops serving overseas. He also helped to raise millions for charity over his career, including building a home in Oklahoma City for kids and their families who are battling cancer.
Next chapter allowed Toby Keith to start fresh
After Universal Music Group acquired DreamWorks, Keith started anew again, starting his own record label, Show Dog, in 2005 with record executive Scott Borchetta, who launched his own label Big Machine at the same time.
"Probably 75% of the people in this town think I'll fail, and the other 25% hope I fail," he said that year.
Later the label became Show Dog-Universal Music and had Keith, Trace Adkins, Joe Nichols, Josh Thompson, Clay Walker and Phil Vassar on its roster.
His later hits included "Love Me If You Can," "She Never Cried In Front of Me," and "Red Solo Cup." He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.
He was honored by the performance rights organization BMI in November 2022 with the BMI Icon award, a few months after announcing his stomach cancer diagnosis.
"I always felt like that the songwriting was the most important part of this whole industry," Keith told the crowd of fellow singers and writers.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Diana Leyva, USA TODAY; Marcus Dowling, The Nashville Tennessean; Kristin M. Hall, The Associated Press