Toby Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, has died. He was 62.
The 鈥淪hould鈥檝e Been a Cowboy鈥 singer-songwriter, who , died peacefully Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted on the country singer鈥檚 website. 鈥淗e fought his fight with grace and courage,鈥 the statement said. He announced his cancer .
The 6-foot-4 singer broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s, 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 鈥淐ourtesy of the Red, White and Blue,鈥 and boisterous barroom tunes like 鈥淚 Love This Bar鈥 and 鈥淩ed Solo Cup.鈥 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 鈥淗ow Do You Like Me Now?!,鈥 鈥淎s Good As I Once Was,鈥 鈥淢y List鈥 and 鈥淏eer for My Horses,鈥 a duet with . His influences were other working class songwriters like Merle Haggard and tallied more than 60 singles on the Hot Country chart over his career.
Throughout the cancer treatments, Keith continued to perform, most recently playing in Las Vegas in December. He also performed on the People鈥檚 Choice Country Awards in 2023 as he sang his song 鈥淒on鈥檛 Let the Old Man In.鈥
鈥淐ancer is a roller coaster,鈥 he told during an interview aired last month. 鈥淵ou just sit here and wait on it to go away. It might never go away.鈥
Keith worked as a roughneck in the oil fields of Oklahoma as a young man, then played semi-pro football before launching his career as a singer.
鈥淚 write about life, and I sing about life, and I don鈥檛 overanalyze things,鈥 Keith told The Associated Press in 2001, following the success of his song 鈥淚鈥檓 Just Talking About Tonight.鈥
Keith learned good lessons in the booming oil fields, which toughened him up, but also showed him the value of money.
鈥淭he money to be made was unbelievable,鈥 Keith told the AP in 1996. 鈥淚 came out of high school in 1980 and they gave me this job December of 1979, $50,000 a year. I was 18-years-old.鈥
But the domestic oil field industry collapsed and Keith had not saved. 鈥淚t about broke us,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o I just learned. I鈥檝e taken care of my money this time.鈥
He spent a couple seasons as a defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers, a farm team for the now-defunct United States Football League. But he found consistent money playing music with his band throughout the red dirt roadhouse circuit in Oklahoma and Texas.
鈥淎ll through this whole thing the only constant thing we had was music,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 hard to sit back and say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to go make my fortune singing music, or writing music.鈥 I had no contacts.鈥
Eventually his path took him to Nashville, where he 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 鈥淭oby Keith,鈥 in 1993.
鈥淪hould鈥檝e Been a Cowboy,鈥 his breakout hit, was played 3 million times on radio stations, making it the most played country song of the 1990s.
But the label鈥檚 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.
鈥淭hey were trying to get me to compromise, and I was living a miserable existence,鈥 Keith told the AP. 鈥淓verybody was trying to mold me into something I was not.鈥
After a series of albums that produced hits like 鈥淲ho鈥檚 That Man,鈥 and cover of Sting鈥檚 鈥淚鈥檓 So Happy I Can鈥檛 Stop Crying,鈥 Keith moved to DreamWorks Records in 1999.
That鈥檚 when his multi-week 鈥淗ow Do You Like Me Now?!鈥 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: 鈥淚鈥檝e waited a long time for this. Nine years!鈥
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鈥檚 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, 鈥淐ourtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)鈥 included a threat 鈥 鈥淲e鈥檒l put a boot in your ass 鈥 It鈥檚 the American way鈥 鈥 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鈥檚 song 鈥減andering to people鈥檚 worst instincts at a time they are hurt and scared.鈥
Then there was the feud between Keith and The Chicks (formerly called the Dixie Chicks), who became a target of Keith鈥檚 ire when singer Natalie Maines told a crowd that they were ashamed of then-President George W. Bush. Maines had also previously called Keith鈥檚 song 鈥渋gnorant.鈥
Keith, who had previously claimed that he supported any artist鈥檚 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 鈥淔UTK鈥 onstage at the 2003 ACM Awards, which many people believed was a vulgar message to Keith.
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 鈥淪hock 鈥檔 Y鈥檃ll.鈥
His pro-military stance wasn鈥檛 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 with cancer and their families.
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.
鈥淧robably 75% of the people in this town think I鈥檒l fail, and the other 25% hope I fail,鈥 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 鈥淟ove Me If You Can,鈥 鈥淪he Never Cried In Front of Me,鈥 and 鈥淩ed Solo Cup.鈥 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.
鈥淚 always felt like that the songwriting was the most important part of this whole industry,鈥 Keith told the crowd of fellow singers and writers.
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