In a social media post early this morning, it was announced that Toby Keith has passed away. We’ll have more on this developing story later today.
Here is the write-up that Country Aircheck issued this morning from radio’s perspective:
Show Dog’s Toby Keith passed away Monday (2/5). He was 62. The news was shared on his website and social media accounts. “Toby Keith passed peacefully last night … surrounded by his family,” the statement reads. “He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.” In June 2022, Keith revealed he was battling stomach cancer (CAT 6/13), saying he had been diagnosed in Fall 2021 and had undergone chemo, radiation and surgery. He performed three shows at Park MGM’s Dolby Live in Las Vegas last December.
Born Toby Keith Covel on July 8, 1961, Keith broke into the country mainstream with his first single, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” taking it to No. 1 in 1993. All in, his songs spent 56 weeks at the top of the chart, tied for fifth all-time with Alan Jackson. Keith marked 30 years in the business last year.
Along the way, he was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, and won two CMA Awards and 12 ACM Awards, including ACM Entertainer of the Year in 2003 and 2004. ACM special awards included the Tex Ritter Film Award (2009), Career Achievement Award (2014), Poet’s Award (2017) and Merle Haggard Spirit Award (2021). Of all his accolades, Keith was most proud of his songwriter honors. He was inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 (CAT 6/9/15) and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021 (CAT 7/13/21).
Keith got his first guitar at age eight and did odd jobs at Billie Garner’s Supper Club in Fort Smith, AR, which his grandmother owned, sometimes getting up on the bandstand to play. After graduating from high school in Moore, OK, Keith worked as a derrick hand in the oil fields and rose to become an operations manager. He formed the Easy Money Band with friends at age 20, playing local bars while still working in the oil industry. In 1982, Keith found himself unemployed and fell back on his high school football training to play defensive end for the semi-pro Oklahoma City Drillers. By 1984, Easy Money was playing the honky-tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas.
Keith’s demo caught the attention of Harold Shedd, and he was signed to Mercury. “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” was the first of four singles from his self-titled debut. By the end of the decade, it had received more than three million spins at Country radio. Keith went on to sign with Polydor Nashville for his second album before moving to the Nashville division of A&M Records for his third release. He returned to Mercury in 1997 for his fourth album and a greatest hits compilation before asking to terminate his contract with the label. In 1999, Keith moved to DreamWorks Nashville, releasing How Do You Like Me Now?! The title track spent multiple weeks at the top of the Country radio charts and becoming his first Top 40 crossover hit. “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American),” which Keith penned in late 2001 following his father’s death and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, also achieved crossover success, reaching No. 25 on the Hot 100 to become his biggest solo hit on that chart.
When DreamWorks shuttered in 2005, Keith founded his own Show Dog Nashville, sharing staff with Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records before splitting into two separately staffed labels the following March. Show Dog merged with Universal South Records as Show Dog-Universal Music in Dec. 2009 before reactivating as an independent label in late 2015. Also in 2005, Keith opened Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill with a chain of restaurants in cities across the country. He extended his business ventures to a clothing line and alcohol brands with a 2013 edition of Forbes featuring Keith on the cover with the caption, “Country Music’s $500 Million Man.”
A known philanthropist, Keith headlined numerous USO tours in support of those serving in the U.S. military. His Toby Keith Foundation built and funded the OK Kids Korral, a no-cost home for children and their families battling cancer in his native Oklahoma.
Marking the 30 years since his No. 1 debut with an in-depth Country Aircheck feature last year, Keith was hopeful of a return to touring. He also recalled the first time he heard “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” recorded by an A-list Nashville studio band. “On the outside I was all business, but on the inside, I was jumping up and down,” he said. “Having people believe in me not just as an artist but as a songwriter – I’d never had that … Years later, it’s still the best part.”
