Remembering Toby Keith: A Country Music Legend (1961–2024)

He was a big man with a big voice and a sense of humor to match. Over three decades, Toby Keith scored 20 No. 1 hits, wrote most of them himself and became one of the biggest stars in country music. Keith died on February 5, 2024, at age 62, after a battle with stomach cancer that he had revealed publicly in 2022.

From the Oil Fields to the Stage

Born Toby Keith Covel on July 8, 1961, in Clinton, Oklahoma, he worked as a roughneck in the oil fields and played semi-pro football as a defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers before music took over. He spent years playing honky-tonks around Oklahoma and Texas, sharpening the blue-collar songwriting that would become his trademark.

Should've Been a Cowboy

Keith's self-titled debut album arrived in 1993 and went platinum, led by "Should've Been a Cowboy," which shot to No. 1 on the country chart and became one of his signature songs. The hits kept coming through the 1990s and 2000s, including "How Do You Like Me Now?!," "I Love This Bar," "Beer for My Horses" with Willie Nelson, "As Good As I Once Was" and the party anthem "Red Solo Cup."

Songs for the Troops

In 2002, Keith released "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," written in response to the September 11 attacks and his father's death. It became one of the most talked-about country songs of the decade. Keith also performed hundreds of shows for U.S. troops overseas through the USO, and his song "American Soldier" became an anthem for military families.

Giving Back

Keith's charity work focused on children. His foundation built a home in Oklahoma City where children with cancer and their families can stay for free during treatment. In 2015 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2021 he received the National Medal of Arts.

One Last Ride

Even after his diagnosis, Keith returned to the stage. He played a string of shows in Las Vegas in December 2023 and performed at the People's Choice Country Awards that fall, delivering an emotional version of "Don't Let the Old Man In." For fans, it was a final reminder of just how much heart he put into every song.

What's your favorite Toby Keith song, the one you always turn up when it comes on? Tell us in the comments below.