Millions of fans adored the popular country music artist and pro-American anthem composer Toby Keith. He passed away. He was sixty-two.
A statement on the country singer’s website states that the “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer-songwriter, who had stomach cancer, passed away peacefully on Monday between his family.
The statement stated, “He fought his fight with grace and courage.” In 2022, he told about his cancer diagnosis.
The 6-foot-4 singer rose to fame in the 1990s during the country music boom, penning hit songs that listeners flocked to.
He openly disagreed with journalists and other celebrities throughout his career, and he frequently resisted record executives’ attempts to soften his edges.
………….With post-9/11 hits like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” and upbeat barroom songs like “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup,” he became well-known for his overt patriotism.
He sung love songs as well as drinking songs with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and a powerful, booming voice. Over his career, he recorded over 60 singles on the Hot Country chart,
Keith kept performing despite receiving cancer treatments; he most recently did so in December in Las Vegas. Additionally, in 2023, he sang his song “Don’t Let the Old Man In” at the People’s Choice Country Awards.
In an interview that aired last month, he said to KWTV, “Cancer is a roller coaster.You just sit here and wait on it to go away. It might never go away.”
After his song “I’m Just Talking About Tonight” became popular, Keith told The Associated Press in 2001, “I write about life, and I sing about life, and I don’t overanalyze things.”
He played defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers, a farm team of the now-defunct United States Football League, for a couple of seasons. However, he was able to make steady money while performing with his band in Texas and Oklahoma’s red dirt roadhouse circuit.
He remarked, “All through this whole thing the only constant thing we had was music,” It’s difficult, though, to just decide to write or sing music and go make a fortune. I didn’t know anybody.
Eventually, he arrived in Nashville, where he met Harold Shedd. Harold Shedd was best known as the producer of the hit group Alabama. Harold Shedd brought them to Mercury, where they released their platinum debut record, “Toby Keith.”
As a result of its three million plays on radio stations, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” became the most played country song of the 1990s. This song was his breakthrough success.
His song “How Do You Like Me Now?!” became his first song to make it into the Top 40 charts. It had been a hit for multiple weeks until that point.
In 2001, he won Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards. After winning the award, he said from the stage, “I’ve waited for this for a long time, nine years!”