Toby Keith, the renowned country singer who achieved four number one albums on the US charts, has passed away at 62 years old. According to a statement on his website, he passed away on Monday while in the company of his loved ones. The statement also praised his bravery and dignity throughout his battle.
Keith had been battling stomach cancer. He shared his diagnosis in June 2022, revealing that he had been undergoing treatment for six months at that time.
Toby Keith Covel was born in 1961 in Oklahoma and had a typical American upbringing. He grew up in a working-class family and this greatly influenced his successful songwriting career. Along with playing guitar since he was young, he also showed promise as a football player and even played for the semi-pro team, the Oklahoma City Drillers. He also worked as a derrick hand in oilfields.
In the mid-1980s, he performed in a honky-tonk band and eventually started creating his own solo music. A flight attendant who was a fan of Keith’s passed along a demo tape to a Mercury Records executive, leading to his signing with the label. His first self-written single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” topped the US country charts in 1993, marking the first of 20 chart-topping hits throughout his career.
Keith expanded his sizeable conservative fan base by releasing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” in response to the 9/11 attacks. The song celebrated the US’s enemies and praised the ongoing conflict: “We illuminated your world like the Fourth of July … you’ll regret crossing paths with the US of A / ‘Cause we’ll kick you in the rear, that’s how Americans do it”. This sparked a dispute with fellow country musicians, the Chicks (formerly known as Dixie Chicks), as lead singer Natalie Maines criticized it for promoting ignorance in country music.
During Keith’s career, he experienced a period of great commercial success with 10 consecutive country No. 1 hits between 2000 and 2004. Despite this, he remained a prominent figure on country radio and recently released his latest album, “Peso in My Pocket,” in 2021.
Keith took multiple journeys to the Middle East to entertain American soldiers. He identified as a “moderate Democrat” and showed support for all sides of US politics, endorsing presidential nominees such as George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
In September, he provided an update on his treatment for cancer, stating: “It’s like a rollercoaster. Some days are good and you experience highs and lows. It’s always going from zero to sixty and back, but I am feeling well today.”
Tricia Lucus and their three children are the surviving family members of Keith.
Source: theguardian.com
