Toby Keith Talks Wanting To “Make A Party” Of ‘Red Solo Cup’

Toby Keith changed the way people party back in 2011 with the release of his track "Red Solo Cup." It was one of those song he says "nobody wanted" and "everybody's afraid to cut."

RELATED: Toby Keith’s ‘Don’t Let The Old Man In’ Is Finally Getting Its Due

We pulled out our red solo cups while Keith guest hosted Shawn Parr's Backstage Country this week and got right into it with the country legend himself. Keith's "Red Solo Cup," which is featured on his fifteenth studio album, Clancy's Tavern, was co-written by the Beavers brothers, Brett and Jim, and the Warren brothers, Brad and Brett.

"They were having a lot of success playing it out in clubs. They pitched this to everybody, all their friends. No one would touch it. They called me. The second I put it on hold, I said, I'll do it. Make a big party out of it. And then everybody started calling back," Keith told Shawn Parr. He continued, "So of course, I brought in Roger Clemens and Larry Bird and Carrot Top and Lance Burton and all the celebrities in it to do something with a red solo cup for the video. We were drinking that night. We had fun with it. So if it looked like we were drunk, we were."

Following its release, Keith's "Red Solo Cup" not only became a country anthem but a show staple for the singer-songwriter in just a matter of weeks. Fans brought them to shows, tailgates, and just about everywhere you could think of.

"I probably had 500 text messages or emails of people, fans and friends and family going into Walmart, Target, Costco, or whatever, and taking pictures of empty shelves where the reds were all gone. It was crazy," Keith told Parr.

Click Here To Find Out Where To Listen

Check back all week long to see more from Toby Keith on Shawn Parr’s Backstage Country. Now, have a little party for yourself and listen to "Red Solo Cup" below.

Country music has its fair share of drinking songs, songs about drinking, and songs about what drinking can do to you. Actually, there may be fewer songs in country music that don't mention the drink than songs that do.

Tim McGraw is the latest country star to have a song about drinking; Tim's new tune is called "Hey Whiskey." Its release closely follows Luke Bryan's new single, "But I Got A Beer In My Hand." It's not the first song McGraw has released about whiskey. In 2008, he released a single called "Whiskey And You."

McGraw's new song's lyrics include, "I let you stay, you made her leave / You made me say things I don't mean / To the only girl that ever made me choose / I gave you everything I had / Went to hell and can't get back / The only thing I couldn't stand to lose / Hey whiskey / Hey whiskey, what'd I ever do to you?"

McGraw recently announced details on his brand new album Standing Room Only, which will be released on August 25. McGraw also announced a new song from the project today (6/23) called "Hey Whiskey."

Standing Room Only will feature 13 new tracks produced by Tim and his longtime producing partner Byron Gallimore. The new album marks McGraw's first new record since 2020's Here On Earth, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Chart.

Tim said in a statement, "As an artist, I always want to dig deeper and get better every time I make a new record – it's a big part of what drives me, and I really believe this is one of the best projects we've made. I've been working on this album since 2020, and this collection of songs is some of the most emotional, thought-provoking, and life-affirming music I've ever recorded."

He added, "I'm excited to have 'Hey Whiskey' out so fans can start hearing more of what we're working on – and maybe even more before August…"

While this list was more challenging than most to whittle down, we share what we believe are country music's best songs about drinking.