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Toby Keith: Remembering The Legend

Toby Keith: Remembering The Legend

Toby Keith: Remembering The Legend

Blake Shelton On Toby Keith: ‘The Toughest Man I Ever Met’

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Blake Shelton has posted to his Insta Stories about the death of his friend, country music star Toby Keith. Keith died at his home in Oklahoma surrounded by family last night (2/5) after a battle with stomach cancer.

Blake wrote on his Insta Stories in a solid black background, “Even though I knew about your battle these last few months, I still never imagined this day. Anyone who knew you knows what I mean.”

He continued, “You were the toughest man I ever met. Thank you, brother, for being a friend, a hero, and an inspiration. There will never be another Toby Keith.”

Luke Bryan also posted a photo of himself with Toby on his Instagram. He wrote, “Just arriving at American Idol and seeing the sad news in our country community. An iconic artist and a great man. Your songs turn every room into a good time.”

RELATED: Carrie Underwood, Jelly Roll and More React To Toby Keith’s Death

Shelton presented his fellow Oklahoman with the “Country Icon Award” at the September inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards.

Early in his career, almost 20 years ago (2004), Blake toured and opened shows for Toby Keith nationwide. At the time, he told me, “Toby is one of those guys that is so famous and so big, and he is one of those artists that’s just worldwide. You don’t have to be a country music fan to be a Toby Keith fan. It’s just way bigger than that. I step on stage with over 20 thousand people per night, and 15,000 of them may or may not have ever heard of me. Touring with Toby has probably been the biggest break I’ve had since I started doing this.”

He added of the tour at the time, “We had stupid fun on the Toby tour; there’s no limit when you’re on a tour like that. Nobody ever said no to anything which was new to me. We both had our own basketball teams and played basketball close to every day of the tour.”

Five of Toby Keith's Songs That Will Live Forever

  • "Should've Been a Cowboy" (1993)

    This is his debut single and the song people will always associate with Toby. Many artists mentioned the song and its lyrics in their tribute to him after his death (2/6). Keith wrote the song himself, and it has always been his anthem. The song has received more than three million spins on country radio, making it the most-played country song of the 1990s. Over the years, the song has been a staple following sporting events at Oklahoma State University (home of the Cowboys), often played over the venue’s PA system several times in succession as fans emptied the stadium or arena.

  • "How Do You Like Me Now?!" (1999)

    This song brought Keith to superstardom. Toby told me the inspiration for the song in 2000. “Initially, I said, ‘Here’s my title: ‘You Never Loved Me Before, So How Do You Like Me Now?’ It’s one of my catchphrases. A lot of people become successful after they’ve been told they won’t ever be so that people can relate to this. It can be about an old flame or a boss or a teacher -whatever it means to each individual. It was a fun song to write.”

  • "I Wanna Talk About Me" (2001)

    This is another fun song and a big hit for Keith. The song was originally pitched to Blake Shelton, whose label turned it down. After recording the song, Keith said he knew he would get banged around for the song a bit. He noted, “They’re going to call it a rap, [although] there ain’t nobody doing rap who would call it a rap.”

    The music video for the song shows Toby in many different situations, including a man shopping with his girlfriend or wife, a police officer, a motorcycle rider, and a surgeon.

  • "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" (2002)

    The song he wrote after the 9/11 attacks on America and was also inspired by Keith’s father’s death in March 2001. In a November 2003 interview with CBS, Keith said of writing the song: “I was so angry when we were attacked here on American soil that it leaked out of me.”

    The music video for the song features Toby performing the song, playing a red, white, and blue guitar, and showing images of his own father fighting in a war.

  • "Red Solo Cup" (2011)

    Keith sure is good at fun party songs, and he proved it once again with this song, which was the only song on the album Clancy’s Tavern that he did not write. The song was written by the Warren Brothers in Nashville.

    The music video includes cameos from Jeff Dunham (and his character Bubba J), Carrot Top, Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar, Craig Ferguson, Geoff Peterson, Roger Clemens, Eric Church, Joe Nichols, Lance Burton, and Larry Bird, among others.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group
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