Country music superstar Toby Keith passed away February 5, 2024. He was 62 years old. An announcement of his death was posted to his official website as well as on all of his official social media pages. According to his publicist, Elaine Schock, Toby died in Oklahoma, the state where he was born, raised, and lived in his whole life.
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In June 2022, Toby shared with fans that he was being treated for stomach cancer for six months with the help of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. His battle came to an end on Monday night. According to the announcement of his death, he “passed peacefully” while “surrounded by his family.” Read more about his life, career, and passing below.
He was born on July 8, 1961.
He was born Toby Keith Covel in Clinton, Oklahoma. He was drawn to music as a child and inspired by artist that performed at a supper club in Fort Smith, Arkansas, that belonged to his grandmother. He got his first guitar when he was 8 and during the summers he’d help out and his grandma’s supper club and sometimes even got to sit in and play with the house band.
He worked a lot before hitting it big.
Before breaking into the music industry, he was a semiprofessional defensive football player, a roughneck in the oil industry, and a rodeo hand. "I didn't take many vacations the first 20 years of my adult life,” he once told news anchor Dan Rather.
He signed with Mercury Records in the 1990s.
His self-titled debut album was released on April 20, 1993. The album became certified platinum for selling a million copies and four of the songs on it hit the Top 10 country singles chart.
He went on to develop his persona and continued to have much success.
He developed a sort of larger-than-life persona and kept pumping out hits including No. 1 hits like “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and “I Wanna Talk About Me.” In 2001, he won the Country Music Association award for vocalist of the year.
In 2005, he started his own label.
He founded the independent label Show Dog Nashville and continued to have much success. In 2011, his single “Red Solo Cup” not only hit No. 1 on the country chart, it also hit the Top 20 pop chart.
He was not without controversy.
In 2002, his No. 1 country single “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” also became a hit on the pop charts. It was inspired by the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the death of his father — a disabled veteran who was killed in an automobile accident.
The song contains lyrics that are divisive. Some feel they are patriotic, while others found them offensive. Natalie Maines, the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks (now called the Chicks), called the lyrics “ignorant.”
Toby was not having it.
Displeased at being called out by Natalie, Toby went after her hard. It got super ugly. He even put her image and that of Saddam Hussein up at his concerts. After about a year, though, he didn’t quite apologize, but he expressed remorse for his behavior toward Natalie.
“It got pretty vicious sometimes,” he told CMT.com in a 2003 interview. “I’m embarrassed about the way I let myself get sucked into all that.” Not an apology, but still.
He dabbled in acting.
He did some acting with roles Broken Bridges in 2005 and Beer for My Horses in 2008. Beer for My Horses was based on his hit single of the same name. He also made commercials for Ford trucks.
In 2021, he received National Medal of Arts.
The award was presented to him by President Donald Trump. It is described by the National Endowment for the Arts as "the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government." He has won many other awards as well.
In 2022, he let the world know about his cancer diagnosis.
He also shared a bit about his treatment, which included “receiving chemo, radiation and surgery,” according to the statement he released on June 12, 2022. He expressed that he needed “time to breathe, recover and relax.”
His last performance was at the 2023, People's Choice Country Awards.
He performed the song "Don't Let the Old Man In" live on September 28, 2023. Little did anyone know that it would be his last televised performance. He also accepted the ceremony's award for Country Icon Award that same evening.
He passed at the age of 62.
A photo of Toby with the following words was shared across his platforms: “Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”
He will be missed by his legions of fans and those closest to him.
He is survived by his mother; Tricia, his wife of 39 years; Shelly Covel and Krystal Sandubrae, his two daughters; Stelen, his son; Tonnie, his sister; Tracy, his brother; and four grandchildren.
