Toby Keith, an American Patriot, passed away on February 5th, 2024. He died at the age of 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. His battle lasted around two years. He had three children named Shelly, Krystal, and Stelen. He adopted Shelly after he married Trica from her first marriage in 1984.
Toby was born on July 8th, 1961, in Clinton, Oklahoma. He was raised in Oklahoma City and while he was growing up, he started playing music. He was inspired by some musicians who played in the supper club that his grandmother worked in. He worked in the Oil Industry and played football before moving to Nashville and pursuing his music career.
In the early 90’s, he signed with Mercury Records. He started making songs and by the late 90’s he was becoming a country music star. Some of his hits in the 90’s were “Blue Moon”, “Who’s That Man?”, and “How Do You Like Me Now?!” His success continued and in 2001 his life would change. His dad passed away in a traffic accident and after that, 9/11 happened. Toby wrote his most controversial song, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” The song was released in May of 2002 and anchored his album Unleased, and it is now a multi-platinum track. Unleased became Toby’s first No. 1 album on Billboard 200. This album also included Willie Nelson and Toby’s song “Beer for My Horses.”
“The Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue is the most patriotic song of all time,” said Worth Paisley (12).
Sam McCown (12) said, “Unleased was his best album just so many great songs in it.”
In 2003, he released the Shock’n Y’all album which had another hit song “American Soldier.” This was for the soldiers fighting in the Iraq War.
In 2007, he went on a tour overseas to perform for soldiers. The tour was called U.S.O. tour and he went and played 18 shows for troops. He loved the soldiers because he grew up in a military home with his father serving in the army.
In 2011, he released the Clancy’s Tavern album which had another couple of hits on it. The hits on this album were “Made in America” and “Red Solo Cup.”
In 2018, Clint Eastwood was in the process of a movie called The Mule. Eastwood asked Toby to make a song for the movie. Toby made the song “Don’t Let the Old Man In” and it was a hit in 2023.
In 2022, Toby came out and told the public about the stomach cancer that he was diagnosed with in the Fall of 2021. He was eager to perform again and did so during the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards.