Country music icon Toby Keith has died, his official website and social media accounts said early Tuesday, 18 months after revealing he had stomach cancer. He was 62.
The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer died on Monday night surrounded by his family, a short statement said.
Keith announced that he was living with cancer in June 2022 and in September last year he spoke of the “roller coaster” experience of going through treatment, while receiving the Country Icon Award at Thursday’s People’s Choice Country Awards.
Seemed like a good Guy, I know he did a lot of USO tours and was an Okie.
He did neither. Scott Borchetta, who founded Big Machine Records with Toby Keith, approached her the year before Big Machine was founded promising her he would sign her as soon as he got his company going. That came to fruition and the rest is history. Toby made Big Machine possible through a building and a $400,000 investment, but it was Scott who “discovered” her and signed her.
Toby Keith was an incredible businessman and I really admire him for that more than I do his music. He’s an undeniable hit maker, but his blue collar to riches story is what impresses me the most. My favorite album of his, Shock’n’Y’all, played on rotation today in my truck. I’m starting to feel old, as my early music heroes are starting to head into the afterlife.
Sad day for sure, and yeah 62, yikes!! I saw him back in the day @ the NYS Fair when he was just starting, had to be the late 90s or early 2000s, he opened for Reba!! Had some good tunes through the years and a great tribute song for the Vets. Rest in peace, Sir!
Having grown up in Moore, OK and being an avid OU Sooner fan, Toby Keith was a huge part of my childhood and OU fan base. He was a local legend and a prominent figure around OU athletics. His sideline and locker room antics to support were honest and inspiring.
His support of our troops, USO shows, and inspirational music to a generation were a rallying cry for a nation in shock. He placed his patriotism above everything and didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. He lived on his terms, damn the torpedos.
His fight over the last 18 months was tough to watch. I have family in the music business, especially the Oklahoma scene. Connections to Toby, Reba, etc. are part of our family gatherings. I will miss his DGAF attitude and seeing him on the sideline of my Sooners this fall.
While I have no interest in country music, that is how I will remember the man. And at a time when the Dixie Chicks were talking about how they were ashamed of their president, of course they waited until they were in England to make that statement.
Kinda pathetic, when a half assed rapper like Biggie is killed in an industry fued (and how retarded is that) people want to act like it was the Kennedy assassination. I lost track of how many concerts Keith did for free in in Iraq, I think he went there more often than Bush (43).