Toby Keith was known as an amazing American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and businessman.
He was born on July 8, 1961, and in the 1990s, he made four albums that did well.
One of his songs, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” even became a big hit.
Unfortunately, Keith was diagnosed with cancer in 2021 which he publicly announced in 2022.
Because of his illness, he decided to take a break from making new music and going on tours.
Despite the circumstances, he still made time and effort to support a charity for children with cancer called the Toby Keith Foundation.
In his more than 3 decades career, Toby Keith sold more than 40 million albums.
He had hits like ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy,’ ‘How Do You Like Me Now?!,’ ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),’ and ‘I Love This Bar.’
He’s also been awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in 2021 and an award at the People’s Choice Country Awards in September 2023.
Fortunately, after taking a break from music, Keith made a comeback by doing a series of shows in Las Vegas.
To no surprise, all of his comeback shows were sold out in tickets that’s why he called it a “triumphant” return.
An amazing person on and off the stage.
Starting in 2002, Toby Keith also had numerous trips to the Middle East and performed for the U.S. military.
“My father was a soldier. He taught his kids to respect veterans,” said Keith. “It’s that respect and the thank-you that we have a military that’s in place and ready to defend our nation; our freedom.”
In one of his recent interviews, Keith talked about a couple of things about his cancer.
” I feel pretty good. It’s a roller coaster all the time with this stuff. I have the resources finance and otherwise to get the best treatments I can get and they’re taking great care of me and I’m getting all the latest uh stuff you can get. And uh, in fact, I’m going tomorrow toFlorida to see another guy down there that’s got some other kind of treatments and I’m trying them all. I’m throwing the kitchen sink at it but, I have a big enough platform that if it can do me some good then maybe I’m seeing all the pitfalls in this,” Keith said.
“You know cancer is an island and you’re on a boat and nobody goes over to that island when you don’t have it. And as soon as you crash land on it there’s a lot of boats there. You know everybody’s got this stuff and it’s more than people think and so I was like you know if I can survive this and live to tell my story maybe I can save somebody else’s life.”
Sadly, the great Toby Keith passed away on February 5, 2024.
After Toby Keith passed away, the Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, decided that the US and Oklahoma flags on state property should be lowered to half-staff from February 6 all day until the next day’s sunset.
This was done to show respect and sorrow for the loss of the American music legend Toby Keith.
A lot of people were saddened by Keith’s passing, especially his fellow country music artists.
Folks like Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Jelly Roll, Zach Bryan, John Rich, Lady A, Jake Owen, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Cole Swindell, and others.
Toby was a loved man.
For sure, his memories, kindness, and legacy as an artist will forever be cherished and celebrated.
Watch Toby Keith in one of his last interviews in the video below.
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