R.I.P. Toby Keith, country music superstar

Toby Keith, the country music superstar behind hits like “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “As Good As I Once Was,” has died, according to a statement on social media. The news comes 18 months after Keith revealed he had been battling stomach cancer, and three years after his diagnosis. He was 62 years old.

“Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family,” the statement reads. “He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”

Keith was born in Oklahoma, where he would remain based for most of his life, and worked in the oil fields and played semi-professional football before pursuing his music career, per Rolling Stone. He was discovered in the early ’90s and had his first number one song on the Billboard Hot Country chart with his first-ever single “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” from his self-titled debut album. Keith would go on to release a number of other hits, including “I Love This Bar,” “As Good As I Once Was,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Red Solo Cup,” and “Who’s Your Daddy?”

In the wake of 9/11, Keith was inspired to become more overtly political (or at least patriotic), penning tracks like “American Soldier,” “Made in America,” “The Taliban Song,” and most notably “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” a song that kicked off a feud with The Chicks’ Natalie Maines. (“It got pretty vicious sometimes, putting her and Saddam Hussein up on the screen,” Keith later reflected about the projections he would use on his tour. “That was funny for a night or two, and then it was a little over the top for me. I’m not that mean.”) Later, Keith became associated with controversial president Donald Trump, who awarded the singer with the National Medal of the Arts in 2021. Keith performed at Trump’s inauguration as well as a Trump event held in Saudi Arabia in 2017.

A prolific songwriter, Keith was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was named Artist of the Decade at the American Country Awards in 2011, and Billboard’s top country artist and songwriter of the 2000s. Among other accolades, the Academy of Country Music awarded him the Merle Haggard Spirit Award in 2020. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2021, he continued to work and perform, most recently appearing on the People’s Choice Country Awards and performing several shows in Las Vegas in December 2023. His final album, 100% Songwriter, was released in November of that year.

“Waking up to the terrible news that our friend, and legend Toby Keith has passed away from cancer,” John Rich of Big & Rich wrote on Twitter/X. “He was a true Patriot, a first class singer/songwriter, and a bigger than life kind of guy. He will be greatly missed.”

“[Too] many rides in my old man’s car listening to Toby Keith,” posted recent Grammy winner and fellow Oklahoma native Zach Bryan. “Teally hard thing to hear rest in peace friend we love you.”