Thirty-two No. 1 hits. Forty-two Top 10 songs. More than 10 billion digital streams. The first two counts come from his official website. The third is his streaming total. They belong to Toby Keith, who died Monday night, February 5, at 62.
His website and social media accounts announced the death early Tuesday. A short statement said he died surrounded by his family and “fought his fight with grace and courage.” He had revealed his stomach cancer about 18 months earlier.
The record
Keith emerged in the early 1990s and sold 25 million to 30 million records in the United States, depending on whose estimate you use. The Daily Mail put his career total above 40 million. Forbes named him the top-earning country artist of 2015 at $50 million, and The Washington Post reported he was bringing in $50 million a year through music and other ventures, including a stake in Big Machine Records. His restaurant chain, I Love This Bar and Grill, and a mezcal brand, Wild Shot, added to the total.
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” came out in 1993 and went to the top of the country charts in the U.S. and Canada. He also had “Beer for My Horses,” a duet with Willie Nelson, along with “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” His latest album, “100% Songwriter,” arrived in November.
He was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, and raised in Moore, outside Oklahoma City. Before music he worked as a roughneck, then played semi-pro football.
Working through treatment
In June 2022 Keith said he had been receiving chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. He told The Oklahoman that his tumor had shrunk by a third. In September 2023 he described treatment as a “roller coaster” to E! News: “You get good days and, you know, you’re up and down, up and down.”
He kept working. Keith played three nights in Las Vegas in December, looking thin but in good voice according to NBC News. “3 sold out shows in Vegas was a damn good way to end the year,” he wrote on Instagram.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum called him “big, brash, and never bowed down or slowed down for anyone.” He leaves his wife, Tricia, and three children, and in 2006 he had set up a foundation to help children battling cancer.
Sources
- Country singer Toby Keith dies at 62
- Toby Keith dead at 62: Country singer passed surrounded by his family
