Toby Keith

Who Is Toby Keith?

Toby Keith is known for being an actor and he is also a singer. He is a well-known American country music singer and songwriter.

He is also a record producer and a businessman, which makes him a very talented person.

Early Life and Background

Toby Keith was born on July 8, 1961.

Career and Claim to Fame

Toby Keith is famous for his work as a singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. He started using the name Toby Keith at the beginning of his music career.

For more information about Toby Keith you can visit his official website.

Birthday, Age and Zodiac

Toby Keith was born on July 8, 1961, which makes him 65 years old. His zodiac sign is Cancer.

What is Cancer like?

People who are Cancer are very special, but we do not know much about what it means to be a Cancer.

Fun Facts and Legacy

Toby Keith is a very talented person who is known for being an actor and a singer. He is 65 years old and his zodiac sign is Cancer.

He is also a record producer, actor, and businessman, which is very impressive.

Toby Keith - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Toby Keith

Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. He began using the stage name Toby Keith early in his music career.

This profile of Toby Keith covers Early Life and Family Background, Career and Rise to Fame, 1993–1995: Toby Keith and Boomtown, 1996–1998: Blue Moon, Dream Walkin', and Greatest Hits Volume One and 1999–2002: How Do You Like Me Now?! and Pull My Chain.

Keith's debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1993. "How Do You Like Me Now?!" was the number one country song of 2000. In all, Keith has had 42 top 10 country hits and 33 No. 1s. He has released 19 studio albums, two Christmas albums, and five compilation albums, totaling worldwide sales of over 44 million albums. He was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in a closed ceremony alongside Ricky Skaggs on January 13, 2021.

In 2005, Keith founded the label Show Dog Nashville, which later became Show Dog-Universal Music. Keith also made his acting debut in 2006, starring in the film Broken Bridges. He co-starred with comedian Rodney Carrington in the 2008 film Beer for My Horses, inspired by his namesake 2003 duet with Willie Nelson.

Keith died on February 5, 2024, from stomach cancer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2024, having been elected just hours after his death.

Early Life and Family Background of Toby Keith

Toby Keith Covel was born on July 8, 1961, in Clinton, Oklahoma, to Carolyn Joan (née Ross) and Hubert K. Covel Jr. He had a sister and a brother. The family lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for a few years when Keith was in grade school but moved to Moore, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City), when he was still young. Before the family moved to Moore, he visited his grandmother in Fort Smith during the summers. His grandmother owned Billie Garner's Supper Club in Fort Smith, where Keith became interested in the musicians who came there to play. He did odd jobs around the supper club and started getting up on the bandstand to play with the band. He got his first guitar at the age of eight.

After the family moved to Moore, Keith attended Southgate Elementary, Highland West Junior High and Moore High School, where he played defensive end on the football team.

Keith graduated from Moore High School and worked as a derrick hand in the oil fields. He worked his way up to become a supervisor. When Keith was 20, he and his friends formed the Easy Money Band, which played at local bars and roadhouses as he continued to work in the oil industry. At times, he would have to leave in the middle of a concert if he was paged to work in the oil field.

In 1982, the oil industry in Oklahoma began a rapid decline, and Keith soon found himself unemployed. He fell back on his football training and tried out for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the USFL. When he did not make the team, he joined its unofficial semi-pro farm club, the Oklahoma City Drillers of the American Football Association, and played defensive end while continuing to perform with his band. He then returned to focus once again on music. The Easy Money Band then began playing the honky-tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas.

Career and Rise to Fame of Toby Keith

Keith went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he busked (street performing) along Music Row to no avail, until producer Harold Shedd signed him with Mercury Records after receiving a copy of Keith's demo tape from a flight attendant who was a fan of Keith's.

1993–1995: Toby Keith and Boomtown

Keith's debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1993, and it reached number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100. His self-titled debut album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies, and produced three more Top 5 hits on the country charts with "He Ain't Worth Missing" (at No. 5), "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" (originally the B-side of "Should've Been a Cowboy"), and "Wish I Didn't Know Now" (both at No. 2). Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote of the album, "It is given a production that's a bit too big, clean, glossy and cavernous for Keith's good—it fits the outsized sound of early-'90s radio, but not his outsized talent—but beneath that sheen the songs are strong." He also thought that it showed the signs of the style that Keith would develop on subsequent albums. The album's success led to Keith touring with then-labelmates Shania Twain and John Brannen. Keith and Twain also appeared in Tracy Lawrence's music video for "My Second Home" in 1993.

Keith then signed with Polydor Records Nashville, with whom he released his second album, Boomtown, in September 1994. Also certified platinum, this album was led off by the number one single "Who's That Man". Follow up singles "Upstairs Downtown" and "You Ain't Much Fun" both made the Top 10, while "Big Ol' Truck" peaked at number 15. In time for the 1995 holiday season, he released his first Christmas album, Christmas to Christmas, via Mercury. Composed entirely of original songs, the album produced one chart entry in "Santa I'm Right Here", which reached as high as number 50 based on Christmas airplay.

1996–1998: Blue Moon, Dream Walkin', and Greatest Hits Volume One

Keith then signed with the short-lived Nashville division of A&M Records to release his third album Blue Moon in April 1996. That album received a platinum certification and produced three singles. Its first single, "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You", which Keith wrote in 1987, peaked at number 2. Following it were "A Woman's Touch" at number 6, and "Me Too", which became his third number one hit in March 1997. Keith also appeared on The Beach Boys' now out-of-print 1996 album Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 performing a cover of their 1963 hit "Be True to Your School" with the Beach Boys themselves providing the harmonies and backing vocals.

Following a corporate merger, Keith returned to Mercury in 1997. His fourth studio album, Dream Walkin', was also his first produced by James Stroud, who would also serve as Keith's co-producer until 2005. It produced two consecutive number 2 hits with "We Were in Love" and a cover of Sting's 1996 single "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying". Sting also sang duet vocals and played bass guitar on it, and the two also performed the song at the 1997 Country Music Association awards. After this song, the album's title track reached number 5, while "Double Wide Paradise" peaked at number 40.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Keith), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.