Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman.

[1] Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in a closed ceremony alongside Ricky Skaggs on January 13, 2021.

When Keith was 20, he and his friends formed the Easy Money Band, which played at local bars and roadhouses[3] as he continued to work in the oil industry.

When he did not make the team, he joined its unofficial semi-pro farm club, the Oklahoma City Drillers,[12] and played defensive end while continuing to perform with his band.

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.

[5] 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,[21] and the two also performed the song at the 1997 Country Music Association awards.

[18] After exiting Mercury, Keith co-wrote Shane Minor's debut single "Slave to the Habit" with Chuck Cannon and Kostas.

The album's three singles—"I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight", "I Wanna Talk About Me", and "My List"—all went to number 1 on the country charts, with the latter two both holding that position for five weeks.

[16] Of Pull My Chain, Erlewine wrote that "this is a bigger, better record than its predecessor, possessing a richer musicality and a more confident sense of humor".

[29] The album was followed in late 2004 by Greatest Hits 2, which included three new songs: "Stays in Mexico", "Go with Her", and a cover of Inez and Charlie Foxx's "Mockingbird", recorded as a duet with his daughter, Krystal Keith.

[15] Keith produced the album with session guitarist Kenny Greenberg and recording engineer[citation needed] Mills Logan.

[citation needed] In October 2014, Keith released "Drunk Americans", the lead single from his eighteenth studio album, 35 MPH Town.

[citation needed] Keith made an appearance at the first Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (then NWA-TNA) weekly pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, where his playing of "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" was interrupted by Jeff Jarrett.

[52] In 2009, Capri Restaurant Group announced that it will open another "I Love this Bar & Grill" location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's South Side Works shopping and entertainment district.

[54] February 2010 marked the opening of the Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in the Winstar World Casino, exit 1 on Interstate 35 in Oklahoma.

Other locations opened in 2010 by the Capri Restaurant Group included those in Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and in the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

[65] In March 2009, Keith received the Johnny "Mike" Spann Memorial Semper Fidelis Award during a New York ceremony held by the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

"[62] In April 2009, he voiced support for Obama on Afghanistan and other decisions: "He hired one of my best friends who I think should run for president someday...Gen. James Jones as a national security adviser.

[67] As the lead single from the album Unleashed (2002), "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" peaked at number one on the July 20, 2002, Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

According to Keith, he was dropped from the show after host Peter Jennings heard the song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and rejected it.

"[68][67] Keith had a public feud with The Chicks—then The Dixie Chicks—over the song "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" in 2002 and over comments they made about President George W. Bush on stage during a concert in London in March 2003.

[69] Keith responded by displaying a backdrop at his concerts showing a doctored photo of Maines with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Keith then played several of his patriotic songs, including "American Soldier", "Made in America", "Beer For My Horses", and "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue".

[74] At the performance, he dedicated "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" to his father who, as he sings early in the song, lost an eye while serving in the U.S. Army.

In late 2013, the foundation built the OK Kids Korral, a place for child OU Medical Center cancer patients to live in.

[83] Keith filmed a PSA for Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools.

[85] In June 2022, Keith announced that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer at the end of 2021, having undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery for the past six months.

Videos of fans singing "Red Solo Cup" while holding their drinks aloft circulated on social media after the game.

[90] Fellow country artists and bands who paid tribute included 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 such as First Lady Jill Biden, actor Stephen Baldwin, comedian Stephen Colbert,[91] and radio and television personality Bobby Bones.