Toby Keith 086

Toby Keith 086

Look closer for nine lyrics and seven titles: “Just like Gene and Roy singing those campfire songs” (Should’ve Been a Cowboy); “So when those three little words come so easy to you” (Me Too); “I’m not talkin’ bout knocking out Heaven” and “E-E-Easy now.” (I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight); “Under an old brass paper weight” (My List); “I said, Dave!” (As Good as I Once Was); “It’s me baby, with your wake-up call!” (How Do You Like Me Now?!); “We talk about your nanna up in Muncie, Indiana. And we talk about your Grandma down in Alabama.” (I Wanna Talk About Me); “If I could invent a time machine” (We Were in Love); Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue; Beer for My Horses; Wish I Didn’t Know Now; Upstairs Downtown; He Ain’t Worth Missing; A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action; Who’s That Man.

The story:

Toby Keith Covel born 07/08/1961, known professionally as Toby Keith, an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, who in the 1990s released his first four studio albums: Toby Keith (1993), Mercury Records; Boomtown (1994), Polydor Records; Blue Moon (1996), A&M Records; and Dream Walkin’ (1997), Mercury Records. All were gold or higher certified and had top ten singles. Then Greatest Hits Volume One (1998) Mercury Records.

In 1999, DreamWorks Records Nashville released “How Do You Like Me Now?!” It was number one of 2000, and was among several chart-toppers with DreamWorks Nashville. Then three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock’n Y’all, produced three more number ones each. All 4 were certified 4× Platinum. 

DreamWorks closed in 2005. Keith founded Show Dog Nashville, merged with Universal South Records in 2009. It became Show Dog-Universal Music. Eleven albums were released by Show Dog/Show Dog-Universal: White Trash with Money (2006); Big Dog Daddy (2007); That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy (2008); 35 Biggest Hits (2008); American Ride (2009); Bullets in the Gun (2010); Clancy’s Tavern (2011); Hope on the Rocks (2012); Drinks After Work (2013); 35 MPH Town (2015); The Bus Songs (2017); and Peso in My Pocket (2021).

Keith released 19 studio albums, 2 Christmas albums, and 5 compilation albums, with sales of over 40 million albums. He charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including 20 number one hits and 22 additional top 10 hits. His longest-lasting number one hits are “Beer for My Horses” (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and “As Good as I Once Was” (2005), at six weeks each. Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in a closed ceremony alongside Ricky Skaggs on 01/13/2021. 

Cancer diagnosis and death

Keith was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the end of 2021. Having undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery for six months, Keith said that his battle with cancer had been “pretty debilitating” in a December 2022 press release. Keith passed away while asleep, in Oklahoma, February 5^th 2024 at age 62.

Following Keith’s death, the single, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”, would re-enter the Hot Country Songs chart at number 15, the week dated February 17, 2024. It was one of five Toby Keith songs to re-enter the chart that week. The single reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Keith’s biggest solo hit on that chart at the time.

The song, written in 2001, was inspired by Keith’s father’s death and the 9/11 attacks on the United States. At first, Keith refused to record the song, only singing it live at concerts for military personnel. However, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, James L. Jones, told Keith it was his duty, as an American citizen, to record the song. 

In a 2003 interview with CBS, Keith gave his take on the song: “It wasn’t written for everybody. And when you write something from your heart – I had a dad that was a veteran, taught me how precious our freedom is – I was so angry when we were attacked here on American soil that it leaked out of me. You know, some people wept when they heard it. Some people got goose bumps. Some people were emotionally moved. Some cheered, turned their fists in the air.”

Controversy

ABC invited Keith to sing the song on a 2002 patriotic special. But the host, Peter Jennings requested Keith soften the lyrics or choose another song. Keith refused both and did not appear on the special. The rift got a lot of publicity. In a 60 Minutes interview, Keith spoke about Jennings, saying “I thought it was hilarious. My statement was, ‘Isn’t he Canadian?’ to a bunch of press. They laughed . . . “

Keith had a public feud with the Dixie Chicks over the song. The lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines, publicly stated that the song was “ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant.” Keith responded by belittling Maines’ songwriting skills, and by displaying a backdrop at his concerts showing a doctored photo of Maines with Saddam Hussein. On May 21, 2003, at the Academy of Country Music Awards, Maines wore a T-shirt with the letters “FUTK” on the front. Many, including host Vince Gill, took it to be an obscene shot at Keith, the acronym meaning “F*** You Toby Keith”. In August 2003, Keith publicly declared he was “all done feuding with Natalie Maines ’cause I guess there’s more important things than that to concentrate on”.

credit – Wikipedia

The first print of this illustration is available to support a non-profit fundraiser. Contact lisafromlsu@gmail.com for details.

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original rendered in graphite and Prisma Colors: Indigo Blue for Toby’s third album, Blue Moon; Crimson Lake to go with indigo blue for Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue; and Yellow Ochre for the beer in the duet with Willie Nelson, “Beer for My Horses.”

Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in May of 2024 – ©Tobin Signs/Look Closer Illustrations 
DERIVATIVE Work – photo credits: face and hat from democratherald_com – bloximages_chicago2_vip_townnews_com – 5797a04faa3bc.image; shirt and guitar from worldnewsera_com – billboard_com – toby-keith-iheartcountry-festival-2021-billboard-1548

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 60)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)