Skip to content
May 10, 2025
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

Bridging The Community’s World Wide

  • Home
  • IP TV LIVE
  • PODCAST
  • U.S.News
  • ELECTION 2024
  • State News
    • Alabama
    • Alaska
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Maine
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • West Virginia
    • U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Politics
  • World News
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Weather
  • Business
  • Advisement
  • Health News
  • About Us
  • Contact us
Live TV

Country singer-songwriter Toby Keith has died after battling stomach cancer

Toby Keith, a sometimes polarizing figure in country music who crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger, has died. He was 62.

The “Beer For My Horses” singer-songwriter, who was battling stomach cancer, died peacefully Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted on the country singer’s website. “He fought his fight with grace and courage,” the statement said. He was diagnosed in 2022.

The 6-foot-4 singer broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s, writing songs that fans loved to hear. Over his career he publicly clashed with other celebrities and journalists and often pushed back against record executives who wanted to smooth his rough edges.

He was known for his overt patriotism on post 9/11 songs like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” and boisterous barroom tunes like “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” He had a powerful booming voice, a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and range that carried love songs as well as drinking songs.

Among his 20 No. 1 Billboard hits were “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “As Good As I Once Was,” “My List” and “Beer for My Horses,” a duet with Willie Nelson.

Keith worked as a roughneck in the oil fields of Oklahoma as a young man, then played semi-pro football before launching his career as a singer.

“I write about life, and I sing about life, and I don’t overanalyze things,” Keith told The Associated Press in 2001, following the success of his song “I’m Just Talking About Tonight.”

Keith learned good lessons in the booming oil fields, which toughened him up, but also showed him the value of money.

“The money to be made was unbelievable,” Keith told The Associated Press in 1996. “I came out of high school in 1980 and they gave me this job December of 1979, $50,000 a year. I was 18-years-old.”

But the domestic oil field industry collapsed and Keith had not saved. “It about broke us,” he said. “So I just learned. I’ve taken care of my money this time.”

He spent a couple seasons as a defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers, a farm team for the now-defunct United States Football League. But he found consistent money playing music with his band throughout the red dirt roadhouse circuit in Oklahoma and Texas.

“All through this whole thing the only constant thing we had was music,” he said. “But it’s hard to sit back and say, ‘I’m going to go make my fortune singing music, or writing music. I had no contacts.”‘

Eventually his path took him to Nashville, where he attracted the interest of Mercury Records head Harold Shedd, who was best known as a producer for the hit group Alabama. Shedd brought him to Mercury, where he released his platinum debut record “Toby Keith,” in 1993.

“Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” his breakout hit, was played 3 million times on radio stations, making it the most played country song of the 1990s.

But label’s focus on global star Shania Twain overshadowed the rest of the roster and Keith felt that the executives were trying to push him in a pop direction.

“They were trying to get me to compromise, and I was living a miserable existence,” Keith told the AP. “Everybody was trying to mold me into something I was not.”

After a series of albums that produced hits like “Who’s That Man,” and cover of Sting’s “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying,” Keith moved to DreamWorks Records in 1999.

That’s when his multi-week “How Do You Like Me Now?!” took off and became his first song to crossover to Top 40 charts. In 2001, he won the male vocalist of the year and album of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, exclaiming from the stage: “I’ve waited a long time for this. Nine years!”

Songs like “I Wanna Talk About Me,” a spoken-word song written by Bobby Braddock about a man frustrated by a talkative partner, got him attention for its similarity to the cadence of rap, which Keith dismissed. “They’re going to call it a rap song, (although) there ain’t nobody doing rap who would call it rap,” he told “Billboard” magazine in 2001.

Keith often wore his politics on his sleeve, especially after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in 2001, and early on he said was a conservative Democrat, but later claimed he was an independent. He’s played at events for Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the latter giving him a National Medal of the Arts in 2021. His songs and his blunt opinions sometimes caused him controversy, which he seemed to court.

About Author

Habib Habib

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: Eagles will host NFL’s first regular-season game in Brazil on Friday
Next: Less rain forecast but historic Southern California storm still threatens flooding and landslides

Related Stories

Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say

Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say

Chris LaCivita, Paul Manafort are among ex-Trump aides working to make Albania ‘grandiose’ again

Chris LaCivita, Paul Manafort are among ex-Trump aides working to make Albania ‘grandiose’ again

A rare New Zealand snail is filmed for the first time laying an egg from its neck

A rare New Zealand snail is filmed for the first time laying an egg from its neck

Entertainment

‘SNL’ to close out its 50th season with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny 1

‘SNL’ to close out its 50th season with Scarlett Johansson and Bad Bunny

Jen Psaki stepping up for MSNBC as Rachel Maddow returns to once-a-week schedule 2

Jen Psaki stepping up for MSNBC as Rachel Maddow returns to once-a-week schedule

Book publishers see surging interest in the US Constitution and print new editions 3

Book publishers see surging interest in the US Constitution and print new editions

What to know about Harvey Weinstein’s #MeToo retrial with jury selection set to get underway 4

What to know about Harvey Weinstein’s #MeToo retrial with jury selection set to get underway

Ahead of spaceflight, Katy Perry is reading Carl Sagan and channeling her ‘feminine divine’ 5

Ahead of spaceflight, Katy Perry is reading Carl Sagan and channeling her ‘feminine divine’

British police charge comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault 6

British police charge comedian Russell Brand with rape and sexual assault

Mariah Carey didn’t steal ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ from other writers, a judge says 7

Mariah Carey didn’t steal ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ from other writers, a judge says

Top News

Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say

Pakistan shoots down Indian drone near naval base in the city of Lahore, officials say

Chris LaCivita, Paul Manafort are among ex-Trump aides working to make Albania ‘grandiose’ again

Chris LaCivita, Paul Manafort are among ex-Trump aides working to make Albania ‘grandiose’ again

A rare New Zealand snail is filmed for the first time laying an egg from its neck

A rare New Zealand snail is filmed for the first time laying an egg from its neck

India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islamabad calls ‘act of war’

India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islamabad calls ‘act of war’

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • tiktok
Editor Nur M Tofader, 544 Taylor Avenue Bronx New York USA 10473, Tell: 7186396600, 7186396800, 7188441300, Email: Info@millenniuamnews24.com, Copyright © Millennium News 24/7 | DarkNews by AF themes.