- Biography
The familiar maxim of the triple threat – singer, songwriter, musician – doesn’t begin to cover it for Toby Keith, one of the modern era’s most complete self-directed hit makers. And Keith’s most recent months are a remarkably accurate representation of his entire career. At the close of 2018, he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his debut No. 1 single, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” with the re-release of his debut album (remastered with the addition of three vault tracks). From the moment that song was released and shot up the charts to become his first No. 1, the engine driving everything has been the music. He writes it. He arranges and produces it. At the core is his songwriting, as recognized in his 2015 induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City. In 2018, Keith also released a new song, “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” which was inspired by a conversation he had with Clint Eastwood and was later featured in Eastwood’s movie, “The Mule.” Keith’s albums have sold more than 40 million copies. His tours have drawn more than a million fans each year for more than a decade straight, with recent expansion into Europe and Australia. The awards are too numerous to count and include Artist of the Decade nods from Billboard and the American Country Awards, three-time BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year, as well as the ACM’s Career Achievement honor, Poet’s Award recipient, and twice their Entertainer of the Year award winner in back-to-back years. His 11 USO Tours to date have enhanced the lives of nearly 256,000 troops and military families in 18 countries with more than 285 events, and have been recognized with the Spirit of the USO Award (2014). And when a tornado ravaged his hometown, Toby Keith was the face of the community and helped shoulder the cleanup with the 2013 OK Twister Relief Concert. Triple threat? How about singer, songwriter, musician, producer, entertainer, humanitarian, Oklahoman and patriot.
