2024-02-15 17:20:46
Singer Toby Keith, who was one of the biggest stars of the American country scene in the past three decades, has died at the age of 62. The official website reported his death on Monday. The artist from Oklahoma won fans with his “rough” performance and songs with a patriotic touch.
In the summer of 2022, Keith announced that he was suffering from stomach cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, among other things. In a recent interview, according to The New York Times, he said that treatment is still ongoing. The current death notice does not specify the cause.
“Toby Keith passed away peacefully last night, February 5, surrounded by his family,” his website said. “He fought with dignity and courage,” the brief statement continued.
Keith worked as an oil field laborer in his youth and also played semi-professional American football before launching a successful country music career in the 1990s. The six-foot-tall hulking singer cultivated an image based on “boyhood” and American pride, but also a sense of humor and a vocal range that allowed him to handle both love songs and drinking songs.
According to the AP agency, 20 of his songs reached the top of the Billboard genre charts, including the song Beer for My Horses sung with country star Willie Nelson.
Keith’s biggest hits also include Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, released after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in which the singer warns anyone who “plays with America” that they will regret it. He also performed the song in January 2017 at a concert held on the eve of the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Keith’s career in show business spanned over thirty years, during which he sold over 40 million albums worldwide, the New York Times adds.
Video: Skladba Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue
Toby Keith sings one of his biggest hits Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue. | Video: DreamWorks Nashville