The larger-than-life country music singer Toby Keith, known for his patriotic swagger, died on Monday at the age of 62.
The “Beer For My Horses” singer-songwriter had been battling stomach cancer since 2022 and died peacefully surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted to his website.
In the wake of 9/11, Toby Keith boldly stepped into the role of country music’s jingoist-in-chief, unleashing a string of politically charged anthems that were equal parts rousing and controversial. His unbridled commitment to American exceptionalism made him a culture war champion who understood that culture is politics, and politics is theater. Keith provided the soundtrack for a fraught era in American history.
The 6-foot-4 singer was born in Oklahoma and spent the first decade of his professional life as a roughneck in the oil fields before he was laid off when the oil market began to tank in the 1980s. He then went on to play semi-professional American football before finally finding success as a singer-songwriter. In the early 1990s, he moved to Nashville, TN, and soon afterwards signed a record deal with Mercury Records.
Though he will be remembered first for patriotic smashes like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” and “American Soldier,” Keith’s three-decade career encompassed far more nuance and depth. Beneath his tough exterior was a sly humorist and keen observer of American masculinity. Songs like “As Good as I Once Was” and “I Wanna Talk About Me” subverted masculine tropes with winking self-awareness.
In his early years, Keith portrayed himself as a lovable, awww-shucks himbo on hits like “Who’s That Man.” But over time, this caricature displaced the more complex man behind the music. Though a registered Democrat for many years, his post-9/11 rebrand as a swaggering conservative icon defined his image for a generation.
Keith courted controversy unabashedly. When the Dixie Chicks faced backlash for criticizing George W. Bush, he fanned the flames by mocking them. But his bravado sometimes masked regret, as when he later expressed remorse for his clash with the outspoken trio.
Politically slippery to the end, Keith performed at Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize concert and Trump’s inaugural, thanking the former president in a gesture of comity. In recent years, his rebellion turned from politics to the quest to defy aging. The 2018 ballad “Don’t Let the Old Man In” captured his late-career shift toward graceful introspection.
Though he impacted the culture far beyond music, Keith remained, at heart, a riveting vocalist and songwriter. His supple croon could convey both staunch defiance and profound vulnerability. Toby Keith was never one to shy away from complexity – in the end, it’s what made him one of country’s most fascinating and consequential stars.
