American country music musician, songwriter, actor, and record producer Toby Keith (born Toby Keith Covel on July 8, 1961). 

Before departing Mercury Records in 1998, he released four studio albums with the label, including 1993’s Toby Keith, 1994’s Boomtown, 1996’s Blue Moon, 1997’s Dream Walkin’, and a Greatest Hits collection. 

All his albums were certified Gold or higher and yielded multiple Top Ten songs; his debut’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was the most-played country song of the ’90s and the most successful single from any of his albums. 

According to Broadcast Music Incorporated, the song has been played three million times since its release.

After signing a recording contract with DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1998, Keith did not achieve widespread success as a musician until late 1999, when the single “How Do You Like Me Now?!” was released. 

This single from his 1999 self-titled album topped the country music charts in 2000 and was one of many number ones he had while signed to DreamWorks Nashville. 

After the publication of Honkytonk University in 2004, he issued a second Greatest Hits collection the following year.

Early life 

Keith’s parents, Carolyn Joan (née Ross) and Hubert K. Covel, Jr., gave birth to him in Clinton, Oklahoma.

He is one of three siblings: the others being his sister and brother. Although Keith spent his early years in Fort Smith, Arkansas, his family eventually relocated to Moore, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City).

Before moving to Moore, he spent the summers with his grandma in Fort Smith. Keith’s passion for music was sparked by the musicians who performed at his grandmother’s Fort Smith supper club, Billie Garner’s. 

He helped around the supper club and eventually joined the band, performing on the bandstand. He was eight when he got his first guitar.

Keith played defensive end for the Highland West Junior High and Moore High School football teams after his family relocated to Moore.

After finishing high school, Keith worked in the oil fields as a derrick hand. In time, he rose through the ranks and is now in charge of operations.

When Keith was 20, he and a few of his close friends formed the Easy Money Band while still employed in the oil industry. 

Scott Webb, Keith Cory, David “Yogi” Vowell, and Danny Smith were all members of this group of friends. If he was paged to work in the oil field, he sometimes had to leave during a concert.

Keith lost his job when the Oklahoma oil industry fell steeply in 1982. He relied on his previous football experience and is currently performing as a defensive end for the semi-professional Oklahoma City Drillers and leading his band. 

Keith tried out for the Oklahoma Outlaws of the United States Football League but was cut. The Drillers served as the Outlaws’ unofficial farm club. 

Then he shifted his attention back to the music. Even though his loved ones didn’t think he’d make it, in 1984, he started performing the honky-tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas with his band Easy Money (which also featured Mike Barnes, T.A. Brauer, and David Saylors, among others).

Toby Keith Career

Keith started the label Show Dog Nashville after DreamWorks shut down in 2005; in December 2009, Show Dog Nashville joined Universal South Records to become Show Dog-Universal Music. 

Through Show Dog/Show Dog-Universal, he has released twelve studio albums, including White Trash with Money (2006), and The Big Daddy from 2007.

“That Doesn’t Make Me a Bad Guy” (2008), American Rides (2009), Shots Fired, released in 2010, Clancy’s Tavern (2011), “Hope on the Rocks,” published in 2012.

He has released four studio albums between 2013 and 2021: Drinks After Work, 35 MPH Town.

The Bus Songs, and Peso in My Pocket, and in 2008 he released a greatest hits album titled 35 Biggest Hits. In 2006, Keith made his acting debut in Broken Bridges and in 2008.

Over 40 million copies of Keith’s records have been sold worldwide. This includes his 19 studio albums, 2-holiday albums, and 5 compilation albums. 

On January 13, 2021, President Donald Trump honored Keith and Ricky Skaggs in a private ceremony by awarding them the National Medal of Arts—Toby Keith (born Toby Keith Covel on July 8, 1961). 

Before departing Mercury Records in 1998, he released four studio albums with the label. 

All his albums were certified Gold or higher and yielded multiple Top Ten songs; his debut’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was the most-played country song of the ’90s and the most successful single from any of his albums. 

According to Broadcast Music Incorporated, the song has been played three million times since its release.

Over 40 million copies of Keith’s records have been sold worldwide. This includes his 19 studio albums, 2-holiday albums, and five compilation albums. 

On January 13, 2021, President Donald Trump honored Keith and Ricky Skaggs in a private ceremony by awarding them the National Medal of Arts.

Toby Keith Personal life

In 1979 and 1980, Keith studied at Villanova University, earning him an honorary degree from the institution.[59] A career as a petroleum engineer was on his agenda.

Keith is a huge Oklahoma Sooners supporter and regularly attends games and practices. In addition to being a fan of music.

He is also a fan of professional wrestling, having performed “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)” live at the first-ever TNA Wrestling show on June 19, 2002.

And frequently sitting in the front row at WWE shows in Oklahoma. He is also an avid supporter of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He identifies as a Free Will Baptist.

Keith wed Tricia Lucus on March 24, 1984. he’s the proud grandfather of four.

An automobile accident on Interstate 35 claimed the life of Keith’s father on March 24, 2001. The Covel family was granted $2.8 million on December 25, 2007, for H.K. Covel’s wrongful death. 

Due to the lack of functional air brakes on the charter bus, Elias and Pedro Rodriguez, owners of Rodriguez Transportes in Tulsa and Republic Western Insurance Co., were found liable.

In June of 2022, Keith revealed that he had been battling stomach cancer since the previous December and had endured chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery in the interim. 

Keith announced his “pretty debilitating” cancer fight in a press release issued in December 2022.

Net worth

The musician and businessman has become one of the wealthiest celebrities in the United States thanks to the success of his music and other enterprises. 

In the July 2013 issue of Forbes, Keith is featured alongside the headline “Country Music’s $500 Million Man.” According to Forbes, Keith makes over $53 million a year. Therefore, he does have high market value.