Probably one of the most famous and biggest country music stars during his time, Toby Keith has enjoyed a great deal of a stunning career for more than two decades. A proud Okie and a native of Moore, Oklahoma, Keith celebrates his 57th birthday today. Born on July 8, 1961, he first saw the light of the world in the city of Clinton. Let us wish him a happy birthday as we know more about him and listen to the ten of his best hits (the first of two parts).
A Star is Born
Toby Keith was born Toby Keith Covel but when he entered the entertainment industry, he opted to make his name short and dropped his family name. More popularly as a country music singer, Keith is not just a one-talent person. In fact, he is multi-talented venturing into songwriting, producing records and even acting. In addition, he is also an owner of a chain of restaurants in Oklahoma inspired by one of his songs, “I Love This Bar“.
Debuting in the music industry in the 1990s, Keith started releasing his first four studio albums. His very first album was self-titled and released in 1993, then followed by Boomtown in 1994, Blue Moon in 1996, and Dream Walkin’ in 1997. All these four albums produced several chart-topping singles and have received Gold or higher certification from the RIAA. In addition, his debut studio album includes “Should’ve Been A Cowboy”, which became one of the best and most played country songs in the ’90s.
The limelight has always had a place for Keith. As the 2000s approached, he continued to rule the country music charts introducing his own music and the neotraditional country music. To date, he has released 19 studio albums, five compilation albums, and two Christmas albums. With these, he has sold over a total of 40 million album sales worldwide. Moreover, he has one of the most singles to have entered the country music charts in recent history. Charting a total of 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, Keith has produced 20 no. 1 hits including 21 top 10 hits. Most noteworthy, “Beer for My Horses” (a duet with Willie Nelson in 2003) and “As Good As I Once Was“(2005) became his longest-lasting no. 1 songs staying at six weeks each.
Toby Keith’s 10 Most Loved Hits (1st of 2 Parts)
As mentioned, Keith has produced over 40 singles that hit the charts and half of them are topped the charts. In this list, we have chosen 10 of his greatest and most popular hits. These are Toby Keith’s 10 greatest songs although they are not in a particular order.
1. “Courtesy of The Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)“
This is Keith’s patriotic song that was inspired by the infamous 9/11 incident. It commemorates the tragic events that happened Tuesday morning in New York City. In addition, Keith penned this song as a tribute to his father who recently passed away. This is one of the hits that he plays in his concerts and has become a crowd favorite since then.
2. “How Do You Like Me Now?!”
This was Keith’s breakthrough single when he signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1998. It became his career-defining moment in the early 2000s.
3. “As Good As I Once Was“
In 2006, this song won BMI Song of the Year which exudes a realistic look at the masculinity behind the main character in the song. Just like most of Keith’s song themes, the song was released with an accompanying humorous music video. The video ends in a bar fight and eventually leading to the main character to be taken off by an ambulance. Keith shows the other side of the life of a country music star.
4. “Should’ve Been A Cowboy”
One of Keith’s hits in his self-titled debut album, this song became a standard country tune in the 1990s. It was one of the most played country songs during that time. Keith penned this to pay tribute to Matt Dillon as well as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans of Gunsmoke.
5. “I Wanna Talk About Me”
As early as the 1990s, the country music sound is in the transition of a mix of pop and traditional country. This song struck many by surprise in 2001 with its beat doing away with the traditional sound. Its strong beat and rhythmic lyrics seemed to become a rap song on country radio. It was actually penned by Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Bobby Braddock, the person behind major hits of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and “D-I-V-O-R-C-E“.
Stay tuned and as we release the second part of this article…
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birthday, Toby Keith