History Music / TobyKeith

* TheCityVsTheCountry: "Upstairs Downtown" is about a female moving from the country to the city, and then moving back when she is dissatisfied with city life.

** His Mercury-era material is starkly different. Debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). After this song he settled mostly into downbeat ballads about lost love such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch", with only the occasional detour into uptempo honky-tonk with the likes of "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" or "Big Ol' Truck". Also, all of his Mercury albums except for ''Dream Walkin''' have very dated sounding production with lots of keyboard and reverb, thanks to Nelson Larkin producing instead of James Stroud (who took over the production role on ''Dream Walkin''').

** His Mercury-era material is starkly different. Debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). After this song he settled mostly into downbeat ballads about lost love such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch", with only the occasional detour into uptempo honky-tonk with the likes of "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" or "Big Ol' Truck". The production is also more dated, with tons of keyboard and reverb, due to Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd producing instead of the more contemporary sound from James Stroud and/or Keith himself.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Toby Keith pulled the musical equivalent. His music used to be clean and family-friendly, but for the last several years he's taken on a "bad boy" image and run with it, along with lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek music videos accompanying them, starting with subtle innuendo ("Getcha Some") and gradually progressing to the point where just about any new song from him sounded like pure Straw Conservative propaganda, was a blatant exercise in CrossesTheLineTwice, or both. Somewhere around his departure from [=DreamWorks=], he began to soften again, with occasional exceptions such as "American Ride," which at least had the decency to lampoon both ends of the political spectrum.

** Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite hiting at a harder-edged approach with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The machismo and jingoism that defined him in the public eye for most of the 21st century didn't really surface until ''Unleashed'', which kicked off with "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)".

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Toby Keith pulled the musical equivalent. His music used to be clean and family-friendly, but for the last several years he's taken on a "bad boy" image and run with it, along with lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek music videos accompanying them, starting with low-level GettingCrapPastTheRadar ("Getcha Some") and gradually progressing to the point where just about any new song from him sounded like pure Straw Conservative propaganda, was a blatant exercise in CrossesTheLineTwice, or both. Somewhere around his departure from [=DreamWorks=], he began to soften again, with occasional exceptions such as "American Ride," which at least had the decency to lampoon both ends of the political spectrum.

* UnusualEuphemism: "American Ride" has both "gets her rocks off" and "[[{{Spoonerism}} the fit's gonna hit the shan]]". Also a great example of GettingCrapPastTheRadar; anything that telegraphs more than a mild profanity is usually shunned.

** His Mercury-era material is starkly different. Debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). After this song he settled mostly into downbeat ballads about lost love such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch", with only the occasional detour into uptempo honky-tonk with the likes of "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" or "Big Ol' Truck". The production is also more dated, with tons of keyboard and reverb, due to Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd producing instead of the more contemporary slick production provided by James Stroud (and later on, Keith himself).
** Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite hiting at a harder-edged approach with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The machismo and jingoism that defined him in the public eye didn't really surface until ''Unleashed'', which kicked off with "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)".

* SelfPlagiarism: "God Love Her" has a ''very'' similar premise and melody to "Whiskey Girl".

** Only three times in his career has he hit a point where he didn't even make Top 40 on the country charts. The first was in 1999, just as he was leaving Mercury and had put out two sides for a GreatestHitsAlbum. The second of those, "If a Man Answers", stalled at #44. (Although only two singles prior, "Double Wide Paradise" only ''barely'' kept the streak alive, as it stopped right at #40.) And just as he moved to [=DreamWorks=], he released "When Love Fades", which was moving slowly on the charts. It also ended up peaking at #44 because he asked that it be withdrawn and replaced with "How Do You Like Me Now?!", which went on to become the biggest country hit of 2000.

** Despite his popularity fading somewhat over the latter half of the 2000s (mostly), Keith was still at least hitting Top 20 with remarkable consistency. Then came the late-2013 release "Shut Up and Hold On", which peaked at #48, his lowest chart showing ever.

** His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat (with the occasional exception, such as "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action") and reliant on ballads about lost love, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch". His debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). The production is also more dated, with tons of keyboard and reverb, due to Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd producing instead of the more contemporary slick production provided by James Stroud (and later on, by Keith himself).
** Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite hiting at a more in-your-face style with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The machismo and jingoism that defined him in the public eye didn't really surface until ''Unleashed'', which kicked off with "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)".
* FailedASpotCheck: The murderous protagonist of the "Little Too Late" video. Who doesn't notice he's walling ''himself'' in until he places the last brick.

--> I used to be hell on wheels, back when I was a younger man,
--> Now my body says, 'Oh, you can't do this, boy,' but my pride says 'Oh, yes you can.'

* IdiotBall: Keith's character in the video for "A Little Too Late," wherein he attempts to seal his ex-girlfriend inside a small, walled off room in the basement and leave her for dead ... only to find out he has actually sealed himself in the walled area. (As he tries to apologize in vain, she leaves the basement to call the police.)

* LiteralAssKicking: From "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue":
-->"'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way."

* HelloNurse: The video to his 2005 hit "As Good as I Once Was" features Toby – who had just been badly beaten by a muscleman during a bar fight – trying to pinch the ass of a sexy paramedic. When the nurse turns around and looks, Toby goes into a seizure and loses consciousness; his losing his battle to stay awake is seen from Toby's perspective, as he blacks out with the iris out.

* AntiChristmasSong: "Jesus Gets Jealous of Santa Claus". Which was co-written by one Music/KeithUrban well before he came famous in the US.

* [[RockstarSong Country Star Song]]: "Honkytonk U" is a firsthand account of Toby's rise to the top.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat (with the occasional exception, such as "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action") and reliant on ballads about lost love, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch". His debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). The production is also more dated, with tons of keyboard and reverb, due to Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd producing instead of the more contemporary slick production provided by James Stroud (and later on, by Keith himself). Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite establishing a more in-your-face style with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The patriotism didn't come in until "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue", the lead single to his third [=DreamWorks=] album. From that point onward, he was firmly established as a purveyor of mostly swaggering uptempos and sometimes heavy-handedly jingoistic numbers such as "Courtesy" or "American Soldier", with only the occasional detour into old-school ballad territory ("A Little Too Late", "Lost You Anyway").

** Which is much HarsherInHindsight considering his hometown of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore,_Oklahoma Moore, Oklahoma]] was struck by devastating F5 tornadoes in 1999 and 2013. At least half of the town was leveled during both tornado outbreaks and dozens of people were killed (including several schoolchildren).

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat (with the occasional exception, such as "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action") and reliant on ballads about lost love, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch". His debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). The production is also more dated, with tons of keyboard and reverb, due to Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd producing instead of the more contemporary sound of James Stroud. Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite establishing a more in-your-face style with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The patriotism didn't come in until "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue", the lead single to his third [=DreamWorks=] album. From that point onward, he was firmly established as a purveyor of mostly swaggering uptempos and sometimes heavy-handedly jingoistic numbers such as "Courtesy" or "American Soldier", with only the occasional detour into old-school ballad territory ("A Little Too Late", "Lost You Anyway").

* RecordProducer: He was produced by Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd on his first two albums, then co-produced with just Larkin on the third. He co-produced with James Stroud from ''Dream Walkin''' through the new tracks on his second GreatestHitsAlbum. Keith has largely produced by himself ever since, with assistance from Lari White (best known for her 1995 hit "Now I Know") on ''White Trash with Money'', bluegrass musician Randy Scruggs on his 2007 Christmas album, and Bobby Pinson on ''35 MPH Town''.

* BrokenWinLossStreak: Only three times in his career has he hit a point where he didn't even make Top 40 on the country charts. The first was in 1999, just as he was leaving Mercury and had put out two sides for a GreatestHitsAlbum. The second of those, "If a Man Answers", stalled at #44. (Although only two singles prior, "Double Wide Paradise" only ''barely'' kept the streak alive, as it stopped right at #40.) And just as he moved to [=DreamWorks=], he released "When Love Fades", which was moving slowly on the charts. It also ended up peaking at #44 because he asked that it be withdrawn and replaced with "How Do You Like Me Now?!", which went on to become the biggest country hit of 2000.

* DrowningMySorrows: "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" and "Get My Drink On".

* {{Bowdlerize}}: All involving the word "ass". While it was notoriously untouched on "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue", a few other songs had it changed: "American Ride" turned "daddy works his ass off" to "daddy works his can off", while "Red Solo Cup" muted it. "Drunk Americans" originally muted it from the line "we don't give a rat's ass", but a later edit changed the first and third instances to "we don't care, we don't ask" and the second to "we don't judge, we don't laugh". "Red Solo Cup" also changed "And you, sir, do not have a pair of testicles" to "...pair of ''vegetables''", presumably for RuleOfFunny.

* ChristmasSongs: He's recorded two holiday albums thus far, ''Christmas to Christmas'' in 1995 and ''A Classic Christmas'' in 2007. The former was entirely original compositions, while the latter was a DistinctDoubleAlbum of covers: secular material on the first, hymns and carols on the second.
* CoolButStupid: His reasoning behind recording "Red Solo Cup" (an ode to the plastic cup and its use in drinking, frat parties, etc.) was that it was both the stupidest and most awesome song he'd ever heard.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat (with the occasional exception, such as "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action") and reliant on ballads about lost love, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now" or "A Woman's Touch". His debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). Even after he switched to [=DreamWorks=], there was a notable transitory period: ''How Do You Like Me Now?!'' and ''Pull My Chain'', despite establishing a more in-your-face style with "How Do You Like Me Now?!" and "I Wanna Talk About Me" respectively, still contain a great deal of older-style ballads such as "When Love Fades" and "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This". The patriotism didn't come in until "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue", the lead single to his third [=DreamWorks=] album. From that point onward, he was firmly established as a purveyor of mostly swaggering uptempos and sometimes heavy-handedly jingoistic numbers such as "Courtesy" or "American Soldier", with only the occasional detour into old-school ballad territory ("A Little Too Late", "Lost You Anyway").

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Toby Keith pulled the musical equivalent a few years back. His music used to be clean and family-friendly, but for the last several years he's taken on a "bad boy" image and run with it, along with lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek music videos accompanying them, starting with low-level GettingCrapPastTheRadar ("Getcha Some") and gradually progressing to the point where just about any new song from him sounded like pure Straw Conservative propaganda, was a blatant exercise in CrossesTheLineTwice, or both. Somewhere around his departure from [=DreamWorks=], he began to soften again, with occasional exceptions such as "American Ride," which at least had the decency to lampoon both ends of the political spectrum.

* MockingSingSong: Played during the fade-out of "How Do You Like Me Now?!"

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted. "Beer For My Horses" seems like this, but it actually has a lot of basis in reality. Horse breeders have always given horses beer (Guinness is the preferred brand) as an appetite stimulant. The amount of alcohol in a bottle of Guinness, which is about enough to make a 150-pound man feel pleasantly mellow, will do nothing to a horse which weighs ten times as much and naturally produces huge amounts of enzymes that break down alcohol. The ingredients in beer (grains, hops, yeast and water) are all things a horse will gladly consume on its own, given the chance.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Toby Keith pulled the musical equivalent a few years back. His music used to be clean and family-friendly, but for the last several years he's taken on a "bad boy" image and run with it, along with lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek music videos accompanying them, starting with low-level GettingCrapPastTheRadar ("Getcha Some") and gradually progressing to the point where just about any new song from him sounded like pure Straw Conservative propaganda, was a blatant exercise in CrossesTheLineTwice, or both. Somewhere around his departure from [=DreamWorks=], he began to soften again, with occasional exceptions such as "American Ride," which at least had the decency to lampoon both ends of the political spectrum.

* [[RockstarSong Country Star Song]]: "Honkytonk U" is a firsthand account of Toby's rise to the top.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat (with the occasional exception, such as "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action") and reliant on ballads than the swaggering, patriotic personality he soon became known for upon moving to [=DreamWorks=]. "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs (he's done a few other cowboy/Western themed songs, most notably "Beer for My Horses", but none of them were romantic in the slightest). In fact, his first [=DreamWorks=] album, despite containing his biggest hit in "How Do You Like Me Now?!", still contains a lot of old-style ballads and none of the swaggering patriotism.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His Mercury-era material is a lot more downbeat and reliant on ballads than the swaggering, patriotic personality he soon became known for upon moving to [=DreamWorks=]. "Should've Been a Cowboy" in particular sticks out for romantic cowboy imagery that he never revisited, despite being one of his most famous songs. In fact, his first [=DreamWorks=] album, despite containing his biggest hit in "How Do You Like Me Now?!", still contains a lot of old-style ballads and none of the swaggering patriotism.