History Music / TobyKeith

Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 -- February 5, 2024) was a prominent CountryMusic singer. He started out rather strongly on the Mercury label, sending his debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" to #1. This song went on to become the most-played country song of the entire 1990s, but Toby proved to be no OneHitWonder. For most of the rest of the decade, he stayed with Mercury, landing hit after hit with remarkable consistency — between 1993 and 1998, only one of his singles failed to make Top 10. Among his biggest hits in this timespan were several ballads, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now", "Who's That Man", "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You", and "Me Too", with only "You Ain't Much Fun" hinting at the swagger to come in his later years. Keith then fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling. He had recorded an album for Mercury, but they only liked two tracks, which were both put on a GreatestHitsAlbum. After another album's worth of material was rejected too, he terminated his contract with Mercury in 1999.

Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 -- February 5, 2024) was a prominent CountryMusic singer, . He started out rather strongly on the Mercury label, sending his debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" to #1. This song went on to become the most-played country song of the entire 1990s, but Toby proved to be no OneHitWonder. For most of the rest of the decade, he stayed with Mercury, landing hit after hit with remarkable consistency — between 1993 and 1998, only one of his singles failed to make Top 10. Among his biggest hits in this timespan were several ballads, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now", "Who's That Man", "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You", and "Me Too", with only "You Ain't Much Fun" hinting at the swagger to come in his later years. Keith then fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling. He had recorded an album for Mercury, but they only liked two tracks, which were both put on a GreatestHitsAlbum. After another album's worth of material was rejected too, he terminated his contract with Mercury in 1999.

A prominent CountryMusic singer, Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961--February 5, 2024, aged 62). He started out rather strongly on the Mercury label, sending his debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" to #1. This song went on to become the most-played country song of the entire 1990s, but Toby proved to be no OneHitWonder. For most of the rest of the decade, he stayed with Mercury, landing hit after hit with remarkable consistency — between 1993 and 1998, only one of his singles failed to make Top 10. Among his biggest hits in this timespan were several ballads, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now", "Who's That Man", "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You", and "Me Too", with only "You Ain't Much Fun" hinting at the swagger to come in his later years. Keith then fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling. He had recorded an album for Mercury, but they only liked two tracks, which were both put on a GreatestHitsAlbum. After another album's worth of material was rejected too, he terminated his contract with Mercury in 1999.

A prominent CountryMusic singer, Toby Keith Covel was born July 8, 1961. He started out rather strongly on the Mercury label, sending his debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy" to #1. This song went on to become the most-played country song of the entire 1990s, but Toby proved to be no OneHitWonder. For most of the rest of the decade, he stayed with Mercury, landing hit after hit with remarkable consistency — between 1993 and 1998, only one of his singles failed to make Top 10. Among his biggest hits in this timespan were several ballads, such as "Wish I Didn't Know Now", "Who's That Man", "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You", and "Me Too", with only "You Ain't Much Fun" hinting at the swagger to come in his later years. Keith then fell victim to ExecutiveMeddling. He had recorded an album for Mercury, but they only liked two tracks, which were both put on a GreatestHitsAlbum. After another album's worth of material was rejected too, he terminated his contract with Mercury in 1999.

After [=DreamWorks=] records closed in 2005, he seamlessly moved to his own label, Show Dog Records (now part of Show Dog-Creator/{{Universal}} Music). Although the hits have slowed some, he still managed to get a few more chart-toppers independently. Keith also scored a surprise viral crossover in 2011 when he made a video for "Red Solo Cup", which then dovetailed into radio airplay, but momentum since has slowed greatly.

Keith also owns several business ventures, including the Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill restaurant chain (named after one of his songs) and a line of mezcal.

* ChristmasSongs: He's recorded two holiday albums, ''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.

** "American Ride" also got some heat from the politically-minded, but as Keith himself points out, the song lampoons both the left and the right.

* 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 frequent cowriter Bobby Pinson on ''35 MPH Town''.

* UnusualEuphemism: "American Ride" has both "gets her rocks off" and "[[{{Spoonerism}} the fit's gonna hit the shan]]".

* SexualEuphamism: "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" is exactly what you'd think it would be about.

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted. "Beer For My Horses" seems like this, but it actually has a lot of basis in reality. [[AluminumChristmasTrees 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.

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