Toby Keith: Country music singer dies aged 62

Toby Keith: Country music singer dies aged 62

Toby Keith, the country music star who sold tens of millions of records, has died at the age of 62.

He passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 5th surrounded by his family, a statement on his social media channels said. Keith rose to fame in the 1990s with songs such as Should've Been a Cowboy which topped the country music chart.

Keith wrote and recorded the song, Don't Let the Old Man In for Clint’s film The Mule (2018).

 

“We were playing golf,” Keith recalls, “and he was telling me about how he was getting ready to shoot this movie about an old man that ran drugs for the cartel, tried to help his family, and tried to help his community. And I told him, somebody said you have a birthday coming up Monday. And Clint said, “Yeah, on Monday I turn 88.”

Keith asked him how he planned to celebrate and Eastwood said he was going to shoot his movie.

“Oh, you’re going to start shooting it on your birthday?”

“Yep,” Eastwood replied.

So, Keith asked the filmmaker what keeps him going.

“He said, I just get up every day and don’t let the old man in,” Keith remembers. “And instantly, I wanted to write a song about that. So, I came home, wrote it, sent it to him, and now it’s in the movie.”

Keith announced in June 2022 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, an illness the star said was "debilitating". The statement said he "fought his fight with grace and dignity".

Over a more than 30-year career, hits including Who's Your Daddy and Made in America were enjoyed by millions. He is survived by his wife, Tricia Lucus, and three children.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family. 

RIP Sir