Toby Keith, 62, country music star loses his battle with stomach cancer, 5 Feb 2024

[imstilla.grandma]

- Country music star Toby Keith died Monday, according to a post on his official website.

The 62-year-old singer died peacefully, surrounded by family, the post said.

“He fought his fight with grace and courage,” the post said.

The singer opened up about his battle with stomach cancer in June 2022. He underwent surgery and received chemotherapy and radiation after his diagnosis in 2021, The Associated Press reported.

Toby Keith, country singer-songwriter, dies at 62 after stomach cancer diagnosis

The singer crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger and wrote songs that fans loved to hear in his three decades in country music.

www.actionnews5.com

* Toby is from my city, it is a sad time for us all. We went to the same high school.
eta:

 

[Aurora90]

How sad.

I used to sing "How Do You Like Me Now" as a kid watching CMT Songbook in the early mornings before school. I was re-introduced to him this time last year when a friend played me "Don't Let The Old Man In" and that song touched my heart.

I actually just watched an interview with him just a few days ago, he looked really skinny, I was concerned that the end might be near.

This is sad to hear.

May He Rest In Peace.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In a recent interview with the Oklahoma City television station KWTV, Mr. Keith, who played a run of shows in Las Vegas in December, said he was still in treatment. “Cancer is a roller coaster,” he said. “You just sit here and wait on it to go away — it may not ever go away.” He said that his Christian faith was helping him get through the treatment and the potential dark outcome.

Built around clever wordplay and droll humor — and more than a little macho bluster — both topped the Billboard country chart, with “Beer for My Horses,” a twangy, Rolling Stones-style rocker that featured Willie Nelson as guest vocalist, crossing over to the pop Top 40.

Mr. Keith wrote or co-wrote most of his material, which ranged stylistically from traditional honky-tonk to pop-country balladry and Southern rock. More than 60 of his singles reached the country chart, including 20 No. 1 hits, and he sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In 2015 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a member of a class that included Cyndi Lauper, the blues pioneer Willie Dixon, and Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

Mr. Keith was already in his 30s, having scuffled for years to make it in the music business, when he signed his first record deal in 1993. He had previously worked as a rodeo hand, a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields and a semiprofessional football player to support his young family.

Toby Keith, Larger-Than-Life Country Music Star, Dies at 62

He cultivated an in-your-face persona with hits like “Who’s Your Daddy?” and “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” He announced in 2022 that he had cancer.

www.nytimes.com

 

[tlcya]

RIP TK

 

[charminglane]

I saw him when he was a greenhorn in 1994 at Fan Fest in Pomona at the fairgrounds.
Should've Been A Cowboy was the highlight of the night.
Rest well, Huckleberry. Ride on.
And thank you.

 

[neesaki]

Best one ever!

 

[neesaki]

Apologies DP

 

[MassGuy]

He put on one hell of a show for us in Afghanistan in 2012, and I had seen him a couple of times live prior to that. It was so sad to see his final interview, as it was clear this day was coming. What a loss.

 

[charminglane]

 

[charminglane]

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1229607269/toby-keith-remembrance

 

[tezi]

I watched the interview that was quoted about above. I cried. You could tell the end was near. I also watched an interview with Brett Favre, a friend of Toby's. He said the last time he talked to Toby (approx. 2 weeks before he passed), Toby said he had quit chemo, probably too late, and that he was tired. I didn't realize he had quit chemo.

RIP, Toby, you will be missed!