Toby Keith Trivia | 50 facts about the late singer

Toby Keith was an American singer, songwriter, producer and actor who passed away February 5, 2024.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about his life and career.

1. His full name was Toby Keith Covel
2. He was born July 8, 1961
3. He died on February 5th, 2024
4. He was known professionally as Toby Keith
5. Keith was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor
6. In the 1990s, he released his first four studio albums – Toby Keith (1993), Boomtown (1994), Blue Moon (1996) and Dream Walkin’ (1997)- and Greatest Hits Volume One under Mercury Records
7. These albums all earned gold or higher certification
8. They had several top ten singles
9. Including his chart-topping debut “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”.
10. Signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville in 1998, Keith released his breakthrough single “How Do You Like Me Now?!” in late 1999
11. This song was the title track to his 1999 album of the same name
12. It was the number one country song of 2000
13. And one of several chart-toppers during his tenure on DreamWorks Nashville
14. His next three albums, Pull My Chain, Unleashed, and Shock’n Y’all, produced three more number ones each
15. All of the albums were certified 4× Platinum
16. A second Greatest Hits package followed in 2004
17. After that, he released Honkytonk University
18. When DreamWorks closed in 2005, Keith founded the label Show Dog Nashville, which merged with Universal South Records to become Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009
19. He released ten studio albums through Show Dog/Show Dog-Universal: 2006’s White Trash with Money, 2007’s Big Dog Daddy, 2008’s That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy, 2009’s American Ride, 2010’s Bullets in the Gun, 2011’s Clancy’s Tavern, 2012’s Hope on the Rocks, 2013’s Drinks After Work, 2015’s 35 MPH Town, 2017’s The Bus Songs, and 2021’s Peso in My Pocket
20. As well as the compilation 35 Biggest Hits in 2008
21. Keith also made his acting debut in 2006
22. He starred in the film Broken Bridges
23. And co-starred with comedian Rodney Carrington in the 2008 film Beer for My Horses
24. The film was inspired by his song of the same name
25. Keith released 19 studio albums, 2 Christmas albums, and 5 compilation albums
26. Totaling worldwide sales of over 40 million albums
27. He charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts
28. Including 20 number one hits and 22 additional top 10 hits
29. His longest-lasting number one hits are “Beer for My Horses” (a 2003 duet with Willie Nelson) and “As Good as I Once Was” (2005), at six weeks each
30. Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in a closed ceremony alongside Ricky Skaggs on January 13, 2021
31. Keith married Tricia Lucus on March 24, 1984
32. He was the father of three children
33. Keith’s father, H. K. Covel, was killed after a charter bus collided with his car on Interstate 35 on March 24, 2001
34. The Covel family was awarded $2.8 million for his wrongful death on December 25, 2007
35. Elias and Pedro Rodriguez, operators of Rodriguez Transportes of Tulsa, and the Republic Western Insurance Co. were found liable, as they failed to equip the bus with properly working air brakes
36. Keith had an honorary degree from Villanova University, which he attended from 1979 to 1980
37. He planned to be a petroleum engineer
38. He was an avid University of Oklahoma sports fan, and Keith was often seen at Oklahoma Sooners games and practices
39. He was also a fan of professional wrestling, being seen in the front row of numerous WWE shows that took place in Oklahoma
40. As well as performing “Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue” live at the first ever TNA Wrestling show on June 19, 2002
41. He was also a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team
42. He was a Free Will Baptist
43. Keith supported Ally’s House, a non-profit organization in Oklahoma designed to aid children with cancer
44. Keith filmed a PSA for Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools
45. As of 2015, Forbes estimated Keith’s annual income at $53 million
46. In June 2022, Keith announced that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer at the end of 2021
47. Having undergone chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery for the past six months
48. Keith said that his battle with cancer had been “pretty debilitating” in a December 2022 press release
49. Keith died in his sleep in Oklahoma on February 5, 2024, at the age of 62
50. Fellow country artists and bands who paid tribute included Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Old Dominion, Jelly Roll, Zach Bryan, John Rich, Lady A, Jake Owen, Luke Combs, and others such as First Lady Jill Biden, actor Stephen Baldwin, and radio and television personality Bobby Bones