Oklahoma native Toby Keith Covel got his first guitar as a child and formed a band in his early 20s, but it took Keith until his 30s to start his country music career. Prior to moving to Nashville in the early 1990s, Keith worked in his home state's oil fields and played high school, college and semi-pro football. He released his self-titled debut album on Mercury Records in 1993, and its first single, "Should've Been a Cowboy," became his first No. 1. Since then, Keith's ridden a consistent streak of Top 10 albums, 10 of which hit No. 1, and 20-plus No. 1 singles to country music superstardom. In 2005, he founded his own record label, Show Dog Nashville, which later merged with Universal South in 2009 to become Show Dog Universal. In 2008, Keith wrote and starred in 'Beer for My Horses', a comedy film based on his 2003 hit of the same name, a duet with Willie Nelson. An avid supporter of the troops, Keith has performed numerous USO Tours overseas. He also owns his own restaurant chain, I Love This Bar & Grill, a play on his 2003 single "I Love This Bar," and has his own line of mezcal, Wild Shot. In 2018, he turned a friendship with filmmaker Clint Eastwood into a new project when his song, "Don't Let the Old Man In," was featured in Eastwood's latest film, 'The Mule.'
- Birthday: July 8, 1961
- Albums: Toby Keith (1993), Boomtown (1994), Blue Moon (1996), Dream Walkin’ (1997), How Do You Like Me Now?! (1999), Pull My Chain (2001), Unleashed (2002), Shock’n Y’all (2003), Honkytonk University (2005), White Trash with Money (2006), Big Dog Daddy (2007), That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy (2008), American Ride (2009), Bullets in the Gun (2010), Clancy’s Tavern (2011), Hope on the Rocks (2012), Drinks After Work (2013), 35 MPH Town (2015), Peso in My Pocket (2021)
- No. 1 Hits: “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” (1993), “Who’s That Man” (1994), “Me Too” (1996), “How Do You Like Me Now?!” (1999), “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This” (2000), “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight” (2001), “I Wanna Talk About Me” (2001), “My List” (2002), “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
(The Angry American)” (2002), “Who’s Your Daddy?” (2002), “Beer for My Horses” with Willie Nelson (2003), “I Love This Bar” (2003), “American Soldier” (2003), “Whiskey Girl” (2004), “As Good as I Once Was” (2005), “Love Me If You Can” (2007), “She Never Cried in Front of Me” (2008), “God Love Her” (2008), “American Ride” (2009), “Made in America” (2011) - Did You Know …: Keith has landed on Forbes’ list of the highest-paid musicians multiple times.
- Required Reading: Top 10 Toby Keith Songs, Top 5 Toby Keith Videos, You Think You Know Toby Keith?, Toby Keiths Self-Titled Debut Album Tracks, Ranked, Top 5 Unforgettable Country Music Military Moments, Toby Keith’s Best Live Shots [PICTURES]