Toby Keith Name-Drops Legends in ‘That’s Country Bro’ [LISTEN]

Toby Keith's new single "That's Country Bro" is both a nod to the genre's legends and a word to its newcomers: "If you're gonna be country, you oughta know / A little bit of somethin' 'bout the roots and the boots and the rhinestone suits ..." he sings in the bridge. Readers can pretty play above to listen.

Against a rollicking melody with prominent guitar and drums, Keith uses the song's verses to fire off a list of dozens of country greats. Jimmie Rodgers, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams are the first three mentioned, while the second verse includes Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner and Merle Haggard. Alabama, George Strait and Randy Travis are mentioned as well.

"Heard 'em on the weekend / Opry tuned in on that AM radio," Keith recalls in the first chorus. In the second, it's "Heard 'em all growin' up in daddy's old farm truck / Eight-track stereo," and by the third, he "saw 'em on Hee Haw / Singin' in their overalls." The chorus' repeating line -- "That's country, bro" -- flips the phrase "bro-country," the term for the male-dominated, good-time-focused music that's heavily populated country radio in recent years. (Worth noting: Keith himself earned a massive hit with 2011's party-ready "Red Solo Cup" just before bro-country's rise to popularity.)

Keith wrote "That's Country Bro" with Bobby Pinson, and the two co-produced the track with Reid Shippen. Arturo Buenahora is the song's executive producer.

"That's Country Bro" is the first single from Keith's next album, Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years. Further details about that project are not yet available, but Keith is spending his summer on the road for his That's Country Bro Tour.

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