Obituary Toby Covel 1962 — 2024
COUNTRY singer Toby Keith Covel ,62, passed away in February after a graceful and courageous battle with stomach cancer.
According to The Guardian, Toby had announced his battle with the illness in June, 2022 six months after beginning treatment.
He was born in Oklahoma and grew up deeply rooted with a country style upbringing. Keith had what was termed as an “All American blue-collar youth” which played a significant role in building his successful career in song writing.
Toby learned how to play the guitar as a child who then featured as an American footballer for the Oklahoma City Drillers.
The country singer had experience as derrick hands or crew members on an offshore gas or oil rig.
His musical journey involved featuring in a honky-tonk band in the middle of the 1980s.
Toby partnered with Mercury Records executive through a flight attendant fan.
He also wrote his own debut single titled Should’ve been a cowboy. This single was the top single in the United States country chart more than 30 years ago in 1993. It was also noted that this single was the first of 20 chart toppers in his musical career. Through the Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) which was a song composed after the September 11 attack in 2001. The song also addressed enemies of the United States who took pleasure in the subsequent conflict.
According to CNN entertainment Keith performed at hundreds of shows for the U.S service members abroad and also in Iraq, Afghanistan along for President Barack Obama, George Bush and Donald Trump.
He was acknowledged for giving wheelchairs to wounded veterans in concerts.
Even as a third-generation Democrat, Keith told CNN in 2010 his service support had nothing related to politics. “There’s not one single thing political about supporting the troops,” he said. Three years ago in 2021, Toby received the National Medal of Arts award from the President at the time, Donald Trump.
The award was the highest level of recognition for artists and artistic patrons by the United States Government.
He also performed at the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards back in September and was awarded with the Country Icon Award. Amongst his many awards, he also received the music publisher BMI’S Country Icon award.
Toby is survived by his wife Tricia and three children Shelle Covel Rowland, 43, Kyrstal Keithg, 38, Stelen Keith, 26 and his four grandchildren.