Toby Keith

Toby Keith, 2004

Toby Keith, 2005

Toby Keith Covel (* 8. July 1961 in Clinton , Oklahoma ) is an American country - singer and actor .

Career

Beginnings

Toby Keith first came into contact with music in his grandmother's restaurant, where country bands performed occasionally. His main interests, however, were initially American football and rodeo riding . After graduating from high school, he took a job in the oil industry . In his spare time he played football and studied country music. He formed the Easy Money Band, which performed on the local club scene.

After a few years he lost his job and initially tried to make money with football. In 1984 he decided to concentrate entirely on music. At a smaller label he released a few records and recorded demo tapes. The producer Harold Shedd noticed and signed him for Mercury Records .

Country successes

His debut album Toby Keith was released in 1993 and sold more than two million times. The released single Should've Been a Cowboy reached number 1 on the country charts ; other songs made it into the top 10. Together with his producer, he switched to the Mercury offshoot Polydor. The album Boomtown was recorded here in 1994 , which was just as successful as its predecessor. He returned to Mercury in 1996 and had another number one hit with Me Too .

A year later he changed producers. Cared for by James Stroud, his streak of success continued. At the end of 1999 the album How Do You Like Me Now? released. The single of the same name was his fourth country number one hit and held the top spot for five weeks. The Academy of Country Music chose How Do You Like Me Now? for album of the year and named him best singer.

With Pull My Chain he reached the top of the country album charts for the first time in 2001. The album produced three number one singles, from 2000 to 2002 seven singles in a row came to number 1 on the country charts.

Controversy

Toby Keith, 2003

In 2002 he released the album Unleashed , which contained a song courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 . Critics accused Keith of celebrating the war in Afghanistan and crossing the line between patriotism and "hurray patriotism".

The controversy about the song was fanned by an invitation to the television show on Independence Day by the broadcaster ABC , which gave unfulfillable demands from Keith as the reason. Keith was openly criticized from other quarters. For example, the singer of the Dixie Chicks , Natalie Maines , wore a shirt with the words "FUTK", which meant "Fuck You, Toby Keith", on the occasion of a TV show. This was in response to Toby Keith using a manipulated photo as a background motif at a concert that showed Maines and Saddam Hussein together. However, the album was also his biggest success to date, and Keith topped both the country charts and the Billboard 200 sales charts for the first time .

Despite his support for President George W. Bush's war course , Keith has long referred to himself as a Democrat . So the same album also includes a duet with a left liberal applicable Willie Nelson , Beer for My Horses , which the pop charts was his most successful single to six weeks at number one of the country charts and space 22nd The album sold over four million copies and was certified four times platinum .

Keith is particularly committed to helping US soldiers, and he also performs in front of the overseas troops every year. The follow-up album Shock'n Y'All contains American Soldier, a song specially dedicated to soldiers on a war mission. Shock'n Y'All is a nod to Shock and Awe . Together with Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) it formed the end of his concerts.

The single, like the two other album releases, I Love This Bar and Whiskey Girl, was awarded gold . The album was able to repeat the number-one placements of its predecessor in country and pop charts; it again achieved high sales figures and was also awarded four times platinum. In the same year he was named "Entertainer of the Year" by the Academy of Country Music .

Keith sang at the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 . In the election campaign, Trump previously attracted attention with nationalist , right-wing populist and racist theses.

New ways

After the 2005 album Honkytonk University , another country chart top runner, the collaboration with the Dreamworks label , which had been ongoing since 1999, ended and was discontinued. Then Keith founded his own label Show Dog Nashville , which released the next album White Trash with Money . After appearing in television series three times from 2003 onwards, Keith made a fictional film called Broken Bridges in 2006 , in which he played the leading role of country musician Bo Price.

The following year, Big Dog Daddy was his first self-produced album. For the third time he topped both the country charts and the Billboard 200. After That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy from 2008, the album American Ride was released in 2009 . With the single of the same name he was number 1 in the country singles chart for the 18th time. In total, Keith has sold over 30 million albums.

In October 2009 he was named Songwriter / Artist of the Decade by the Nashville Songwriters Association International . In the following month he went on a European tour for the first time, where he performed mainly in Great Britain and Northern Europe. His net worth is estimated at $ 320 million.

Discography

Albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1993	Toby Keith Mercury	US99 platinum (62 weeks)US	Country17 (97 weeks) Country
1995	Boomtown Polydor	US46 platinum (30 weeks)US	Country8 (55 weeks) Country
1996	Blue Moon A&M	US51 platinum (18 weeks)US	Country6 (59 weeks) Country
1997	Christmas to Christmas Polydor	-	-
	Dream Walkin ' Mercury	US107 gold (12 weeks)US	Country8 (65 weeks) Country
1998	Greatest Hits Volume 1 Polygram	US61 × 2 Double platinum (20 weeks)US	Country5 (101 weeks) Country
1999	How Do You Like Me Now? Dreamworks	US56 platinum (92 weeks)US	Country9 (104 weeks) Country
2001	Pull My Chain Dreamworks	US9 × 2 Double platinum (66 weeks)US	Country1 (104 weeks) Country
2002	Unleashed Dreamworks	US1 × 4 Quadruple platinum (104 weeks)US	Country1 (104 weeks) Country
2003	20th Century Masters - The Best of Toby Keith Mercury Nashville	US45 gold (11 weeks)US	Country5 (103 weeks) Country
	Shock'n Y'All Dreamworks	US1 × 4 Quadruple platinum (66 weeks)US	Country1 (104 weeks) Country
2004	Greatest Hits Volume 2 Dreamworks	US3 × 3 Triple platinum (106 weeks)US	Country2 (109 weeks) Country
2005	Honkytonk University Dreamworks	US2 platinum (39 weeks)US	Country1 (59 weeks) Country
2006	White Trash with Money Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US2 platinum (40 weeks)US	Country2 (72 weeks) Country
2007	Big Dog Daddy Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US1 gold (28 weeks)US	Country1 (48 weeks) Country
	A Toby Keith Classic Christmas: Volumes One & Two Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US23 (11 weeks) US	Country8 (11 weeks) Country
2008	35 Biggest Hits Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US2 platinum (82 weeks)US	Country1 (... week) Country
	That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US5 gold (33 weeks)US	Country1 (76 weeks) Country
2009	American Ride Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US3 gold (28 weeks)US	Country1 (69 weeks) Country
2010	Bullets in the Gun Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US1 (21 weeks) US	Country1 (62 weeks) Country
2011	Clancy's Tavern Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US5 gold (43 weeks)US	Country1 (77 weeks) Country
2012	Hope on the Rocks Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US6 (16 weeks) US	Country3 (49 weeks) Country
2013	Drinks After Work Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US7 (11 weeks) US	Country3 (19 weeks) Country
2015	35 Mph Town Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US14 (3 weeks) US	Country2 (16 weeks) Country
2017	The Bus Songs Show Dog Nashville / Universal	US38 (1 week) US	Country6 (2 weeks) Country

Singles

As a lead singer

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1993	Should've been a cowboy Toby Keith	US93 gold (2 weeks)US	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	He Ain't Worth Missing Toby Keith	-	Country5 (20 weeks) Country
	A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action Toby Keith	-	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
1994	Wish I Didn't Know Now Toby Keith	-	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
	Who's That Man Boomtown	-	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Upstairs Downtown Boomtown	-	Country10 (20 weeks) Country
1995	You Ain't Much Fun Boomtown	-	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
	Big Ol 'Truck Boomtown	-	Country15 (20 weeks) Country
1996	Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You Blue Moon	-	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
	A woman's touch blue moon	-	Country6 (20 weeks) Country
	Me Too Blue Moon	-	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
1997	We Were in Love Dream Walkin '	-	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
	I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying Dream Walkin '	US84 (5 weeks) US	Country2 (20 weeks) Country	with sting
1998	Dream Walkin ' Dream Walkin'	-	Country5 (20 weeks) Country
	Double Wide Paradise Dream Walkin '	-	Country40 (10 weeks) Country
	Getcha Some Greatest Hits Volume 1	-	Country18 (20 weeks) Country
1999	If a Man Answers Greatest Hits Volume 1	-	Country44 (9 weeks) Country
	When Love Fades How Do You Like Me Now?	-	Country44 (10 weeks) Country
	How Do You Like Me Now? How Do You Like Me Now?	US31 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (42 weeks) Country
2000	Country Comes to Town How Do You Like Me Now?	US54 (15 weeks) US	Country4 (24 weeks) Country
	You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This How Do You Like Me Now?	US32 (20 weeks) US	Country1 (34 weeks) Country
2001	I'm Just Talkin 'About Tonight Pull My Chain	US27 (20 weeks) US	Country1 (22 weeks) Country
	I want to talk about me pull my chain	US28 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (28 weeks) Country
	My List Pull My Chain	US26 (20 weeks) US	Country1 (31 weeks) Country
2002	Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) Unleashed	US25th platinum (20 weeks)US	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Who's your daddy? Unleashed	US22 (20 weeks) US	Country1 (29 weeks) Country
2003	Rock You Baby Unleashed	US66 (5 weeks) US	Country13 (20 weeks) Country
	I Love This Bar Shock'n Y'All	US26th gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (24 weeks) Country
	American Soldier Shock'n Y'All	US28 platinum (20 weeks)US	Country1 (23 weeks) Country
2004	Whiskey Girl Shock'n Y'All	US31 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Stays in Mexico Greatest Hits Volume 2	US51 (15 weeks) US	Country3 (20 weeks) Country
	Mockingbird Greatest Hits Volume 2	-	Country27 (14 weeks) Country	with Krystal 1)
2005	Honkytonk U Honkytonk University	US61 (12 weeks) US	Country8 (20 weeks) Country
	As Good as I Once Was Honkytonk University	US28 platinum (20 weeks)US	Country1 (22 weeks) Country
	Big Blue Note Honkytonk University	US55 (12 weeks) US	Country5 (20 weeks) Country
2006	Get Drunk and Be Somebody White Trash with Money	US47 (20 weeks) US	Country3 (20 weeks) Country
	A Little Too Late White Trash with Money	US53 (15 weeks) US	Country2 (20 weeks) Country
	Crash Here Tonight White Trash with Money	US96 (1 week) US	Country15 (20 weeks) Country
2007	High Maintenance Woman Big Dog Daddy	US67 (17 weeks) US	Country3 (20 weeks) Country
	Love Me If You Can Big Dog Daddy	US48 (17 weeks) US	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	Get My Drink On Big Dog Daddy	US88 (5 weeks) US	Country11 (20 weeks) Country
2008	She's a Hottie 35 Biggest Hits	US71 (11 weeks) US	Country13 (20 weeks) Country
	She Never Cried in Front of Me That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy	US42 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (20 weeks) Country
	God Love Her That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy	US36 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (21 weeks) Country
2009	Lost You Anyway That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy	US69 (10 weeks) US	Country10 (19 weeks) Country
	American Ride American Ride	US35 gold (16 weeks)US	Country1 (17 weeks) Country
	Cryin 'for Me (Wayman's Song) American Ride	US73 (12 weeks) US	Country6 (21 weeks) Country
2010	Trailerhood Bullets in the Gun	US97 (4 weeks) US	Country19 (17 weeks) Country
	Bullets in the Gun Bullets in the Gun	US83 (14 weeks) US	Country12 (20 weeks) Country
2011	Somewhere Else Bullets in the Gun	US80 (8 weeks) US	Country12 (18 weeks) Country
	Made in America Clancy’s Tavern	US40 gold (20 weeks)US	Country1 (19 weeks) Country
	Red Solo Cup Clancy’s Tavern	US15th × 2 Double platinum (20 weeks)US	Country9 (20 weeks) Country
2012	Beers Ago Clancy’s Tavern	US52 gold (15 weeks)US	Country6 (20 weeks) Country
	I Like Girl That Drink Beer Hope on the Rocks	-	Country18 (16 weeks) Country
	Hope On The Rocks Hope on the Rocks	-	Country29 (18 weeks) Country
2013	Drinks After Work Drinks After Work	-	Country28 (20 weeks) Country
	Shut Up and Hold on Drinks After Work	-	Country49 (1 week) Country
2014	Drunk Americans 35 MPH Town	-	Country33 (19 weeks) Country
2015	Rum Is The Reason 35 MPH Town	-	Country45 (1 week) Country
2017	Wacky Tobaccy The Bus Songs	-	Country45 (1 week) Country
2018	Don't Let The Old Man In The Mule OST	-	Country45 (1 week) Country
The following songs did not appear as single, but were made available for download and streaming through the album and were thus able to achieve a placement:
1996	Santa I'm Right Here Christmas to Christmas	-	Country50 (5 weeks) Country
2001	Old Toy Trains How Do You Like Me Now?	-	Country57 (2 weeks) Country
2002	Beer for My Horses Unleashed	US22nd platinum (20 weeks)US	Country1 (39 weeks) Country	with Willie Nelson
2007	Rockin 'Around the Christmas Tree A Classic Christmas	-	Country44 (5 weeks) Country
	Winter Wonderland A Classic Christmas	-	Country55 (3 weeks) Country
	Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow A Classic Christmas	-	Country53 (3 weeks) Country
	Little Drummer Boy A Classic Christmas	-	Country41 (2 weeks) Country
2008	That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy	-	Country60 (1 week) Country
2009	Every Dog Has Its Day American Ride	-	Country15 (18 weeks) Country
	If I Had One American Ride	-	Country59 (1 week) Country
2015	Rum Is The Reason 35 MPH Town	-	Country45 (1 week) Country

¹⁾ Krystal is the daughter of Toby Keith

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
2001	America the Beautiful	-	Country58 (... weeks) Country	with various artists
2003	I Can't Take You Anywhere	US91 (6 weeks) US	Country24 (23 weeks) Country	with Scotty Emerick
2004	I Love NASCAR Bipolar and Proud	-	Country48 (6 weeks) Country	with Cledus T. Judd
	Hey good lookin '	US63 (11 weeks) US	Country8 (20 weeks) Country	with Jimmy Buffett , Clint Black , Kenny Chesney , Alan Jackson and George Strait
2008	Things A Mama Don't Know Days You Live For	-	Country55 (10 weeks) Country	Mica Roberts feat. Toby Keith

Video albums

• 2003: Video Collection, Vol. 1 (US:gold)
• 2004: 20th Century Masters - DVD Collection (US:gold)
• 2004: 5 Great Big Videos (US:platinum)

Awards for music sales

Golden record  Canada 1995: for the album Toby Keith 2002: for the album Pull My Chain 2005: for the album Honkytonk University

Platinum record  Canada 2005: for the album Greatest Hits 2 2005: for the album Shock'n Y'All 2004: for the album Unleashed

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Canada (MC)	3 × gold3	3 × platinum3	450,000	musiccanada.com
United States (RIAA)	18 × gold18th	29 × platinum29	36,200,000	riaa.com
All in all	21 × gold21st	32 × platinum32

The most important awards

year	Org.	Award	title
2000	ACM	Album of the Year	"How Do You Like Me Now ?!"
2000	ACM	Top male vocalist
2001	CMA	Male Vocalist of the Year
2002	ACM	Entertainer of the Year
2002	Billboard	Country Singles Artist of the Year
2003	ACM	Album of the Year	"Shock'n Y 'All"
2003	ACM	Entertainer of the Year
2003	ACM	Top male vocalist
2003	ACM	Video of the Year	"Beer for My Horses"
2009	NSAI	Songwriter / Artist of the Decade

Filmography (selection)

• 2006: Broken Bridges
• 2008: Beer for My Horses

swell

1. ↑ Controversial texts: Successful album celebrates the war in Afghanistan. In: Spiegel Online . August 1, 2002, accessed June 9, 2018 . 
2. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2958450.stm
3. ^ ^{A b} Toby Keith: Voice Of The Patriotic , Caitlin A. Johnson, CBS news, September 10, 2006
4. ↑ ^{a b} gold / platinum database of the RIAA (search "Artist = Toby Keith)
5. ↑ ^{a b} Biography of Toby Keith at Great American Country ( Memento of the original from May 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ The Biography Channel website: Toby Keith biography , accessed May 25, 2012.
7. ↑ Simon Riesche, Washington: Country musician Toby Keith: The soundtrack for Trump country . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed May 24, 2019]).
8. ↑ LiveDaily Interview: Toby Keith ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 14, 2009 
9. ↑ http://www.handelsblatt.com/panorama/aus-aller-welt/forbes-prognose-auf-dem-sprung-zu-den-reichsten-der-reichen/v_detail_tab_print/8933674.html
10. ↑ ^{a b c} US chart history
11. ↑ ^{a b c} Music Sales Awards: US

Web links

Commons : Toby Keith  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of Toby Keith (English)
• Label side of Toby Keith (English)
• Toby Keith in the Internet Movie Database (English)