Toby Keith Biography

Toby Keith was born in 1961 in Oklahoma. His grandmother owned a club frequented by musicians, and it was during his time spent with her in the venue that he developed an early love of country music. Keith learned to play the guitar before he was a teenager, but in high school his focus shifted to athletics, and after graduating, he began to work not in the music industry, but in the oil industry. Toby continued to perform country music, however, and when he lost his day job, he embraced the opportunity to pursue music full time. 

Toby Keith set out for Nashville in the early 1990’s. His demo tapes initially did not spark any interest, until a fan gave a copy of one to an executive, garnering Toby some interest from Mercury Records. He signed with the label and released “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” his debut single. The song unexpectedly shot straight to the number one spot on the charts, leading to a platinum-selling debut album as well. Toby Keith’s follow-up singles, “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” and “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action” were both hits as well. A series of hit albums followed, including Boomtown (1994), Blue Moon (1996), Pull My Chain (2001), Unleashed (2002), Honkytonk University (2005), Big Dog Daddy (2007), That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy (2008), Bullets in the Gun (2010), and Clancy’s Tavern (2011.) Additional number one country songs from these albums include: “Who’s That Man,” “Me Too,” “How Do You Like Me Now?,” “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This,” “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” “I Wanna Talk About Me,” “My List,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” “Who’s Your Daddy,” “Beer for My Horses,” “I Love This Bar,” “Whiskey Girl,” “As Good as I One Was,” “Love Me If You Can,” “God Love Her,” “ American Ride,” and “Made in America.” For his contributions to music, Toby Keith has been awarded four American Music Awards, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, and two Country Music Association Awards. In 2011, Keith was recognized by the American Country Awards as the Artist of the Decade.

In addition to his music career, Toby Keith has embarked on a number of other business ventures as well. He has appeared in the films Broken Bridges (2005) and Beer for My Horses (2008), and launched his own chain of restaurants, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, with locations in Oklahoma, Michigan, Vegas, Minnesota, Ohio, and Colorado. Toby has also started TK Steelman, his own line of clothing.

Thus far in his career, Toby Keith has sold more than forty million albums and charted more than forty songs on the country charts. His latest release is Hope on the Rocks (2012.)