It’s great to see the Big Dog Daddy back on stage.
Toby Keith has largely kept out of the public eye over the last year and a half as he’s battled stomach cancer, cancelling his 2022 tour after announcing his diagnosis last June.
But recently Toby has been getting back on stage, performing a few surprise pop-up shows at his bar in Oklahoma and also delivering a surprise performance at Tin Roof in Orlando.
In an interview with The Oklahoman, Toby said that he’s hoping to get back to touring, after testing the waters to make sure he’s up to it.
“I’ve got more wind. And I’m thinking about bringing the band in and setting up, playing two or three days somewhere just to see if I can get through two hours.
All I gotta do is see if I can get through two or three nights of work and get a little break in this chemo, and we’ll go back to work.”
Well tonight, Toby made his first televised appearance since his cancer diagnosis, being honored with the Country Icon award at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards.
In accepting the trophy, Toby showed off his trademark humor in joking about the weight loss that’s come with undergoing chemo:
“Bet y’all never thought you’d see me in skinny jeans.”
Toby then went on to talk about the challenges he’s faced over the past year while thanking those who have been with him along the way:
“I want to thank the Almighty for allowing me to be here tonight. He’s been riding shotgun with me for a little while.”
Toby also brought the audience at the Grand Ole Opry to tears with his performance of “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” his 2019 song about coming to terms with growing old.
It was his first televised performance since his cancer diagnosis, and I think I speak for everybody when I say it’s great to see Toby back on stage and performing again.
God bless Toby Keith. An icon indeed.
Toby Keith Announces New Album
Above all else, Toby Keith values his title as “songwriter” the most.
And in an effort to honor some of his most beloved self-written tunes, Toby will release a new album called 100% Songwriter next month, which will be a collection of his most iconic solo-written songs in one package.
His career really started in the early 90’s when he penned his hit “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” in a motel bathroom in Dodge City, Kansas, and of course, he’s since gone on to collect 32 #1 hits, sold more than 40 million albums and be inducted into the all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame.
100% Songwriter includes songs from his 1993 self-titled debut album all the way through 2006’s White Trash With Money, and of course, every song featured was written solely by Keith himself.
In addition, the music video for “Who’s Your Daddy?”, which is featured on the album, has been released today with remastered HD.
Of course, Keith has also been in the midst of battling stomach cancer for more than a year, but has been getting back into music more recently and playing shows here and there as he continues to get his strength back, which is great to see.
100% Songwriter is due out everywhere on November 3rd, and you can check out the full tracklist below.
100% Songwriter tracklist:
1. Should’ve Been A Cowboy, from Toby Keith
2. He Ain’t Worth Missin’, Toby Keith
3. Wish I Didn’t Know Now, Toby Keith
4. Who’s That Man?, Boomtown
5. Big Ol’ Truck, Boomtown
6. Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine On You, Blue Moon
7. Country Comes To Town, How Do You Like Me Now?!
8. You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This, How Do You Like Me Now?!
9. Courtesy Of The Red, White and Blue (The Angry American), Unleashed
10. Who’s Your Daddy?, Unleashed
11. Stays In Mexico, Greatest Hits 2
12. Honkytonk U, Honkytonk U
13. Crash Here Tonight, White Trash With Money
