Here’s to the late, great Toby Keith.
The country hitmaker passed away at the age of 62 after a long battle with stomach cancer last Monday, and the country music community continues to mourn the loss of such an influential artist.
His music and legacy continues to live on, though, as many of his albums start charting on iTunes last week as so many of us reminisced on all of the good music he released throughout his decades-long career.
Possibly most impressive, though, is that Keith posthumously scored his fifth #1 album on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart this week, which is an all-genre chart that encompasses albums from pop, rap, hip hop and more.
His 35 Biggest Hits record is currently sitting in the top spot after selling 66,000 copies in the last week. It first peaked at #2 on this chart upon release in May of 2008:
The record included 34 previously-recorded songs from his prior studio albums. It also featured the then newly-recorded song “She’s a Hottie,” which was released to country radio in early 2008.
The last time Keith had an album at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart was in 2010 with Bullets in the Gun. Big Dog Daddy (2007), Shock’N Y’all (2003) and Unleashed (2002) were all #1 albums, as well. With 35 Biggest Hits taking the top spot, it knocks Toby’s fellow country star Morgan Wallen to #2 with One Thing at Time, the first time in more than nine years that one country album has replaced another at #1 here.
And to make the accomplishment all the more meaningful, today marks the 31st anniversary of the release of his debut single and first #1 hit, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy.”
Turn it up…
“Should’ve Been A Cowboy”
