Following a protracted fight with stomach cancer, famous country music artist Toby Keith, 62, passed suddenly on Tuesday, leaving the Oklahoma football community in mourning. An emotional statement in remembrance of Keith was shared on the Oklahoma Sooners Twitter feed, which expressed gratitude for his steadfast support of the university. The winner of a country music award passed away in Oklahoma while he slept.
Keith is an American country music performer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1990s with the release of five studio albums that were certified gold or higher. His hits, “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” went on to become two of the decade’s biggest hits. Three more albums by him yielded number-one hits as well.
In 2005, Keith launched the label Show Dog Nashville and put out eleven albums under the new name. Keith had 19 studio albums released over his illustrious career, and he also had 61 singles that reached the Billboard Hot Country Songs lists. Keith broke records with his smash singles “As Good as I Once Was” and “Beer for My Horses,” which featured Willie Nelson. Each spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In 2006, he also made his acting debut alongside Lindsey Haun, Burt Reynolds, and Kelly Preston in the drama Broken Bridges.
Toby Keith, who was raised in Moore, Oklahoma, had a fervent devotion to the Oklahoma Sooners. Bob Stoops, the former head coach of Oklahoma football, famously recounted how the song “How Do You Like Me Now?!” captured the essence of the Sooners’ 2000 championship season. The audio clip of Stoops discussing his favorite Toby Keith song and its influence on the championship team was released by the well-known Oklahoma Twitter account The Ref.
“That song was well-known when I arrived at OU in 1999, and we won the National Champion title in 2000. When I first arrived, there were a few players that I didn’t think were all that terrific. And now here we are, with Toby singing “How Do You Like Me Now?” during our celebration of winning the national title back when
