Despite Infamy, Toby Keith Still Shines in Country Music

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Despite Infamy, Toby Keith Still Shines in Country Music
by Alexis Andrews - December 6, 2008

Toby Keith

I was watching a Christmas special of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, and Stephen Colbert had been snowed in at a remote cabin and couldn’t travel to the city. But who would come in and make their way to Colbert’s door but Willie Nelson, John Legend, Elvis Costello, and Feist? Country music artist Toby Keith also makes an appearance – and he comes in carrying a gun. Big and bad? Well, that’s how he has always been known.

Who would’ve forgotten his appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling? (He had once taken out Jeff Jarrett in a Gauntlet for the Gold match.) And there was also this feud with the Dixie Chicks, in particular Natalie Maines, who had publicly criticized a supposedly patriotic Toby Keith record much to the chagrin of the Oklahoma-born country music singer-songwriter. Moreover, one of the ten Toby Keith albums is entitled Big Dog Daddy (2007). Currently he’s also doing the Bigger and Badder tour. So don’t blame anyone but Toby Keith if his image has turned out to be in such a way that you’d half-expect him to be carrying a gun in a TV appearance with Stephen Colbert. Which is exactly what happened.

This is not to say that notoriety propelled Toby Keith to stardom. In fact, he first gained international recognition in 1993 with the hit, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” – which topped the Billboard country charts and was the first single from his platinum-certified self-titled debut album. Over the course of his career he would produce more contemporary country hits, all of which featured his deep vocals, carefully crafted harmonies, uptown arrangements, and sometimes tongue-in-cheek wordplay.

Overall, Toby Keith has released ten studio albums, two Christmas albums, and several compilation albums. Four Toby Keith albums were released by Mercury Records; another four by Dreamworks Records; and two by the label which Toby Keith had founded in 1998, called Show Dog Nashville. There have so far been seventeen #1 Toby Keith records and eighteen additional Top Ten hits. Some of his many notable awards throughout the years include Album of the Year (2001) and Top Male Vocalist (2000) at the Academy of Country Music; Male Vocalist of the Year (2001) for Country Music Association; Entertainer of the Year (2002, 2003) and Top Male Vocalist (2003) at the Academy of Country Music; and the Favorite Country Male Artist at the 2004 American Music Awards. So yeah, Toby Keith has made quite a name for himself as a country music artist.

The most recent Toby Keith album, That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy, has gotten rave reviews and includes the number one single, “She Never Cried in Front of Me”. The album is said to be one of Keith’s most energetic and entertaining ever, and features a more sensitive side, more feelings and emotion than usual, but minus the infamous in-your-face attitude. “He delivers all 11 tracks like an iron fist with a velvet glove,” says Jack Lowe in his About.com review. “That Don't Make Me A Bad Guy is a guitar driven, rock solid country CD that every Toby Keith fan will love.”

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