13 Toby Keith Facts You Probably Never Knew

Toby Keith lived a fascinating life, but even fans who thought they knew everything about this country music hero will learn a thing or two on this list of 13 Toby Keith facts.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

Toby Keith’s daughter Shelly, with the singer, his wife Tricia and daughter Krystal

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Toby Keith’s Adopted His Oldest Daughter

Toby Keith’s wife Tricia already had a little girl when they got married in 1984, so he adopted her. One has to search to find this information, as he’s never referred to 44-year-old Shelley Rowland as anything other than one of his own.

Tricia Covel with Toby Keith

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They Said Toby Keith Should Get a Real Job

When Toby Keith married Tricia Covel in 1984, there were doubters. Many thought the singer needed to get a straight job instead of chasing a wild country music dream. She believed in him, however, and within a decade it’d pay off.

Toby Keith with son Stelen and wife Tricia

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Toby Keith Wrote a Song for His 2-Year-Old Son

A forgotten deep cut in Toby Keith’s catalog is the song he wrote for his new son, Stelen. In 1999 he released “Heart to Heart (Stelen’s Song),” a remarkably tender ballad.

Find the hitmaker telling of the little boy’s misbehavior as he smiles, recognizing the similarities. “Just like me / We keep her on her toes a lot,” he sings during the pre-chorus. It’s very sweet.

Young Toby Keith in football gear

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Toby Keith Was a Professional Football Player

Before chasing country music, while he worked in the oil field, Toby Keith played football for a semi-pro team called the Oklahoma Drillers. That picture was from before that, but we hear he was quite good.

Toby Keith in 2001

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Toby Keith Started at a Hot Dog Stand

We’ll admit the source for this next Toby Keith fact is weak, but the story goes that one of the first places he played upon moving to Nashville was a Music Row hot dog stand named Houndogs. It was near where the Musica statue is today, and it’s confirmed to have been a launching point for several stars.

Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Tracy Lawrence would all busk at Houndogs before being signed to a record label. Was Toby the “Hot Dog Daddy” before becoming “Big Dog Daddy”?

Toby Keith performing live in January 2015

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Toby Keith’s Band Is the Easy Money Band

Toby Keith named his band the Easy Money Band after scoring a wedding gig many years ago. He got a check for $1,000 and said it was “easy money.” The name stuck.

Cover of Toby Keith’s 35 Biggest Hits album

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He Had the Most-Played Country Song of the 1990s

Toby Keith’s debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was the most-played country song of the 1990s. It was a No. 1 hit and certified triple-Platinum.

Toby Keith in 2021

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Toby Keith Recorded Very Few Duets

We count five collaborations across Toby Keith’s 19 studio albums. They are:

I”m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying” with Sting
“Beer for My Horses” with Willie Nelson
“Mockingbird” with Krystal Keith
“She Ain’t Hooked on Me No More” with Merle Haggard

“Sailboat for Sale” with Jimmy Buffett

He did collaborate with other artists on their projects (most recently with Brantley Gilbert on “The Worst Country Song of All Time”), but for the most part, he remained a solo artist. Aside from his daughter, he never recorded a song with a female vocalist for one of his records.

Willie Nelson and Toby Keith before Super Bowl XXXVIII

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Toby Keith and Willie Nelson Played the Super Bowl

No, the two “Beer for My Horses” singers did not play the halftime show, but in 2004, Willie Nelson and Toby Keith were trusted with a pre-game concert in Houston.

The New England Patriots would defeat the Carolina Panthers that year, but the day is probably best remembered for the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake wardrobe malfunction.

Toby Keith as Joe Bill “Rack” Racklin in ‘Beer for My Horses’

CMT Films

Toby Keith Was an Accomplished Actor

Nobody will claim Toby Keith was robbed of an Oscar, but he built a short movie resume in 2008 with films like Beer for My Horses, based on his song of the same name.

Prior to that, he starred in Broken Bridges with Kelly Preston. The cast of each was remarkably deep.

Toby keith on the cover of Forbes magazine

Forbes

Toby Keith Was the $500 Million Dollar Man

In summer 2013, Forbes profiled 100 celebrities and put Toby Keith on the cover, calling him the $500 million man. The article was focused on his many business ventures, but he’d later admit he hated it. His publicist made him do it, he said.

“I play golf with my shirttail out,” Keith said.

Toby keith performs in Texas in 2021

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Toby Keith on Politics? It’s Complicated

Toby Keith has voted Republican and he’s voted Democrat. He’s supported Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. He’s said nice things about Bill Clinton and performed at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

On the record, Keith has admitted to once being a conservative Democrat who became disenfranchised with the party, so he went independent. There’s a want to tie his patriotism to conservatism, but that’s not necessarily true. It’s hard to say that politics were top of mind for Keith.

Toby Keith at the 2022 BMI Country Awards

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Toby Keith Never Won a Grammy

Toby Keith earned seven Grammy nominations in his career, but never won. His most recent was for Male Country Vocal Performance for his ballad “Cryin’ for Me.”