In Memoriam – Toby Keith – 1961-2024

I wasn’t a huge fan of Toby Keith. For me, it was mainly one album but I think I’ve heard it a gazillion times. It’s a long story really but the core of it all was that my wife heard his “American Soldier” on a reality show once and loved it. So, the album Shock’n Ya’ll was purchased. My wife and I seldom like the same kind of music. I’m more of a rock- and metal guy and she’s more of a pop- and Eurodisco gal. We both like the country though. Not necessarily the same artists or anything like that but there’s something mutual there.

So, this should be an easy eulogy to write, right? Well… no! I know far too little about the man and his music to go into any depths. I have to read up about him and find that he did quite a few really patriotic songs like American Soldier. Other titles as Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue, and Made in Amecia are songs I never heard. Not to my knowledge at least. And, to be quite frank, I usually made fun other the lyrics of American Soldier as being too over-the-top patriotic as it almost comes out as sitirical.

But as I said, I learned to like that one album with Toby Keith. I have tried to listen to more but it hasn’t really settled in me. I liked his voice and there is some great potential for me to find more albums to like with him. He seemed to stand very far away from me on the political scale but since I’m not an American and can separate the opinions from the art and the music that’s not a dealbreaker. It was too soon for him.

Toby Keith was 62 years old. Rest in peace!