Toby Keith: An American Legend

Toby Keith Covel born July 8, 1961 in Clinton, Oklahoma is an American country music singer-songwriter who has enjoyed profit-making success throughout the past 15 years or so. Who knows what would have happened if the Academy of Country Music's 2003 Entertainer-of-the-Year were not Toby Keith. Really, what would have happened if Toby Keith had continued to play football in the semi-pros, instead of joining a band?

Keith was a reliable oil industry employee in Oklahoma during his younger years and was a semi-pro football player. Keith is a renowned patriot, and has lead an interesting life that contains much more history than simply producing 15 number-one hits on the Country Music Charts, which is one of the reasons Toby Keith concert tickets are always sold out.

Keith has an amazing connection with his audiences. Toby keeps up performing his inspirational motivating brand of country music. Keith has spent several years as an in-your-face country star who is not afraid of hard manual labor as his younger years have shown us. At a towering 6-feet-4 inches, Keith worked as an oil rigger and played defensive end with the Oklahoma City Drillers United States Football League (USFL) team before he became a huge almost over night country music star.

His family moved to Moore, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City) when Keith was young. His grandmother owned a supper club and Keith became interested in the musicians who came there to play. He sings about that supper club in one of his songs. Toby uses many of his life's events as inspirations for his songs.

Keith graduated from Moore High School and, in 1979, went to work as an oil rig hand in the booming oil fields of Oklahoma. Keith was unemployed when the oil industry began to decline and went back to his undying love of football and became a football player, playing on the semi-pro Oklahoma City Drillers team.

The Drillers were an informal club of the United States Football League's Oklahoma Outlaws; Keith tried out for the Outlaws but did not make the team. However, he did make it on the semi pro Oklahoma City Driller's Team. As an avid University of Oklahoma football fan, Keith hangs out at the Oklahoma Sooners' games and practices. He stills shows his love of the sport.

Toby was playing in bars and other areas, and struggling to make it in the music arena. luckily, for Keith, a flight attendant and fan of his gave a copy of Keith's demo tape to Harold Shedd, a Records executive. Shedd liked what he heard, went to see Keith perform live and then signed him to a recording contract with Mercury. The rest they say is history and Toby Keith is well on his way to becoming a legend like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.

Toby Keith is a country music singer and songwriter. Toby has had 15 number one singles, and has released 15 albums, 10 of which went platinum, one double platinum and two went gold.

For a person who married his high school sweetheart Toby sure sings many songs about life, liberty and well he sings the songs for all of us. He sings the songs about our lives, our struggles and yes in some cases our thoughts. Toby is a family man who loves his wife and children and he is the American dream for many of us. He has a job he loves and still finds the time to be with his family. He seems to have it all.

Toby Keith is a country music singer and songwriter. Toby Keith has made quite a name for himself in country music. Toby Keith has earned his stripes in the country music arena.

Sources:
CMT's bio of Toby Keith, and here at Wikipedia