What actually happened to Toby Keith? Health update

With a career spanning over three decades, and several chart-topping hits and critically acclaimed albums to prove his success, Toby Keith is as relevant today as he was when he debuted in the early 1990s. Always loved by his audience and any ardent country music fan, no one can deny that Toby is a superstar at heart.

That said, Toby hasn’t had it easy in recent years due to the battle with cancer he’s battling, adding to all the ramifications such a serious illness has had on his professional career.

How is Toby Keith doing health wise these days? Stay here to keep up to date with his career, alongside a compelling overview of his career and life to date!

What’s going on with Toby Keith?

It’s been a rough few years for country superstar and legend Toby Keith. As he wrote mid 2022, he has been battling stomach cancer since the end of 2021: ‘I have undergone chemo, radiation and surgery for the past six months. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax,” he wrote on social media. His team later announced that Toby’s activities were on hiatus from then on, giving him time to recover his health.

Later in November 2022, he reaffirmed his intention to “get back in shape” during an appearance in “CMT Hot 20 countdown”: ‘It’s pretty debilitating to have to go through all that, but as long as everything stays good, we’re looking at something good in the future,’ he said of his treatment.

That said, there’s no news yet about Toby possibly resuming his live shows or the current status of his treatment. On the other hand, Toby keeps in touch with fans on his social media accounts and also makes public appearances whenever he feels like it.

What else does Toby do now?

While Toby Keith’s ongoing cancer is a permanent one, he hasn’t completely disappeared from public life. In November 2021, while his cancer diagnosis was still a mystery, Toby attended the celebratory event of his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, followed later in May 2022 by his performance at the Heroes Honor Festival celebrated on the Daytona International Highway .

Although Toby canceled his then-upcoming shows after news of his diagnosis made headlines, he later performed on November 4 of that year in a famous Kentucky restaurant, surprising fans with such a sudden comeback. Three days later, Toby attended the BMI (Broadcast Music Inc) Country Awards where he gave an eight-minute speech after receiving an Icon Award of The Year; at the event he was also celebrated with tributes by Eric Church and Carrie Underwood.

Toby didn’t stop there and returned to the small screen later that month, giving a lengthy interview to the “CMT Hot 20 Countdown”. Then, in April 2023, Toby announced the upcoming 19th edition of Toby Keith & Friends golf classicto support children diagnosed with cancer and their families.

All in all, Toby’s illness has not prevented him from leading a somewhat active public life. Hopefully his health will continue to improve and his fans will be able to see him return to music and stages full-time again.

Toby’s beginning

Toby Keith’s beginnings in music can be traced back to his early childhood when he lived on a farm. As the grandson of the owner of a local live country music concert house in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Toby was deeply influenced by the musicians who performed there each time he visited from Oklahoma during the summer.

At the age of eight, Toby got his first guitar and his interest in music grew during his teenage years. At the age of 20, he and four other friends formed the Easy Money Band, while also working at a local oil field, and then turned to football full-time when he became unemployed.

Toby eventually focused entirely on playing music and at some point moved to Nashville where he had no luck promoting the Easy Money Band to local producers. Nevertheless, one of his fans, unaware of the then-depressed Toby, had given one of his demo tapes as a gift to producer Harold Shedd, who liked Toby’s music, and went to see him live.

Not long after, Toby signed up Mercury Recordsreleasing his debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” in 1993, achieving instant success by topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and hitting the Hot 100.

Career and Achievements

After his debut, Toby Keith did not stop collecting achievements and number one. His eponymous album officially released in April 1993 eventually sold over one million copies and went platinum. Toby’s subsequent albums such as “Boomtown” in 1994 and “Blue Moon” in 1996 also went platinum.

After creative and business differences with his record label, Toby terminated his contract and signed with DreamWorks Records, releasing the first album “How Do You Like Me Now?!” 2001 Academy of Country Music Male Vocalist Categories.

Over the rest of the decade, Toby released several successful albums and singles, including “Unleashed,” “Shock’n Y’all,” and “Honkytonk University,” the latter aborting before leaving DreamWorks Records to form his Show Dog Nashville label in 2005. to establish. The most notable albums during this new phase of his career were “That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy”, “Bullets in the Gun” and the compilation album “35 Biggest Hits” in 2008.

According to BMIToby has sold over 40 million album copies during his career, and 32 of his songs have topped the charts, achieving the impressive feat of writing at least one number one song every year for 20 years.

Barbecues, tailgates, fairs, festivals… and the #BMICountryAwards.

📸: Erika Goldring/Getty pic.twitter.com/K1YpvrB5pS

— Toby Keith (@tobykeith) November 15, 2022

Business and wealth

Besides his very impressive and legendary music career, Toby Keith is also an accomplished businessman. In addition to opening his Show Dog Nashville record label, Toby began his business venture in 2005 with the opening of the Oklahoma-based I Love This Bar & Grill, later signing an agreement with a restaurant chain to establish more restaurants in locations such as The State New York, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada and many others.

In 2009, Toby started his TK Steelman clothing brand, followed two years later by his Wild Shot mezcal brand, sold at his restaurant locations. That said, most of Toby’s fortune still comes from his music career.

If Forbes reported in 2013, Toby earned $65 million that year alone from music sales, concerts, and ad deals, on top of never less than $48 million a year in the first half of the 2010s. At the time, his net worth was calculated to be over $500 million, although that figure could be higher today, as his career has been mostly active since then.

Despite his modest childhood on a farm and then struggling to lose his job as an adult, Toby’s relentless drive for success and talent has led him to great achievements throughout his career, making it understandable why he has become such a has gained a loyal audience that doesn’t hesitate to support him through his highs and lows.