Toby Keith, legendary country singer, died on February 5th at the age of 62.
The country music industry suffered a heavy loss on February 5th when Toby Keith lost his battle with stomach cancer. The 62-year-old singer-songwriter was diagnosed in the fall of 2021 and battled the disease privately for about six months before going public with his diagnosis.
Toby’s family shared the news of his passing early in the morning of February 6th with a statement that read:
“Toby Keith passed peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of the family at this time.”
Toby Keith leaves behind a wife, three adult children, and three grandchildren.
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Toby Keith’s daughter, Krystal Keith, surprised Toby at her wedding with an emotional song that she wrote for him.
Krystal Keith, the younger of Toby and wife Tricia’s two daughters, got married in 2010. During the wedding reception, Krystal surprised her superstar dad with an emotional song that she wrote for their father-daughter dance. The song, titled “Daddy Dance With Me” pulled on heartstrings and left the wedding guests in tears. In a 2013 interview with the Oklahoman, Toby recalled:
“I looked around the room and every single person in the 360 was bawling — men, women alike, everybody. And everybody was looking at me and I was just fighting it back and swallowing hard. Then, I got back in the dark and then some of them rolled down my face. I was like, ‘Damn, girl, you’re crushing me here.’”
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Krystal, who is a musician herself, was working on a debut album at that time. The response from the song made it clear that “Daddy Dance With Me” should be included among the tracks. She shared:
“It was just gonna be for my father-daughter dance. And during the dance, as my dad and I were talking about it, he was like, ‘This has to be on your album.’ And I was like ‘OK,’ but in that moment, I’m seeing everyone’s reaction to it… Our photographer was bawling, my wedding planner was bawling, everyone was completely in tears.”
With the encouragement of her father, Krystal Keith included “Daddy Dance With Me” on her debut album Whiskey & Lace. Watch the official music video for “Daddy Dance With Me” below!
Toby Keith was the founder of the Toby Keith Foundation. The foundation helps support the OK Kids Korral, which serves as a home-away-from-home for families with children undergoing cancer treatments. If you’d like to make a donation in Toby’s memory, you can visit the Toby Keith Foundation’s official website here.