Alex Carson
On Sunday, June 12, 2022, Country crooner Toby Keith via Instagram, announced that he diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall.
In the ‘Red Solo Cup’ singer’s candid social media post, he relayed how, in the last six months, he had been receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments in addition to undergoing surgery.
He wrapped up his post by saying that so far, things had been going well. And that at the moment, his main priority is to ‘breathe, recover and relax’.
He further said that he is looking forward to spending time with his family and that it’s his hope that he will see his fans ‘sooner than later.
At the time of making his announcement, Keith was on tour, promoting his new album ‘Peso in my Pocket’ and scheduled to perform in Illinois and Michigan on the 17th and 18th of June. It appears, however, that those tour dates are now postponed indefinitely.
So far, the details that we have about Toby Keith’s medical condition are somewhat sparse. Up until Sunday, Keith’s fans weren’t even aware that he had been dealing with such a dire medical situation. But the little that we do know at the moment is pretty grim. Join Facts Verse to know more the details about Toby Keith’s Cancer Diagnosis.
55% of people diagnosed with stomach cancer at any stage will succumb to the disease within one year of receiving their diagnosis. And only 20% will survive their cancer for five years or longer. That number drops down to a mere 15% at the ten-year mark.
But despite this morbid reality, it’s wonderful to see Toby Keith speaking so optimistically about the future. If anyone could defy the odds and overcome this terrible disease, it’s him.
Keep watching to learn everything that we know so far about Toby Keith’s stomach cancer diagnosis and how it’s impacted his professional career so far.
He Released His Latest Album ‘Peso in my Pocket’ Last Year
Toby Keith Covel was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, on the 8th of July, 1961, to parents Carolyn Joan and Hubert K. Covel Jr.
He and two siblings grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and later Moore, Oklahoma.
Back in Arkansas, Keith’s grandmother owned Billie Garner’s Supper Club. It was there that he worked odd jobs and developed an interest in music.
When he was eight years old, Toby given his first guitar. Eventually, he started getting up on stage with the other musicians that would perform at the supper club and play with the band.
After his family moved to Oklahoma, Keith attended Moore High School. It is where he played defensive end on the school’s football team. After graduating from High School, he worked as a derrick hand in the oil fields.
Always be a hard worker with a ton of drive, Keith worked his way up to becoming an operations manager.
When he was 20, Toby formed a band called the Easy Money Band with a few of his friends and started performing at local bars while still maintaining his day job in the oil industry.
The oil industry began to decline in 1982, and Keith soon found himself out of a job.
For a short time, he fell back on football and played defensive end with the semi-pro Oklahoma City Drillers. While he loved tossing around the old pigskin, Keith never gave up on his love for music and continued to play with his band whenever possible.
Eventually, Keith’s football career prospects dried up, causing him to shift his focus once again to his music. His friends and loved one’s doubted that he would ever be able to make a career of it. But he remained determined as ever to find success in the music industry.
For the remainder of the 80s, Easy Money played the honky tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas. In the early 90s, Keith made his way out to Nashville, where he began busking on Music Row at a place called Houndogs. Join Facts Verse to know more the details about Toby Keith’s Cancer Diagnosis.
In between street performances and playing sets at local bars. Keith handed out copies of the demo tape that he and his band had made. At first, there wasn’t any interest from the big record companies to sign him. So, feeling depressed and defeated, Keith returned home to reevaluate things.
He had made a promise with himself and his maker that he would either land a recording contract by the time he was 30 or give up on his musical ambitions. And he was almost ready to make good on that promise when a stroke of sheer luck landed his demo tape into the hand’s of Mercury Records exec, Harold Shedd.
Keith had given a copy of his demo to a flight attendant who happened to know the executive. After giving it a listen, she knew that Shedd needed to hear it. After Shedd reviewed the demo and loved what he heard, he went to see Keith perform live and proceeded to sign him on the spot with a contract with the label.
Keith put out his first self-titled album in 1993. His first single, ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ went to number 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. And by the end of the decade, the song would receive more than three million plays on the radio, making it one of the most-played country songs of the 90s.
Keith went on to release 19 studio albums over the next three decades. Over the course of his musical career, he has charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including 20 number one hits.
His worldwide record sales have exceeded more than 40 million. And he even awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump in January of 2021.
His most recent album, ‘Peso In My Pocket’ hit record stores and digital outlets on October 15, 2021. The album peaked on the US Top Country Albums chart at number 25. Join Facts Verse to know more the details about Toby Keith’s Cancer Diagnosis.
Real quick – if you’re enjoying this video so far, take a moment to show us a little support by giving it a like and subscribing to our channel.
‘Peso In My Pocket’ Took Five Years To Write And Produce
Keith’s latest record is the first studio album he’s put out since 2015’s 35 MPH Town.
He bagen writing for the album while he was staying in a house he owns in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during the COVID pandemic.
The worldwide pandemic had forced him to take his most extended break from touring in his career. And while this could have discouraged him, it actually did quite the opposite.
Keith saw the opportunity presented to him by being forced to stay put for a while as a chance to reconnect with his creative roots.
The album’s first single, ‘Old School’, debuted on Billboard’s airplay chart .at the highest radio entrance point of his professional career.
But even though Keith hadn’t put out an album since 2015, it’s not like he had been totally dormant. During this time, Toby wrote the Clint Eastwood-inspired song ‘Don’t Let The Old Man In’. The track has since been covered by artists like Willie Nelson and Engelbert Humperdinck. Some have even called the song one of the most outstanding writing achievements of his career.
While living down in Mexico, braving the pandemic as best as he could, Keith isolated from his fellow musical collaborators. Many of his friends and cohorts that had also in Mexico had fled back to the states at the start of the pandemic. And fearing that they wouldn’t allowed back in the country otherwise.
Instead of following suit and rushing back to the US, as so many of his associates had, Keith bunkered down and got to work writing new material. He spent months tinkering with lyrics. And composing guitar rifts while trying to tap back into the energy that had given birth to many of his previous hits. Join Facts Verse to know more the details about Toby Keith’s Cancer Diagnosis.
The album’s title track showcases Keith’s trademark wordplay while flaunting his signature sense of humor. While song’s like She’s A Drinkin’ and Thunderbird harken back to country’s glory days.
After the world had begun to ‘get back to normal’, Keith was eventually able to get back to Nashville and record his new creations in the studio.
If it weren’t for the pandemic, he says that he would have probably just gone about life as normal. Touring non-stop and working on fresh tunes whenever he pleased. But instead he was forced to take a pause, reset, and refocus on what mattered the most. That is, being the artist he always was while getting back in touch with the spirit and inspiration that made him a star in the first place.
He’s Canceled His Upcoming Tour Dates
As mentioned earlier, when Toby Keith made his announcement that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was on tour promoting his latest album. He was gearing up to play a string of shows. Including performances on June 17th at Chicago’s Ribfest, June 18th for the annual B-93 Birthday Bash, and at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus on July 28th.
Keith has since canceled these tour dates in order for him to focus on his recovery. Grand Rapid’s LCMU Ballpark responded to the news of Keith’s cancer announcement. And subsequent cancellation with a Tweet wishing him ‘all the best’ and a ‘full recovery’.
Toby’s Philanthropy Work
For years, Keith has supported a non-profit Oklahoma-based charity that he co-founded called Ally’s House whose aim is to aid children with cancer. The organization gives directly to children who are battling cancer.
The charity is named for one of Toby’s friends and former bandmate’s daughter, who before her second birthday, was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer. While the child received multiple rounds of chemo and radiation, countless treatments, and surgeries. She sadly lost her battle with the disease in 2003 – a month before her 3rd birthday.
The charity provides housing and palliative care for families of juvenile cancer patients while also providing them with financial assistance to receive the care that they desperately need.
It’s heartbreaking that Toby Keith has gone from helping young children and their family’s brave cancer to fighting it himself. It’s our sincerest hope that he can beat the odds and make a full recovery.
Did you know that Toby Keith has released 19 albums. Charted 61 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Song Charts, and sold more than 40 million albums worldwide? And were you aware that then-President Donald Trump awarded him the National Medal of the Arts in early 2021? Let us know in the comments. Join Facts Verse to know more the details about Toby Keith’s Cancer Diagnosis.
And before you go, take a moment to show us a little support by giving this video a like and subscribing to the Facts Verse channel. Don’t forget to tap the bell to turn on notifications. That way, you can keep up with all of our latest and upcoming content as soon as it drops.
As always, thanks for watching! We’ll see you soon with more videos covering some of your favorite stars, films, and television shows.
