BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Toby Keith , one of the biggest stars to come out of Nashville in recent decades, lost an 18-month battle with stomach cancer Monday night in his native Oklahoma with his family by his side. He was 62.
Funny, macho, self-deprecating and intensely patriotic, Keith landed more than 60 singles on the country chart, including 23 No. 1 hits. He sold 40 million albums worldwide, recording in styles ranging from honky-tonk to pop-country balladry to Southern rock. Forbes magazine called him “Country’s $500 million man” and claimed his personal wealth exceeded that of Jay-Z and Beyoncé combined.
Keith qualified as an honorary resident of Bakersfield, and not just because he played here multiple times, most recently August 2019.
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First, of course, was the country music: His discography of hits had him approaching the same stratosphere as two of his Bakersfield idols, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.
“I used to go there (to the Crystal Palace) and hang out with Buck Owens,” Keith said in a 2019 interview with KGET. “Him and Don Rich were the Bakersfield Sound.”