Country legend Toby Keith was honored Thursday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards by his friend and fellow country artist Jason Aldean with a performance of Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” that brought the star-studded crowd to tears.
Blake Shelton, who introduced Aldean before taking the stage, said he was heartbroken by Keith’s death in February following a battle with stomach cancer at age 62.
The country music star announced her diagnosis in June 2022.
Shelton said he was “heartbroken and honored to be here tonight to remember a man who became one of the biggest country music stars of all time, the late, great Toby Keith “.
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Jason Aldean paid tribute to Toby Keith, right, on Thursday evening. (Erika Goldring/Getty Images for BMI)
He continued: “Toby was a huge star in every way. He sold over 44 million albums, 33 number one hits and 14 ACM awards, including Entertainer of the Year, but ultimately , the mark Toby left was much bigger than that. “Toby was a loving husband to his beautiful wife Trisha.
He added that everyone was “so honored and humbled” to have Keith’s widow, Trisha, and their children in the audience.
“Toby was a great friend to me and he was a true shooter who was larger than life and he always shot you straight, until the very end of his courageous adventure which ended way too soon.”
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Jason Aldean performing Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Thursday at the Academy of Country Music Awards. (Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Aldean, who told Fox News Digital Keith was “inspiring,” simply said, “I love you, Toby” at the end of his rendition of the 1993 hit that brought the emotional crowd to its feet.
“Toby, we will never forget you,” added host Reba McEntire as she returned to the stage. “And I kind of feel like you’re here with us tonight anyway.”
Before the show, Aldean told Fox News Digital, “I think he was a guy that a lot of us looked up to” in the industry.
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“For me personally, he was a guy that I felt like…he always said what he thought,” he added. “He said what he thought, whether it was popular opinion or not. And it wasn’t, you know, it didn’t always go well for him, and he didn’t care. I I mean, it was something that if he felt strongly about it and felt like it was something he believed in, he was going to say what he thought.”
“For me, from a personal standpoint, it was something that was always inspiring, in that, ‘Hey, you can still be an artist and be true to who you are and go out and not have afraid to express yourself.’ ‘And I think that’s something that’s always stuck with me.”
The best advice Keith ever gave Aldean was to “never apologize for being patriotic.”
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“Just don’t be afraid to say what you think, stand up for what you believe in,” he explained. “Whether other people agree or not, be who you are and don’t apologize for it. And I think that’s really good advice.”
Toby Keith lost his battle with cancer in February. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Keith was best known for “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”. The song became the most played country song of the 1990s, as it was played on the radio 3 million times.
Other major hits include “I Love This Bar”, “As Good as I Once Was”, “Beer for My Horses” and “How Do You Like Me Now?!”.
Throughout his career, Keith has received seven Grammy Award nominations and has been named Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards several times. The country music star has won a total of 14 ACM Awards, including Best Male Vocalist and Album of the Year.
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Keith released his latest album in 2021, “Peso in my Pocket”. The singer continued to perform after being diagnosed with cancer and took the stage one final time in December.
Lauryn Overhultz and Larry Fink of Fox News contributed to this report.
