Oil field worker turned famed country singer Toby Keith dies at 62

Toby Keith, the country music singer-songwriter responsible for gold albums such as “Boomtown,” “Blue Moon” and “Dream Walkin’” has died at the age of 62, his family announced Tuesday.

The Oklahoma native and onetime oil field worker turned long-time country singer icon passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Monday evening, according to a statement released on his website.

Keith revealed in June 2022 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021 and was undergoing undergone chemotherapy, radiation and even surgery. 

“You have to have your faith,” Keith said in an interview late last month with Oklahoma outlet News 9. “Cancer is a roller coaster. You just sit here and wait on it to go away. It may not ever go away.”

Keith’s career arose out of his struggles when he lost his job amid the oil industry taking a sharp turn downward in the early 1980s. He tried to return to football after his stardom on the field in high school, but he was rejected by the Oklahoma City Outlaws, a team which is part of the United States Football League.

Having learned to play music during his childhood, he turned back to his instruments, and despite doubt from his friends and family, he immediately struck a chord by playing on the honkey-tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas.

He then struck gold when a flight attendant who had a copy of his demo gave it to a record company executive at Mercury Records.

His debut single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” quickly went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1993 and the rest was history.

Keith is survived by his wife of 39 years, three children, his mother, a sister, a brother and four grandchildren.