Superstar Toby Keith Didn't Need to be a Cowboy to Have His First Single Reach #1 on the Country Charts

Toby Keith was a superstar in country music and outside of that genre. A singer-songwriter whose music often reflected personal experiences, he had 65 singles on the country charts, including 20 #1 hits. "Should've Been a Cowboy" was his first #1 hit. He wrote it in a matter of minutes during a hunting trip. "Red Solo Cup" was his most popular mainstream song.To watch the official music video of "Should've Been a Cowboy," go to YouTube. To listen to "Red Solo Cup," go here. It's from "Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years" (2019). You may want to check out the comments too. One person wrote: "RIP Toby. We raise our red solo cups to you!"The 2004 photo in this episode's thumbnail shows Keith singing at a USO-sponsored concert in Gricignano, Italy. It's credited to Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Lenny Francioni of the U.S. Navy.In the chapters, you'll find two U.S. Army photos: The first, which shows Keith as he made his way on stage at Camp Victory, Iraq, in 2007, was taken by SPC Laura M. Bigenho. The other was taken in Afghanistan in 2009 by Sgt. Joshua LaPere. It shows Keith performing for soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Battalion. All three photos are in the public domain and available on Wikipedia.This tribute to Keith is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.