Toby Keith, country music superstar, dies at 62 following stomach cancer battle

Toby Keith, the seven-time Grammy-nominated country music superstar whose songs included "As Good as I Once Was," "Should've Been a Cowboy," the divisive "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," and his career-high hit "Red Solo Cup," has died at age 62 following a two-year battle with stomach cancer.

The news was announced early Tuesday morning in an Instagram post indicating that Keith "passed peacefully" on Monday evening while “surrounded by his family," shortly after he returned to the stage in Las Vegas in December 2023 for his first solo headlining show since revealing his cancer diagnosis.

"He fought his fight with grace and courage," the statement read. "Please respect the privacy of his family at this time."

EW has reached out to Keith's representatives for more information.

Keith announced his stomach cancer diagnosis in 2022, months after first receiving the news from his medical team in the fall of 2021.

Last year, the country musician gave a positive update on his health in an interview.

"I feel pretty good," Keith told E! News at the time. "It's a little bit of a roller coaster. You get good days and, you know, you're up and down, up and [down]. It's always zero to 60 and 60 to zero, but I feel good today."

Born in Oklahoma in 1961, Keith launched his career in 1993 with "Should've Been a Cowboy," which hit No. 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 and laid the foundation for a career that would solidify him as a leading genre act for the next several decades — including an impressive streak that saw every one of his singles released between 2000 and 2009 land a position on the American charts.

His breakthrough Top 40 song came in 1999 with the release of "How Do You Like Me Now?!" two years before he'd stir controversy over the release of his Sept. 11-inspired single "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," with many — including The Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines — taking issue with the song's lyrics, while other embraced its seemingly patriotic message.

In addition to philanthropic efforts that included his own Toby Keith Foundation supporting Ally's House, an organization dedicated to helping children with cancer, Keith also used his celebrity for political purposes, voicing support for presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and even performing at Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017 before Trump gave him the National Medal of the Arts at a private ceremony in 2021.

In a statement to EW following his performance at Trump's inauguration, Keith defended his decision.

"I don't apologize for performing for our country or military," he said at the time. "I performed at events for previous presidents [George W.] Bush and [Barack] Obama and over 200 shows in Iraq and Afghanistan for the USO."

In addition to his Grammy-nominated career in music, Keith also acted in several film and TV projects over the years, including the 2006 drama film Broken Bridges and the 2008 comedy Beer for My Horses, which he wrote and starred in following the success of his 2003 Willie Nelson duet of the same name.

Keith is survived by three children and his wife, Tricia Lucus, whom he married in 1984.

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