Rock icon Ted Nugent reflects on unlikely partnership with Toby Keith, whom he considered an ‘all-American music creator’

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - The passing of country music icon Toby Keith has saddened fans around the globe, including rock icon Ted Nugent, who now calls Central Texas home.

The unlikely pair played for the troops overseas on numerous occasions and developed a bond over their common interests despite their obvious differences.

“Toby was a heart and soul all-American music lover, music creator. I’m being bombarded today with a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of heartache out there because he really touched everybody’s life,” Nugent said.

Keith passed away peacefully in his sleep Monday night, surrounded by family at his home in Oklahoma. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2022.

Despite a debilitating cancer treatment regimen that included chemo and surgery that affected his ability to sing, Keith performed at the People’s Choice Country Awards last year, where he received the Country Icon Award.

“Number one, he was a great husband and a great father, the most important things. He was a great patriot, a great music creator and a great hell raiser. He raised adequate hell, which is what I think the founding fathers wanted us to do,” Nugent said.

The “Red Solo Cup” singer is survived by his wife and three children. He had 61 singles on the Hot One Hundred Country Charts, including 20 number one hits.

His top 10 hits included “He Ain’t Worth Missing,” “As Good As I Once Was” and “Should Have Been a Cowboy,” among others.

One of his favorite songs to perform at his concerts was penned by his buddy Ted Nugent, “Stranglehold.”

“His band was a rock-n-roll, rhythm and blues band and they played a country twang, but Toby at heart was just a musical guy. So he loved all music and if you love all music then you love my song “Stranglehold” and he put his heart and soul into it every night,” Nugent said.

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