Toby Keith’s work has seen a sizable surge in popularity with fans in the days since the country music star’s death was announced.
Keith, 62, died on February 5 after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. “He fought his fight with grace and courage,” read part of a statement shared by the musician’s family on social media.
As fans mourned Keith on social media, a number discussed his legacy. Keith sold more than 40 million albums in his three-decade career including having hits such as, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” and “I Love This Bar.”
On February 17, those handling Keith’s account on X, formerly Twitter, shared a link to a Forbes article, alongside a caption that read: “Toby’s 35 Biggest Hits album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart last week, for the second time, putting him alongside legends like Michael Jackson, John Lennon, and Elvis Presley.”
Toby’s 35 Biggest Hits album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart last week, for the second time, putting him alongside legends like Michael Jackson, John Lennon, and Elvis Presley. https://t.co/D7sAX4Oqc5
— Toby Keith (@tobykeith) February 17, 2024
Keith’s 35 Biggest Hits double album, which was released in 2008, has hit the top spot on the Billboard 200 charts through pure sales and streaming. The album’s No. 1 ranking puts Keith in the rarefied company of just a few stars who have topped the charts with an album both while alive and posthumously.
Per Billboard, at least 10 artists have topped the Billboard 200 while alive and then after passing away, including Presley, Lennon, Jackson, Prince, Johnny Cash, Tupac Shakur, Ray Charles, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, and now Keith.
While the aforementioned artists achieved the chart success as solo performers, at least two other stars qualify if bands are taken into account. Kurt Cobain achieved the same feat through his work with Nirvana, while Janis Joplin topped the charts while alive as a member of Big Brother & the Holding Company, as well as solo after her death.
In 2021, Keith was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Donald Trump and received one of his final honors in September when he was given an award at the People’s Choice Country Awards.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
“It’s nice to recognize my 30-year career,” he told E! News on the red carpet ahead of receiving the award. “It’s pretty mind-boggling. Those years of pounding those songs out and remembering where you were when each one was conceived, it’s amazing.”
The singer made a return to the stage in December with a string of sold-out shows in Las Vegas, which he labeled “triumphant” after the first concert.
“It was a triumphant return. One hell of a night in Vegas. Ready to do it all over again tonight. #TobyInVegas,” Keith wrote in a social media post.
He also revealed prior to those shows how he’d come to terms with his cancer diagnosis and would not let it get in the way of his life. Keith remained defiant in the face of his cancer, despite not knowing how long he would live.
“I finally got it in a spot where I’m really comfortable with it. Everything’s trending really well right now, and I’m not gonna let this define the rest of my life. If I live to be 100 or I don’t, I’m going to go forward,” he told Taste of Country in November.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.