Toby Keith, a country chart-topper in the 1990s and 2000s, has died at 62 from stomach cancer.
Keith died peacefully and was surrounded by his family, according to a post on his Instagram on Monday night.
After receiving the diagnosis in the fall of 2021, Keith was open with his fans on social media about his ongoing treatment.
He returned to the stage in September 2023 for the People’s Choice Country Awards, where he was awarded the inaugural Country Icon Award. He performed for the first time after announcing his diagnosis in June 2022.
The singer emerged on the country scene in 1993 with his debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” It remains his most-played song today with over 220 million streams.
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With 19 studio albums, two Christmas albums and five compilation albums, Keith charted 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Keith helped establish Ally’s House, a nonprofit organization designed to support Oklahoma children with cancer, in 2004. The group is named for Scott Webb’s daughter Allison. Webb was one of Keith’s original bandmates, and his 2-year-old daughter died in 2003 from kidney cancer just before her third birthday.
Keith is survived by his wife of 40 years Tricia Lucus and his three children Krystal, Stelen and Shelley.
