Toby Keith: Bio of a Country Music Star

Toby Keith’s real name is actually Toby Keith Covel. He was born in Clinton, Oklahoma on July 8, 1961. While Keith was still young, the family moved to Oklahoma City. There, he became interested in the musicians who played in his grandmother's supper club.

Toby got his first guitar at the age of 8. He didn’t turn to a professional music career just yet, though. In high school, he worked as a rodeo hand for the rodeo company adjacent to his parents' farm and was always excited to undertake the requisite road work. After graduation, he worked in the oil industry. His job was running steel casing pipe into wells. 

For some time, it looked like he may follow in his father's footsteps and be an oil-company executive. When the oil gig went into a slump, Toby joined and played defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers United States Football League (USFL) newly-formed team.

Since the USFL Oklahoma team wasn’t doing so well, Toby took the slowing times to get married to sweetheart Tricia and have a daughter, Shelley.

It was in 1984 that he turned to music for a career. He began by playing honky-tonk tunes in Oklahoma and Texas with the band Easy Money. Despite a few turn downs, Mercury Records President Harold Shedd finally signed him to Mercury Records. His first single came out in 1993, called "Should've Been a Cowboy." The song went to Number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart and his self-titled debut album earned platinum.

When Shedd left Mercury Records for Polydor Records, Keith went along with him. He released a second album called Boomtown in 1994. This album included the Number 1 hit "Who's That Man" and the Top 5 hit "You Ain't Much Fun." Then, in 1996, Toby’s platinum-selling Blue Moon album featured "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You" and "Me Too."

When Polydor closed, Toby Keith returned to Mercury Nashville and released Dream Walkin' in 1997. His songs "When We Were in Love" and “I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying” went to Number 2.