Toby Keith was honored with a star-studded, emotional tribute at the CMT Music Awards. The country music icon, who passed away from stomach cancer on February 5, was remembered with performances by Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar and Lainey Wilson, along with tributes by Lukas Nelson and Roger Clemens.
Brooks & Dunn performed “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” while Wilson performed “How Do You Like Me Now?!” and Hagar sang “I Love This Bar.”
.@brooksanddunn paid tribute to Toby Keith on the #CMTAwards stage with a performance of "Should've Been a Cowboy" 🤍 pic.twitter.com/r5y9PMUmnH
— CMT (@CMT) April 8, 2024
“I was so worried that I wasn’t going to make it through the performance emotionally,” Hagar admitted on social media, following his performance. “It was hard for me working up to it. When I hit the stage with Toby’s wonderful band that I played with many times over the years, the audience, energy, enthusiasm, and love that filled that building every tear of sadness into joy.
“It was a beautiful experience to say the least, so proud and honored to have been invited,” he added. “We all miss that bigger than life, wonderful man, Mr. Toby Keith. aka #BigDogDaddy.”
Clemens became emotional as he spoke of his friendship with Keith, honoring his family members who were in attendance, including his wife, Tricia, daughters Shelley and Krystal, and son Stelen.
“Shelley, Krystal, Steel-man, Thank you for sharing your dad with all of us,” Clemens said. “Trish, we love you. Thank you for sharing your husband with the world, Trish. Thank you.”
Clemens closed the tribute by inviting everyone to toast the country music legend with a Red Solo cup.
“Repeat after me,” he said. “Everybody at home, raise your fist if you don’t have a Solo cup. Let Toby hear you. Repeat after me, ‘Whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses.'”
.@laineywilson just honored @TobyKeith with a #CMTAwards tribute performance of "How Do You Like Me Now?!" ❤️ pic.twitter.com/p683I6h9yA
— CMT (@CMT) April 8, 2024
Keith was recently announced as one of the inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame later this year, along with John Anderson and guitarist James Burton.
“On behalf of my whole family, we want to thank the Hall of Fame,” Stelen said when the inductees were announced. “It’s an honor to stand here and represent my father. He was an amazing man, husband, father and artist. I just want to thank everybody for being here.”
Keith was chosen as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame before he passed away, with the news revealed the same day his death was announced.
“This year, we anticipated receiving the names of our final inductees, on Tuesday, February 6,” Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, announced. “As we know, we woke up that morning to the heartbreaking news that our friend, Toby Keith, had lost his long battle with stomach cancer. What’s bittersweet is that just a few hours later, our team received word that he had been elected into the Modern Era category. Truly one of the greatest honors of my job is getting to inform these inductees that they are the newest members of the hallowed class.
“My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon, knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us,” she added. “But I have no doubt that he’s smiling down on us, knowing that he’ll always be as good as he once was.”
The date for the 2024 Medallion Ceremony to induct the new members has yet to be announced.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for CMT