Dan + Shay just offered a touching musical tribute to Toby Keith, who passed away after battling stomach cancer. The duo, made up of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, shared a clip of them singing Keith’s “She Never Cried in Front of Me,” released in 2008, and one of Keith’s numerous No. 1 hits.
“Used to cover this song back in the early days,” Dan + Shay said. “RIP to one of the greatest country music songwriters of all time. You’ll be missed, Toby Keith.”
@danandshay Used to cover this song back in the early days. RIP to one of the greatest country music songwriters of all time. You’ll be missed, Toby. ❤️ #tobykeith #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Dan + Shay
It was songwriting that Keith wanted to be known for, and what drew him to country music in the first place.
“When you get older and you look back at your cassette tapes or your CD, it’s like everybody that rocked country, R&B, whatever it was, the artists that I had were songwriters,” Keith said when accepting the BMI Icon Award in 2022. “They weren’t artists that covered music. They were songwriter/artists. Something in my gut, down in my core, said that’s what I wanted to do. I didn’t know if I’d make it as an artist, but I knew if I wrote as good as the next guy, that somebody might sing one of my songs.”
Keith’s final album, 100% Songwriter, was released in November. The 13-track record, which featured songs like “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” “Who’s Your Daddy?” and more, was a collection of songs written solely by Keith.
Keith was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.
“I dedicated the whole thing to my grandmother, who got me my first guitar,” Keith told Taste of Country at the time. “She always inspired me and was probably my biggest hero and a real independent woman. I dedicated the whole show to her.”
Keith was later inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.
“Toby could do it all. He wrote hits solo and with others,” Mark Ford, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame said of Keith’s passing. “He earned awards for his songs and for his prowess as a writer. He was a powerful artist who made great records, sold millions of copies and touched lives. Respected by his peers, beloved by his fans, he will be missed – especially by his NaSHOF family.”
Funeral services have yet to be announced.