It’s been six years, but new music is finally coming from Toby Keith! The 60-year-old just announced the upcoming release of Peso in My Pocket, a 10-track project, featuring five songs written by Keith, including the title track.
Keith wrote four of the songs on the album by himself, including “She’s Drinking’ Again,” “Thunderbird,” and the recently-released song, “Happy Birthday America.” He also co-wrote a song, “Growing Up a Bit–” with Sammy Hagar.
Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris, along with Brett Tyler, co-wrote a song, “Old School” that is on the record. Keith also included “Take a Look at My Heart,” written by John Mellencamp and John Prine, and previously recorded by Prine.
“Happy Birthday America,” which Keith released earlier this month, was inspired by one of Keith’s other songs, which he heard on July 4, 2020.
“There were 5000 boats tied up out there and they started playing — all the boats had radios synced to the same radio station, so you could hear the same thing all across the lake, ’cause it was synchronized with the fireworks,” Keith recalled on Fox & Friends. “‘Courtesy of Red, White and Blue’ came on and everybody was honking their horns and screaming and singing, and it was a big, unison thing. I was like, ‘Wow.’
“Fireworks were going off,” he continues. “It was in the middle of last summer and this country felt like a dumpster fire about then. I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty neat.’ I said, ‘Happy Birthday America, whatever’s left of you.’ I was running a few days later and I wrote that song.”
The news of Peso in My Pocket comes on the heels of Keith being named one of the class of 2021 inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with Amy Grant, Rhett Akins, Buddy Cannon and John Scott Sherrill.
See a track list for Peso in My Pocket. The record will be released on October 15. It is currently available for pre-order here.
Peso in My Pocket track list:
1. “Oklahoma Breakdown” (Michael Hosty)
2. “Peso in My Pocket” (Toby Keith)
3. “Old School” (Ryan Hurd, Maren Morris, Brett Tyler)
4. “Old Me Better” (Kevin R. Moore, John Lewis Parker)
5. “Days I Shoulda Died” (Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Jessie Jo Dillon)
6. “Growing Up Is a Bitch” (Toby Keith, Sammy Hagar)
7. “She’s Drinkin’ Again” (Toby Keith)
8. “Thunderbird” (Toby Keith)
9. “Take a Look at My Heart” (John Mellencamp, John Prine)
10. “Happy Birthday America” (Toby Keith)