Toby Keith was honored with a star-studded tribute, Toby Keith: American Icon, held in Nashville, with some of country music’s biggest stars, including Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Jelly Roll, Eric Church, Ashley McBryde, Parker McCollum, Darius Rucker, Lainey Wilson, and more paying tribute to the country music superstar.
Keith’s own daughter, Krystal, also honored her father. Introduced by Keith’s other daughter, Shelley Covel, Krystal performed a touching tribute of “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” the last song Keith performed on television.
@thetraveladdict.com Krystal Keith pays tribute to her father Toby Keith singing “Don’t Let The Old Man In” in Nashville at Toby Keith American Icon. #krystalkeith #tobykeith #tobykeithtribute #countrymusic #countrymusictiktoks #tobykeithtributeconcert #nashville #nashvilletn #father #fatherdaughter ♬ original sound – thetraveladdict
Krystal later spoke about her performance on social media, and the item from her father’s wardrobe that she chose to wear to honor him.
“I did a thing tonight,” she wrote. “Wearing my dad’s hat (custom fit for a King). It was so fun honoring him and I hope I made him proud.”
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Keith, who passed away on February 5 from stomach cancer, was inspired to write “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” after a conversation he had with Clint Eastwood.
“When I wrote it, I didn’t know that in the next few years that I was going to have to be looking those words square in the face,” Keith told Taste of Country in November of 2023.
“As much as they’re words to live by when you’re old, they’re just as much words to live by when you’re battling a disease that can be fatal. I never knew that I was gonna have to do that.”
After Keith passed away, Krystal shared her thoughts on losing her father.
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“I am shattered,” Krystal began, as part of a heartfelt post shared on social media. “As great as he was in his career, he was so much greater as a dad and a husband and a Pop Pop. He was my hero.”
The mother of two wrote “Daddy Dance With Me,” released in 2013, to be used in her own wedding.
“I am so lucky to have had him and so grateful he got to walk me down the aisle and meet my babies,” Krystal said. “That I have years of memories traveling the world as a family. I am blessed that I got to spend years traveling on the road and singing on stage with him. That I have mountains of video footage and endless tracks of music to watch him on and hear his voice with. I’m lucky I got to say goodbye and tell him what he meant to me.”
Keith will be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this fall, along with John Anderson, and guitarist James Burton.
Toby Keith: American Icon will air on NBC on August 28 at 9:00 PM ET, and stream the next day on Peacock.
Photo Credit: Getty on behalf of Universal Music Group