Toby Keith‘s extensive songwriting career was celebrated at the recent BMI Awards. The Oklahoma native received the BMI Icon Award during the ceremony, held on Tuesday, November 8.
Prior to Keith accepting the award, he was honored in song with performances by Carrie Underwood and Eric Church, along with his frequent collaborators, Dean Dillon and Scotty Emerick.
“It was artists like you that taught kids like me that greatness is possible,” Underwood said, before performing Keith’s first No. 1 hit, “Should Have Been a Cowboy.” Church performed an acoustic version of “I Love This Bar.”
Keith recalled his early years of trying to make his way in country music which is what led him to BMI.
“When I got to Nashville, they said, ‘You got to get affiliated,'” Keith recalled when accepting the honor. “I said, ‘What does that mean?’ They said, ‘Well, you wrote these songs — you gotta get affiliated.’ So, since 1990 or ’91, I have been affiliated with the greatest organization in the music business, and that’s BMI. They’ve been so great to me as a songwriter, because I knew that even if I didn’t make it as an artist, that maybe somebody would cut my songs. I always felt that the songwriting was the most important part of this whole industry.”
Keith realized early on that he was more interested in writing songs than just singing, after looking at the music he gravitated towards the most.
“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,” the 61-year-old said. “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 canceled many of his tour dates this year, after he revealed he had been battling stomach cancer.
“Last fall I was diagnosed with stomach cancer,” Keith announced in June. “I’ve spent the last six months receiving chemo, radiation and surgery. So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”
Keith returned to the stage for a surprise live performance at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in Lexington, Kentucky on November 4. Updates to Keith’s touring schedule will be posted here as available.
