Archive for the ‘Toby Keith’ Category

Rest in Peace, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson talks about friend

Wednesday, February 7th, 2024

Willie Nelson Mourns His Late Friend Toby Keith: ‘He’s One of Us’

Photo: Frank Micelotta

Willie Nelson Mourns His Late Friend Toby Keith: ‘He’s One of Us’
www.MSN.com
Story by Carena Liptak 

Willie Nelson, Toby Keith was more than a large-looming country hitmaker: He was a long-standing personal friend, too.

Over the years, Keith and Nelson collaborated on multiple musical endeavors. Most notably, perhaps, was their Keith-led duet “Beer for My Horses” which was a six-week No. 1 country hit in 2003.

After news broke of Keith’s death on Monday (Feb. 5), Nelson paid tribute to his late friend with a short remembrance and a clip of one of their live performances on “Beer for My Horses.” “

‘I’ve had a lot of fun singing with Toby. He’s one of us …’” Nelson notes in the caption of his post. “Rest in peace, Toby.”

Read article here.

Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Toby Keith, “Pancho and Lefty”

Monday, March 28th, 2022

Toby Keith’s Oklahoma Twister Concert Slideshow (July 6, 2013)

Tuesday, July 6th, 2021

On July 6, 2013, over 60,000 fans gathered to hear Toby Keith and his friends, and support the people devastated by at Tornado.

The concert was held at the University of Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., just outside Oklahoma City and not far from Moore, a town hit hard by tornado in May of 2013.  Along with Toby Keith, was Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Sammy Hagar, Krystal Keith, Kellie Coffey, and (via satellite) Carrie Underwood.

Despite the heat, remained energetic throughout, both for the artists and the cause. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund.

Willie Nelson and Toby Keith

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021

Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, “Whiskey for My Men (and beer for my horses)”

Saturday, January 9th, 2021
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Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Toby Keith, “Pancho and Lefty”

Monday, October 12th, 2020

Toby Keith’s Oklahoma Twister Concert Slideshow (July 6, 2013)

Saturday, July 6th, 2019
On July 6, 2013, over 60,000 fans gathered to hear Toby Keith and his friends, and support the people devastated by at Tornado. The concert was held at the University of Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., just outside Oklahoma City and not far from Moore, a town hit hard by tornado in May of 2013.  Along with Toby Keith, was Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Sammy Hagar, Krystal Keith, Kellie Coffey, and (via satellite) Carrie Underwood. Related: Toby Keith Talks Oklahoma Tornado Relief Concert Despite the heat, remained energetic throughout, both for the artists and the cause. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund.

“I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again” — Toby Keith, Scott Emerick

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019

Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, “Whiskey for My Men (and Beer for my Horses)

Monday, December 10th, 2018

Toby Keith’s Oklahoma Twister Concert Slideshow (July 6, 2013)

Friday, July 6th, 2018

On July 6, 2013, over 60,000 fans gathered to hear Toby Keith and his friends, and support the people devastated by at Tornado.

The concert was held at the University of Oklahoma’s Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., just outside Oklahoma City and not far from Moore, a town hit hard by tornado in May of 2013.  Along with Toby Keith, was Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Ronnie Dunn, Mel Tillis, John Anderson, Sammy Hagar, Krystal Keith, Kellie Coffey, and (via satellite) Carrie Underwood.

Related: Toby Keith Talks Oklahoma Tornado Relief Concert

Despite the heat, remained energetic throughout, both for the artists and the cause. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund.

This day in Willie Nelson History: “Whiskey for My Men (beer for my horses)” #1 on Billboard Country Chart (6/14/03)

Thursday, June 14th, 2018

Country Weekly
October 14, 2003
by Chris Neal

Like a lot of great country music tales, this one begins with whiskey. Willie Nelson and Toby Keith were on Willie’s bus, passing the bottle back and forth — to be precise, a bottle of Willie’s own signature brand, Old Whiskey River. They were having fun, but Toby had a serious question for his hero.

“I’ve got a project I’d love to talk to you about,” he offered. “It’s singing the second verse on a song that I think fits you like a glove.”

“What’s the name of it?” asked Willie. “Whiskey for My Men; Beer for My Horses,” replied Toby.

“Hell, let’s go cut it!” Willie exclaimed with a laugh. “It’d be hard to have a bad song with a title that good.”

Many months later, Willie’s judgment turned out to be right on. “Beer for My Horses” shot to No. 1 and stayed there for six weeks.

“Johnny Cash said one time that all that’s wrong with any of us can be cured with a No. 1 song,” said Willie. “And I think he was about right. I’m almost cured of everything.”

The ride actually began many years ago, way back in mid-Sept. 1976. Toby, then 15, made his way backstage when Willie was appearing in concert at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., as part of an “Outlaws” tour with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser.

At the time, Toby already idolized Willie, who was then riding high with the No. 1 Waylon duet “Good Hearted Woman” – a song Toby himself would sing with Willie months after Waylon’s death in 2002.

Toby still remembers meeting Willie that night, 27 years ago. “He was his usual polite self,” he smiles. “Willie is a real sweetheart. He takes care of everybody and wants everybody to have a piece of him.”

By the time they met again in the ‘90’s, Toby had followed in Willie’s footsteps to become a star himself. It happened that Toby’s guitarist, Joey Floyd, had played the part of Willie’s son in the 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose, and still kept in touch. Joey made the introductions — and Toby and Willie’s friendship was off and running.

“I’d already heard his music before I met him,” recalls Willie. “I think he’s a great talent. He’s one of those guys coming along — well, I don’t know how young he is. Younger than me for damn sure.” (Toby is 42.)

“Probably the thing that ties us together most is the music,” says Toby. “But he’s got a great sense of humor, and so do I. We call each other all the time and tell our latest jokes, and we really have a good time when we’re hanging out.”

Perhaps the most notorious occasion the two spent “hanging out” was during this year’s ACM Awards. Tongues wagged after Toby was named entertainer of the Year at the evening’s end, but wasn’t around to accept it because he’d already left.

Where was he?

“I was up in my room, at the same hotel where the show was going on,” explains Willie. “I was watching it on TV. Next thing you know, there’s a knock on my door and there’s Toby. He said, “Hell, I ain’t gonna win.” I said, ‘OK, come in here and we’ll write a song or something.” So we got the whiskey bottle going around — again — and we were having some fun.”

“You can tell when it’s your night,” explains Toby, “And it didn’t feel like it was my night.”

So Toby figured that spending time with his friend and idol sounded better than waiting around to not win an award.

“That’s important to me, getting a chance to enjoy some of the stuff I grew up wanting to do,” he says. “But I did feel real bad when they said my name and “Entertainer of the Year.”

There’s always the upcoming CMAs, where “Beer for My Horses” is nominated for Single, Song, Vocal Event — and Music Video of the Year, for it’s imaginative clip featuring Willie and Toby as father and son police detectives chasing a killer.

The two are lining up tour dates together, including a New Year’s Eve show. Willie is currently making a new album with Toby’s producer, which will include at least one song Toby wrote. And both men say they’re reading and willing to duet again.

“I’ve had a lot of fun singing with Toby,” declares Willie. “He’s one of us.”

But one question remains: Do horses really like beer?

“Good God yeah” says Willie. “It’s got wheat, barley, corn — why wouldn’t a horse like it? It’s horse soup.”

Willie Nelson and Toby Keith, “Wacky Tobacky”

Tuesday, December 19th, 2017

www.countryrebel.com

Looks like Toby Keith had a change of heart about never smoking “Weed With Willie Again”! Staying true to his gift of penning upbeat country songs with a speck of southern humor, Keith debuted his latest single “Wacky Tobaccy” dedicated to that infamous green plant, and who better to co-star in a music video for such a song than Willie Nelson?

“Wacky Tobaccy is a slogan, a saying that’s been around forever and no one has ever put it in a song,” says Keith according to The Music Universe. “When we were working on it, somebody asked if the saying has ever been written in a song and I said, ‘no, but they will now.’ We recorded it and shot the video in Nashville. We got a cameo from Willie Nelson. We have a long-standing friendship. It’s fortunate that we got him. ‘Wacky Tobaccy’ is written to the screws, and it fits in with what we do every night with the party crowd.”
Keith filmed the hilarious music video on his tour bus with his fellow bandmates before the country music legend emerged from the bathroom surrounded by a cloud of smoke. Nelson picked up his guitar and immediately started jamming out with the boys before the crew indulged in pizza and hot wings. 

The country superstar cowrote “Wacky Tobaccy” with longtime collaborator Scotty Emerick in form of one of his “bus songs.”
You can watch the hilarious video below. 

Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings

Tuesday, May 16th, 2017

www.entertainment-focus.com

Waylon Jennings sadly passed away in 2002 following complications from his diabetes. Battling drug addiction until the mid-80s, Jennings was plagued by health issues in later life and died at the age of 64. Despite his personal issues, Jennings had a successful career that hailed the arrival of outlaw country, a subgenre of music that offered a sound steeped in tradition rather than adhering to the more polished country sound of the 60s and 70s.

In 2015 Don Was and Buddy Cannon organised a tribute concert to celebrate the impact and enduring influence of Jennings’ music. Featuring stars such as Chris Stapleton, Lee Ann Womack, Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson, Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings was recorded at ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin Texas. Almost two years on from that event, it has finally been released as a CD/DVD package.

In a time when the age-old debate about ‘what is country music?’ rages on, it’s timely to revisit the music of Jennings. Outlaw kicks off with Chris Stapleton performing I Ain’t Living Long Like This, which was a number one hit for Jennings in 1979. Stapleton is one of the current crop of country stars that have taken on the outlaw country mantle so it’s fitting that his presence builds the bridge between Jennings and his own music. It’s an uptempo start to a collection of performances that pay touching tribute to Jennings fantastic catalogue of songs.

Over the course of Outlaw, some of Jennings’ past collaborators make appearances. Jessi Colter takes on Mona and Willie Nelson appears throughout, flying solo on the highlight Till I Gain Control Again. Alison Krauss reprises her cover of Dreaming My Dreams With You, which was released in 1999 as part of her album Forget About It. Her emotive performance has the audience whooping and hollering in the middle of the song and it’s a stunning version of the track.

Elsewhere on the release Kacey Musgraves puts her on spin on The Wurlitzer Prize, Bobby Bare impresses on the punchy Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line, and Ryan Bingham rasps his way through Rainy Day Woman. Jennings son Shooter also performs Whistlers and Jugglers early on the set.

The DVD part of the release features the entire evening. It’s a shame that I Can Get Off On You by Willie Nelson and Sturgill Simpson was omitted from the CD but I’m glad it’s present as part of the DVD. Simpson is another artist, like Stapleton, who is leading the charge when it comes to modern outlaw country music. Extras on the disc include several featurettes, one of which sees the stars from the event talking about the influence of Jennings on their own music and careers.

Outlaw: Celebrating the Music of Waylon Jennings does exactly what it says on the tin. The assembled musicians honour Jennings’ incredible songs while putting their own spin on it. If you’re not overly familiar with Jennings’ music, you’d be forgiven for thinking that some of these could be original recordings that are relevant in today’s country music. If nothing else, this collection will have you digging out your Jennings records and remembering just what an incredible artist he was.

Track List: 1.

I Ain’t Living Long Like This – Chris Stapleton
2. Whistlers and Jugglers – Shooter Jennings
3. Mona – Jessi Colter 4. Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line – Bobby Bare
5. Ride Me Down Easy – Lee Ann Womack
6. Yours Love – Lee Ann Womack & Buddy Miller
7. Freedom to Stay – Jamey Johnson
8. The Wurlitzer Prize – Kacey Musgraves
9. Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way – Robert Earl Keen
10. I Do Believe – Kris Kristofferson
11. Rainy Day Woman – Ryan Bingham
12. Dreaming My Dreams with You – Alison Krauss
13. I Ain’t the One – Alison Krauss & Jamey Johnson
14. Honky Tonk Heroes – Toby Keith
15. Lonesome, On’ry and Mean – Eric Church
16. Till I Gain Control Again – Willie Nelson
17. Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys – Willie Nelson & Toby Keith
18. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys – Willie Nelson & Chris Stapleton
19. Highwayman – Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Shooter Jennings & Jamey Johnson
20. Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) – Willie Nelson & Full Ensemble

Release Date: 14th April 2017 Record Label: Sony Music

Favorite Willie Nelson Duets

Monday, April 24th, 2017

photo:  Rick Diamond

www.WideOpenCountry.com
by: Kelsey Butterworth

If you’re looking for musical longevity, look no further than America’s most wanted country outlaw, Willie Nelson. He’s still recording and touring like he was twenty years ago. And twenty years before that. Pick any Hall of Fame member, and they’ve probably written a song or two with the Red Headed Stranger. Here are our favorites.

10. “Beer For My Horses” – with Toby Keith

 

 This one makes the list just for sheer absurdity. Country music often deals in novelty hits, and this song about celebratory horse inebriation is no exception. “Beer For My Horses” tells the story of Texan vigilante justice. In the music video, justice in the name of dead prostitutes. For bonus points, check out Keith’s B-side “Weed With Willie” to get a sense of what their sessions were like.

9. “Highwayman” – with The Highwaymen (Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings)

 

The Highwaymen’s biggest hit was this Jimmy Webb cover from their eponymous album, which they released in 1985. With its reverbed drums and synth sounds, it has a distinctly 80s feel to it. Some Highwaymen cuts feel overcrowded, which is the perfectly logical result of four gruff country boys singing at the same time. “Highwayman” has the members of the supergroup trade verses, each more forlorn than the last. When they do harmonize, it’s the best kind of chilling.

8. “Hard To Be An Outlaw” – with Billy Joe Shaver

 

The opener of Shaver’s 2014 effort Long In The Tooth is all about aging, and it features plenty of the clever wordplay that makes country music so appealing. Both Shaver and Nelson are in their eighties, so naturally their reminiscing will have a certain weight to it. The song finds the old hands lamenting not only the trials of their creaky stardom, but the Nashville whippersnappers who “go and call it country / But that ain’t the way it sounds”. Thank goodness these desperados are still on the scene.

7. “Dead Flowers” – with Keith Richards, Hank Williams III and Ryan Adams

 

Does it get better than these four gentlemen covering a Sticky Fingers classic? The live track appears on his 2002 live compilation Willie Nelson & Friends, Stars & Guitars, which features honorable mentions like Bon Jovi and Emmylou Harris. This cover is impeccable. The chorus gets pretty close to a religious experience.

6. “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” – with Wynton Marsalis

 

Nelson and unofficial New Orleans spokesman Wynton Marsalis released Two Men With The Blues back in 2008, and the entire record is full of killer cuts. Their reworking of this folk classic is a standout. Hearing Nelson front over the bubbly dirge jam from Marsalis’ band will definitely put you in good spirits. Besides, we’re sure Nelson is genuinely distraught at the idea of not being able to buy beer.

5. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – with Norah Jones

 

Sometimes the best duets are between two artists no one would ever think to pair. Nelson’s rough rodeo vibe goes seamlessly blends with Jones’s jazz fairy charm. This version of the Christmas standard is stripped down just right, giving Nelson and Jones room to balance each other out.

4. “Seven Spanish Angels” – with Ray Charles

 

Spend any time rifling through Nelson’s discography and you’ll find plenty of southwestern and gospel influences, but rarely do you see them together. In this grand retelling of Romeo & Juliet, verse-chorus dynamics combine with impassioned performances to create something divine. Ray Charles always has the charisma of a preacher, so no surprises there. Nelson seems more moved than usual, and the results are otherworldly.

3. “You Remain” – with Sheryl Crow

The closing number on Nelson’s 2002 record The Great Divide features Bonnie Raitt. This live performance from the same year has Nelson harmonizing with Sheryl Crow on a somber look back at an old love. Nelson tends to prefer balladry when he sings with women, but this track is special. What begins as a sort of understated “The Way It Is” swells into rolling hills of gorgeous, bittersweet regret. Both versions are magnificent, but Crow has a slightly bigger vocal role in hers, making it that much more breathtaking.

2. “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” – with Waylon Jennings

 

This is arguably one of the best hits produced by the outlaw country movement. The dusty duet originally appeared on 1978’s record Waylon & Willie. The mournful maternal plea has been recorded by many, but this version has by far been the most popular. Though the pair’s ranching experience is minimal at best, they sure knew what it meant to be lonely on the road.

1. “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die” – with Kris Kristofferson, Snoop Lion and Jamey Johnson

 

Released on green vinyl for Record Store Day 2013, this hilarious ode to the world’s favorite drug has Nelson and friends making a pretty peculiar will & testament request. The bouncy, juke-y tune features fellow Mary Jane enthusiasts Snoop, Kristofferson, and Johnson crooning over plenty of twang and a smattering of accordion. Say what you will about Nelson’s indulgences, but everyone who goes to his funeral is bound to have a real good time.

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Toby Keith, Willie Nelson Tribute Merle Haggard With ‘Ramblin’ Fever’

Monday, April 17th, 2017

www.Theboot.com
by: Carrie Horton

Toby Keith and Willie Nelson teamed up to perform an epic cover of Merle Haggard‘s “Rambin’ Fever” at the Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard tribute concert in Nashville on April 6. Click play above to watch the duo perform Haggard’s 1977 hit, and scroll down to check out a special solo performance from Keith.

Originally released as part of Haggard’s 1977 album of the same name, “Ramblin’ Fever” is characterized by the country icon’s signature songwriting, which reads like a story, and his ability to portray bravado and compassion in the same breath. When lyrics such as “If someone said I ever gave a damn, they damn sure told you wrong” combine with the quavering warble of Haggard’s vocals, listeners can’t help but wonder if he really does care more than he lets on.

During Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, Nelson made multiple appearances onstage, performing hits from his and Haggard’s 1983 collaborative record Pancho & Lefty as well as solo-Haggard hits such as “Rambin’ Fever.” Along with his appearance with Keith, Nelson also performed “Pancho and Lefty” with Kenny Chesney and “Reasons to Quit” with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

Keith also performed more than once during the special concert event, taking the stage a second time for a solo performance of Haggard’s 1971 chart-topper “Carolyn.” Originally released as the second single from his Someday We’ll Look Back album, the song earned Haggard his 11th No. 1 hit and was the perfect tune for Keith to perform in his honor.

Other artists who took the stage to honor Haggard during Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard included Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen, Chris Janson, Sheryl Crow and Loretta Lynn. A portion of the proceeds from the event benefited the TJ Martell Foundation.