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Sadly, we lost Toby Keith six months ago to stomach cancer, which he bravely fought until the end.
Now, big names in Nashville — including Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll — are celebrating Toby’s life and incredible catalogue with “Toby Keith: American Icon,” a special tribute concert airing tonight on NBC.
“Extra’s” Alecia Davis caught up with many of the stars, including Luke Bryan, who shared, “The fact that Toby’s not in the room is still hard to wrap your brain around.”
Bryan, who performs “Should Have Been a Cowboy,” continued, “When I found it was still available… I was like, ‘Oh, my God. I gotta do that.’ Because literally, I’ve been singing the song my whole life.”
Country music queen Lainey Wilson has been singing Toby’s songs her whole life, too.
She told Alecia, “He was not scared to think outside the box, to stand up for what he believed in.”
Country singer Trace Adkins was one of Toby’s close friends.
He shared, “Professionally, Toby always gave me that mark to shoot for. I never got to the level he got to, but it was a good mark to shoot at. And personally, just the laughs that we shared and the times that we spent together — it is just an honor to be able to say he was my friend. He was a good man.”
Jamey Johnson, who sings “Beer for My Horses,” was also friends with Toby.
He told Alecia, “You never got any of that professional stuff in our personal time. Personal-wise, he was another sh*tty golfer. He was another dude out there trying to hammer a big one on the par fives, but he was also a wealth of knowledge.”
Johnson went on, “He had one of the greatest memories of anybody… and could pull up songs that he hadn’t heard since he was a kid and do them start to finish perfect. It was a real privilege to get to know him and get to talk to him and get to spend time with him.”
“Toby Keith: American Icon” airs tonight on NBC and streams tomorrow on Peacock.
