Jelly Roll Pays Tribute to Late Country Star Toby Keith: “Toby Inspired Millions and I’m One of Them”

Toby Keith burst onto the country music scene with his self-titled debut album in 1993. His debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” topped the country charts and became the genre’s most-played song of the ‘90s. Keith went on to release nineteen studio albums over the next 28 years. His final, Peso in My Pocket dropped in 2021. His music inspired countless artists and will continue to do so even if he is no longer with us. Earlier today, Jelly Roll shared how much Keith and his music meant to him.

Many country artists are in mourning after hearing that Keith passed away last night. This morning (February 6), Jelly Roll used his Instagram story to pay tribute to the later country star and songwriter. “We covered ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ at every show last year,” he wrote. “Toby inspired millions and I was one of them. RIP,” he added.

Toby Keith on “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”

Keith discussed the origin and importance of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” in a 2018 interview with The Oklahoman. He recalled writing the song on a hunting trip with some friends.

The guys were talking and one told a story about a lady in a bar refusing to dance with him because he was in his hunting clothes. “In all honesty, you should’ve been a cowboy,” one of the fellas said. After all, the Western look never goes out of style.

The sentence stuck with Keith. “I thought, ‘Man, that sounds like a song idea,’ and it was all over me,” he recalled. Later that night, they all went to the hotel in which they were staying. They were bunking two to a room. Keith’s roommate turned in early. “I didn’t want to wake him ‘cause he was hateful when you’d wake him up. I went in the bathroom, shut the door, wrote it down, put it in my bag, and went hunting the next day.”

After the hunting trip, Keith looked over the song again and decided to record it. Little did he know, he had written the foundation of his career in that hotel bathroom.

“I’ve never played a show that I didn’t play that song,” he said. “I’ve probably got 15 or 20 No. 1s I don’t play, and I’ve probably got 20 or 30 top 10s I don’t play. I do a two-hour show every night, and I play that song—no matter what. It’s like my pick of the litter as far as how important it was to changing my life—and a lot of people around me,” he added. 

Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI