Toby Keith went out on top. The country singer may be gone, but his legacy is living on. Fans mourned his death by listening to his greatest hits, pushing one of Keith’s album to the top of the charts once more.
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Keith’s 2008 album 35 Greatest Hits lands at No. 1 for all genres just a week after his death. For comparison, the album debuted at No. 2 when Keith launched it almost two decades ago. Sales went up 1,000 units week to week, according to Billboard.
It’s the fifth time Keith has topped the chart for all-genres. The first came with his album Unleashed in 2002. He followed that up with Shock’n Y’all in 2003, Big Dog Daddy in 2007, and Bullets in the Gun in 2010. It’s clear that Keith left a big mark on country music.
Last year, the People Choice Country Awards honored Keith and his contributions to the genre. It gave Keith a moment to pause and reflect on his impact.
“Just seeing how enormous the career I amassed over 30 years when they show the video,” Keith told People. “You know where you were when you wrote all those songs, you hear those numbers and you’re just like, you looked up one day and all of a sudden 30 years went by.”
Although he took a few years off due to his battle with stomach cancer, Keith returned to the stage last year, playing in both Las Vegas as well as his home state of Oklahoma. He explained, “I’d been off the road and I didn’t know how much wind I had. I didn’t know how my diaphragm was, and so I just got up and did a couple of big shows to see what I could do and I got through them fine.”
Toby Keith Reflected on Career
Previously speaking with News on 6, Toby Keith said his career almost never got started. The singer faced several rejections before finally landing his big break with Mercury Music.
“It even got to the point where I was like, ‘if I get to 30 and I haven’t done this, I am going to switch occupations,’” Keith said. The singer’s moment came days before his 30th. “He signed me the next morning; he said, ‘I’m going to sign you to a record deal, and I am going to produce you.’”
The singer ultimately thanked his success to his work ethic.
“All those songwriter awards, number one songs, it’s because I worked and put out an album every year,” Keith said.
[Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for CMT]
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