Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Coyote Music News

Coyote Music News

Coyote Music News

Taylor Swift And Toby Keith: Their Little Known Connection

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

When Toby Keith died on Monday (2/5) after a battle with stomach cancer, all of the music world mourned. Many country superstars and friends like Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, and more posted to their social media. Taylor Swift has not yet commented, but she is in Tokyo for her tour at the moment.

Taylor and Toby are linked in a story that goes back to before Swift released her debut album and was a freshman at Hendersonville High School North of Nashville. Keith had Swift signed to his Showdog Record label in Music City to release her debut album. Taylor was just fifteen at the time. Toby was a partner in music executive Scott Borcheta before they went their separate ways in 2006 and Borchetta signed Taylor to BMLG and sold millions of records.

In a news report released a couple of years ago for a Throwback Thursday video from 2005, WSMV TV in Nashville posted an early interview with Swift where she talked about her first chance to record in Nashville.

RELATED: Blake Shelton On Toby Keith: ‘The Toughest Man I Ever Met’

Taylor says in the news story of her then-new partner Keith, “You’re in the room with him, and you can feel it. There’s a power, and you’re just like, ‘Oh my God. So I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I won’t see him and think. ‘Oh my God, That’s Toby Keith.'”

In the video clip, where her hair is straight, she sings a then-unknown song, “Picture To Burn,” which, of course, ended up on her debut Big Machine album.

As we all know, Swift’s debut album was released in 2006 on Big Machine Records, and the rest is music history. History that she keeps making, even last weekend (2/4) when she won her 14th Grammy for Album of the Year for her Midnights album.

With Taylor’s fourth win in the category, she surpasses previous three-time Album of the Year winners Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon. Swift’s previous three wins were for her albums Fearless, 1989, and Folklore.

Five of Toby Keith's Songs That Will Live Forever

  • "Should've Been a Cowboy" (1993)

    This is his debut single and the song people will always associate with Toby. Many artists mentioned the song and its lyrics in their tribute to him after his death (2/6). Keith wrote the song himself, and it has always been his anthem. The song has received more than three million spins on country radio, making it the most-played country song of the 1990s. Over the years, the song has been a staple following sporting events at Oklahoma State University (home of the Cowboys), often played over the venue’s PA system several times in succession as fans emptied the stadium or arena.

  • "How Do You Like Me Now?!" (1999)

    This song brought Keith to superstardom. Toby told me the inspiration for the song in 2000. “Initially, I said, ‘Here’s my title: ‘You Never Loved Me Before, So How Do You Like Me Now?’ It’s one of my catchphrases. A lot of people become successful after they’ve been told they won’t ever be so that people can relate to this. It can be about an old flame or a boss or a teacher -whatever it means to each individual. It was a fun song to write.”

  • "I Wanna Talk About Me" (2001)

    This is another fun song and a big hit for Keith. The song was originally pitched to Blake Shelton, whose label turned it down. After recording the song, Keith said he knew he would get banged around for the song a bit. He noted, “They’re going to call it a rap, [although] there ain’t nobody doing rap who would call it a rap.”

    The music video for the song shows Toby in many different situations, including a man shopping with his girlfriend or wife, a police officer, a motorcycle rider, and a surgeon.

  • "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" (2002)

    The song he wrote after the 9/11 attacks on America and was also inspired by Keith’s father’s death in March 2001. In a November 2003 interview with CBS, Keith said of writing the song: “I was so angry when we were attacked here on American soil that it leaked out of me.”

    The music video for the song features Toby performing the song, playing a red, white, and blue guitar, and showing images of his own father fighting in a war.

  • "Red Solo Cup" (2011)

    Keith sure is good at fun party songs, and he proved it once again with this song, which was the only song on the album Clancy’s Tavern that he did not write. The song was written by the Warren Brothers in Nashville.

    The music video includes cameos from Jeff Dunham (and his character Bubba J), Carrot Top, Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar, Craig Ferguson, Geoff Peterson, Roger Clemens, Eric Church, Joe Nichols, Lance Burton, and Larry Bird, among others.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

Get The Coyote Country Chronicle Newsletter Sent To Your Inbox

Enjoy the latest Country music, entertainment, Las Vegas happenings you need know, plus exclusive contests, games, and more.

*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group
Category:
Tags:
,

More 107.9 Coyote Country

Load More