Toby Keith ruled the country music airwaves in the ’90s, starting with his 1993 debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Throughout his three-decade career, the “Big Dog Daddy” sent 65 of 70 singles to the Billboard country charts. Of those 65, 20 reached the top spot. Sadly, the industry lost Keith too soon when he died in February 2024 following a battle with stomach cancer. Fortunately for those who miss the native Oklahoman, another country singer is breathing new life into a previously unheard Toby Keith song.
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Ernest: It’s My “Honor and Duty” to Keep Spirit of Toby Keith Alive
After penning hits for Jake Owen, Morgan Wallen, and Sam Hunt, Ernest decided to use his voice alongside his pen. Since 2019, he has released three studio albums, including last year’s Nashville, Tennessee. And on Friday, Oct. 10, Ernest dropped his reimagined version of a song called “End of the Night” from deep in Keith’s vault.
Toby Keith wrote the song in 2015 alongside David Lee Murphy and Bobby Pinson. Thanks to Apple Music’s Lost & Found program, fans of the 14-time Academy of County Music Award winner can hear Ernest’s rendition exclusively on the streaming platform.
“It’s cool to hear how raw it was, and how much energy and how much power… ’til the day he died, that man sang with everything,” Ernest said in an Apple Music interview shared to social media.
While acknowledging that he will “never be able to sing a Toby Keith song as good as Toby Keith can sing a Toby Keith song,” Ernest said he doesn’t take this responsibility lightly. “It’s our honor and duty as country singers to keep the spirit alive of those that went on before us,” he said. “I think that’s what makes country music great.”
Reassuring fans, he added, “I’m gonna give it hell to sing it the best that I can, for sure.”
Co-Writer: “It Was Like Christmas”
As “End of the Night” makes it debut, Toby Keith’s co-writers reminisced about writing the song together. “The day we wrote it, we were laughing so hard, feeling like it was a hit,” recalled David Lee Murphy.
Bobby Pinson said the song was always one of his favorites. “When [Apple Music] asked me about this project and said, ‘What do we have?’ it was like Christmas,” he said in a statement. “It was like finding a dollar in your pocket.”
Featured image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
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