It’s been a sad couple of weeks for Toby Keith fans. The icon passed away after a battle with stomach cancer, and one young fan is taking his death worse than most.
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Posted to TikTok, a young fan named Gunnar sang along to Keith’s smash hit “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Overcome with emotion, Gunnar tried to hold back the tears while singing. It’s clear that Keith meant a lot to him and to fans across the world. Keith may be gone, but the impact of his music remains.
“My nephew didn’t take Toby Keith’s death lightly,” Gunnar’s aunt wrote on the TikTok caption of the video. “Hold your head up king.”
Several fans took the opportunity to respond to the video. One person wrote, “As sad as this is it’s even sadder that he’s the only kid I’ve seen who knows Toby Keith.”
Another commented, “I cried listening to Toby Keith this morning. I feel you!”
Yet another wrote, “Bless his heart I looked the same crying over his last performance so I can relate.”
Toby Keith Fans Mourn Singer
It’s safe to say that Toby Keith came a long way during his career. In an interview with AL.com, Keith reflected on his early years and wanting to make it in country music. He envisioned fans going crazy for him in the streets.
“It was about 4 years of starving,” Keith said. “You can be the big dog in your neighborhood, but drive three or four hours from here and nobody knows who you are. If it took you two or three years to have a full house situation in Oklahoma City, what would ever lead you to think you could go down to Amarillo, Texas, and walk in that first week and have that many people say, ‘Wow!’?”
Ultimately, Keith made that dream a reality. After the singer’s passing, several fans shared their memories of Keith to News on 6. One person reflected on meeting Keith.
“I kind of met him a little bit one time,” Keith said. “I used to work at a Red Lobster in Norman.”
Another saw him while serving overseas. Toby Keith regularly toured playing for service members in the armed forces.
“At least twice, he came to see us in Baghdad,” said a caller. “The day we came back from Iraq, he was there. Made sure to give everybody a hug and welcome us back off the plane.”
[Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Shock Ink]
