On This Day in 2000, Toby Keith Celebrated His 16th Wedding Anniversary with a 5-Week No. 1

On this day (March 24) in 2000, Toby Keith was at No. 1 with “How Do You Like Me Now.” The single stayed at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart for five consecutive weeks. At the same time, he and Tricia Lucus were celebrating 16 years of marriage. They tied the knot on March 24, 1984.

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When Keith and Lucus met, he was working in the oilfields. When he wasn’t working, he was fronting the Easy Money Band, which played local bars. She was a secretary for an oil company and just so happened to be at a local watering hole while Keith’s band was playing. They met that night and dated for three years.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1993, Toby Keith Introduced Himself to the Country Music World While Making Fun of His Buddy’s Dance Floor Rejection]

According to People, things weren’t easy for the couple in the early days of their relationship. Keith chose to focus on making music after the oilfield “went bust.” As a result, they struggled financially until he broke into the industry. They supported one another through the hard times and beyond. When Keith died in 2024, they had been married for nearly 40 years.

Toby Keith Celebrated His Wedding Anniversary at No. 1

“How Do You Like Me Now” was the second single and title track from his 1999 album. He released the track on November 22, 1999. After a months-long climb, it reached No. 1 on March 18. On March 24, the song’s first of five weeks at the top was drawing to a close.

Keith co-wrote the song with Chuck Cannon as a middle finger to those who doubted him. “A lot of people become successful after they’ve been told they won’t ever be. So, people can relate to this,” he wrote on his website. “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,” he added.

Interestingly, the song took on a new meaning for Keith before its release. After he recorded “How Do You Like Me Now” and the rest of the songs for the album, he delivered them to Mercury Nashville. The label rejected the songs. As a result, he bought the masters and took them across the street to DreamWorks, according to Songfacts. There, he sold the album for twice what Mercury planned to pay him.

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