Country music stardom didn’t arrive on Toby Keith’s doorstep overnight. He played clubs with his group, the Easy Money Band, during his off-hours from working as a derrick hand in the Oklahoma oil fields. As the oil industry began to decline, he fell back on music, moving to Nashville and busking up and down Music Row until producer Harold Shedd signed him to Mercury Records. His very first single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”, soared to number one, kicking off one of the most decorated country music careers of the 20th century.
The “Big Dog Daddy” was a bona fide star by the early aughts, releasing Honkytonk University, on May 17, 2005. Less than a month later—in early June of 2005—Keith’s 10th LP had made its way to number on the country albums chart.
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Toby Keith Named His Favorite Song on the Album
More than a decade into his career at that point, Toby Keith sent a clear message with Honkytonk University’s second single: I ain’t as good as I once was / But I’m as good once, as I ever was.
“As Good as I Once Was”, which Keith co-wrote with Scotty Emerick, spent six weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart, tying the 2003 Willie Nelson duet “Beer For My Horses” as his longest-running number-one song.
Additionally, “As Good as I Once Was” resurfaced on the country charts after Keith’s death on February 5, 2024. Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) also named it the song of the year for 2006.
Keith was particularly fond of “As Good as I Once Was”, calling it “probably my favorite song on the album.”
“I can always tell when I’ve got a special one as soon as I get done,” he said.
“The Most Stone-Country Album I’ve Ever Done”
“As Good as I Once Was” wasn’t the only commercial success on Toby Keith’s Honkytonk University, which he called “the most stone-country album I’ve ever done.”
The album’s lead single, “Honky-tonk U”, went to number eight on the country singles chart. Keith followed “As Good as I Once Was” with “Big Blue Note”, which peaked at number five.
While the album’s second single was the clear standout, the country singer also had an affinity for “Big Blue Note”, which he also co-wrote with Emerick.
“I’ve never written anything quite like it,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that happens to you as a songwriter. You’re going to write enough of them that one’s going to end up psychedelic.”
[RELATED: Oklahoma Governor Signs Law Memorializing Late Country Star Toby Keith]
Of the title, Keith said, “I graduated from the school of hard knocks. I went to Honkytonk U. It just sounded like a title.”
Featured image by Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images
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