Toby Keith Came Under Enemy Fire 18 Years Ago While Performing for US Troops in Afghanistan

When it came to supporting the U.S. troops, few country singers put their money where their mouth is like the late Toby Keith. With hits like “American Soldier” and the post-9/11 screed “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)”, Keith dedicated plenty of air time to the men and women in uniform. He also brought his music to them, performing 11 tours across 17 countries during his decade-long partnership with the United Services Organizations. In fact, it was on this day (April 24) in 2008 that the “How Do You Like Me Now” singer quite literally risked life and limb to play for the troops stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

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According to TODAY, Toby Keith and his band were in the middle of his 2003 song “Weed With Willie” when mortar fire erupted on the military base. “We all ran about 100 yards to a concrete bunker,” Curt Motley, the singer’s agent, later told People magazine.

Keith and his bandmates spent the next hour inside a bunker with the soldiers, signing autographs and posing for pictures to pass the time.

[RELATED: On This Day in 2024, the World Lost the Country Superstar Who Left Behind a Legacy of Patriotism and Philanthropy]

Toby Keith Finished the Show Against Official Advice

Once they had received the all clear, the two-time Entertainer of the Year reportedly ignored the advice of military personnel and took his place back onstage. “He went right to the verse he was in and finished his show!” Motley said.

Earlier in the show, Toby Keith had debuted “Taliban Song”, from his eighth studio album Shock’n Y’all. Co-written with Scotty Emerick, the song mocked the Afghan political and militant movement: And man you should have seen them run like rabbits, they ran.

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Rare footage of Toby Keith singing – “taliban song” Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan 2008 #keepitcountryyall @Toby Keith 🫡👏👏👏👏 #tobykeith #cowboy #cowboys #country #countrymusic #countrymusiclegend #countrystar #countrymusicstar #fyp #foryoupageofficial #countrylife #fypシ #explorer #explore #legend

♬ original sound – Keeping it Country Y’all – Keeping it Country Y’all

“We just made up this deal to where what if you were a good guy and the wrath of your world was coming down on you because of the Taliban, and you were just a teapot out there, and you had to leave town because of the Taliban,” Emerick said in an interview with Songfacts. “So we just kind of made an observation of it that way. It was really good. That was Toby’s lyrical production, and that was really cool, it was a cool twist.”

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