Toby Keith has excited fans by recently taking to the stage in Las Vegas. The country legend has performed a handful of shows after a three-year sabbatical away from performing and touring.
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Keith had to step away from his career after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. The singer faced a long and difficult road to recovery. After taking time away for his health, Keith decided to get back to his love of music in a limited fashion.
Appearing on the Bobby Bones Show, Keith confessed that it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The singer had a series of roadblocks he had to overcome. For one, Keith needed to remember his song lyrics, something he was initially rusty at.
“I haven’t worked a handful of shows in the last three years, but I worked every year for 27-28 years,” Keith said. “The only thing I had that concerned me was being away from it for three years and remembering all the words. They subconsciously come to you when you’re working, you don’t even think about it. You know them. Getting completely away from them and having to start back.”
While he initially planned to use a teleprompter to help, Keith found that he didn’t need it. All of the lyrics came flooding back to him, and it was easy for him to find his groove. The singer also faced a physical challenge.
Toby Keith on Stomach Surgery
Keith had stomach surgery for his cancer. It affected his diaphragm as a result, which meant he had to rediscover and relearn the muscles needed for singing. Despite the effort, Keith confessed that he may never be able to reach certain notes again.
He said, “The thing I had to overcome—the surgery I had on my stomach they had to stitch on my diaphragm. Not using it to sing every night, that is a muscle. So I had to really work that to get it where I sing really really hard and really really violent and loud, I didn’t have that last 10 percent on the bottom where I could just belt anything. Like when I sang ‘McArthur Park’ at Carnegie Hall, it’s like opera stuff. So, I don’t know if I could do that, but what I do on stage is no problem.”
Still, Keith remains optimistic. He said, “I’ve had to work on that diaphragm, and it’s getting better all the time.”
[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BMI]
