Toby Keith Said This Hit Single Was the “Stupidest Song,” Even Though He Loved It

In 2011, Toby Keith released “Red Solo Cup”. The song, a multi-platinum single, is on Keith’s Clancy’s Tavern record. The only song on Clancy’s Tavern that Keith didn’t write is “Red Solo Cup”. Instead, it was written by Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Brad Warren, and Brett Warren.

From the moment that “Red Solo Cup” was released, it became a staple in Keith’s live shows. A party anthem if there ever was one, the chorus of “Red Solo Cup” says, “Red solo cup, I fill you up / Let’s have a party, let’s have a party / I love you, red solo cup, I lift you up, / Proceed to party, proceed to party.”

Not only did Keith not write “Red Solo Cup”, but he later revealed that he thought the song was pretty dumb. Fortunately, that didn’t keep him from releasing what remains one of his most successful singles.

“It is the stupidest song I ever heard in my life, but it’s so stupid it’s good,” Keith later tells The Boot.

The Story Behind “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith

What makes the success of “Red Solo Cup” even more interesting is that it was never intended to be pitched to anyone, let alone Keith. But one of his employees heard the song and played it for him, and Keith immediately saw its potential.

“‘Red Solo Cup’ is like a squirrel loose in a church house. We can play it in an office and then play five other songs, give it an hour, walk out, and you’d hear the receptionist singing it,” Keith jokes. “It’s like nursery rhyme stupid.”

Even the four writers knew when they were writing “Red Solo Cup” that it was odd, to put it mildly.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Jim Beavers concedes in 2014. “I can also say, having been a writer for 10 years and written hundreds of songs, I don’t know a song that more people bring up in more instances than this song about a red solo cup. I don’t know why; it hits something somewhere. It is the craziest, weirdest song you’ve ever heard.”

Interestingly, Keith was often looked over when it came time for awards nominations. In fact, he was only nominated for a CMA Award 28 times. He also received zero nominations from 2006 to 2011, even though he was still having plenty of hits. But in 2012, Keith won his third CMA Award for Music Video of the Year for “Red Solo Cup”. That song was also his final nomination.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ACM