Editor's note: In 2023, reporter Brandy McDonnell, from the Oklahoman, sat down with Toby Keith for his final interview with the USA TODAY Network. Keith, then 61, was remaining optimistic in the throes of his stomach cancer battle, which he faced since he was diagnosed in 2021. Upon news of Keith's death, we are resurfacing the conversation.
NORMAN, Okla. — From the Riverwind Casino stage, Toby Keith's voice rang out with enough strength and clarity to carry to the green room.
The country music superstar wasn't singing, but he was playing a familiar gig: hosting a laidback live auction June 2 as part of the 19th annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic weekend. His two-day hometown charity event raises funds for the Toby Keith Foundation's OK Kids Korral, a cost-free home-away-from-home for children with cancer seeking treatment in Oklahoma City.
Three weeks after last year's fundraiser, Keith revealed that he had been battling stomach cancer since fall 2021 and had already spent the past six months undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
"I'm feeling pretty good. ... I'm about another eight weeks from my last scan. So, I expect next time I look for that tumor to be even less — and I've only got one that's shown up," Keith told The Oklahoman in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview backstage at the June 2 pre-tournament gala for his Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic.
"Basically, everything is in a real positive trend. You never know with cancer, so you have to prepare. But my goal is, I feel better; I've got more wind. And I'm thinking about bringing the band in and setting up, playing two or three days somewhere just to see if I can get through two hours.
"And if I do, (I'll) be out on the road this fall."
Keith, who will turn 62 on July 8, said he is continuing with chemo, his tumor has shrunk by a third, and his blood tests have looked good.
The Oklahoma native, who was born in Clinton, grew up in Moore and lives in Norman, said he also is taking immunotherapy and working with a nutritionist.
"They put oxygen in your blood. They give you high doses of vitamin C and good vitamins and nutrient bag you up to where you feel better. And you can start trying to heal your body," he said.
"Now, they're trying to fight where the cancer backs up and says, 'Oh, you're fighting that tumor? We're gonna remorph and turn into this kind of cancer.' ... So, while they (the cancer cells) are in the bullpen regrouping, we're trying to kill 'em with something different."
Even with his cancer fight, Keith has continued rooting for his beloved University of Oklahoma sports teams, reeling in business opportunities and releasing music.
The Sooners superfan posed for photos with star pitcher Jordy Bahl after the OU softball team beat Florida State on June 8 in the Women's College World Series finals at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in OKC.
The Sooners celebrated winning their seventh national softball title at one of Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill restaurants, and video of the hitmaker and several OU players belting his 1999 hit "How Do You Like Me Now?!" went viral.
Last year, Keith teamed with Hal Smith Restaurant Group to open a new I Love This Bar & Grill in Moore. Keith's signature restaurant has Oklahoma locations in Bricktown and at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, along with the new hometown spot.
"And it's booming," Keith said.
An avid outdoorsman, Keith announced in May that he had hooked a big deal in acquiring famed fishing brand Luck E Strike, a bait and tackle company best known for its Redman Spinner Bait. It was designed by fellow Oklahoman and National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer Jimmy Houston, who used it to help land two Bassmaster angler of the year titles.
"As his friend, I'm happy seeing the fire in his eyes over this company," Houston said of Keith in a statement. "It's a big deal for the fishing industry as a whole to have him involved and bringing this brand back to where it ought to be."
Toby Keith,country singer-songwriter, dies at 62
A businessman who has been featured on the cover of Forbes, Keith told The Oklahoman that Luck E Strike has fallen on hard times in recent years, and he's been working to right the ship and relaunch the brand this summer.
"They're such a good company. They've got such a good upside to 'em. Obviously, I'm excited," he said. "It's as much fun as I've had in a long time."
Since his Toby Keith Foundation annually hosts a fundraising bass tournament — The Fish Bowl 2023 will make a splash Sept. 9-10 at Lake Eufaula — Keith said he's already planning to tie Luck E Strike into supporting the OK Kids Korral.
Supporting Oklahoma pediatric cancer patients has been one of his top priorities for 20 years. In 2004, Keith helped found Ally's House, a nonprofit group that aids Oklahoma children with cancer and their families. The charity is named for Allison Webb, the 2-year-old daughter of Scott Webb, one of the country star's original bandmates, and his wife, Linda Webb. Allison died Aug. 6, 2003, a month before her third birthday, of Wilms' tumors, a type of kidney cancer.
In 2006, he established the Toby Keith Foundation on a mission to build no-cost housing for pediatric cancer patients and their families. In late 2013, Keith, his family and supporters celebrated in Oklahoma City the grand opening of the $9 million OK Kids Korral.
Through his Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic, he has raised in excess of $15 million for the OK Kids Korral over the past two decades. This year's June 2-3 event raised more than $1.8 million for the cause, with the live auction alone bringing in $1 million of that total. It's a new record total for his foundation.
"Next year, it'll be the 10th year for the OK Kids Korral, 20th year of my foundation party. So, we're gonna celebrate a 10 and a 20, and we're gonna blow it out," Keith said.
"It's amazing how much support we get. But it takes that kind of support to handle 300 families a year."
Toby Keith dies at 62:Bobby Bones, Stephen Baldwin, more pay tribute
Although fellow country act Sawyer Brown headlined Keith's 2023 gala, music never seems to be far from the Norman resident's mind.
To mark Memorial Day and July Fourth, Universal Music Group released May 26 an EP titled "America," featuring six of Keith's classic hits with patriotic themes, including "Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)," "Should've Been A Cowboy" and "American Soldier."
"I enjoy being that guy. I was at the Super Bowl for the XFL where Bob Stoops won (the championship), and a soldier was in the next suite. He came over and he's about to cry. And he said, 'I saw you three times: once in Iraq and twice in Afghanistan. ... Just hearing your voice gives me goose bumps, hearing that real voice, because you are Captain America to us,'" Keith recalled.
"So yeah, it's great being associated with ... people that mean so much to me — and that I mean so much to them."
All six of his "America" hits are among 17 Keith songs to earn 20 new gold and platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America, affirming the ongoing appeal of his catalog.
But the Songwriters Hall of Famer said he isn't writing as many songs as he used to these days, "because I have nowhere to go with it."
"You can get it ... streamed, and you've got your fans who'll play it. But as far as getting air play, what we do and what I made my hall of fame living doing, they don't want that. So, you're kind of wasting your time."
The National Medal of Arts recipient, who earned the BMI Icon Award last fall, said it's no fun penning new songs knowing he can't get them on country radio.
"All those years of owning it, and being that guy where you just put it out and they'll automatically play it, well, none of us are that guy anymore. Even the new people don't seem to last as long: They come and go pretty quick because it's flavor-of-the-month stuff," Keith said.
"I've just never been that guy — and I'm not going to change and write that kind of stuff. ... But with all the songs we got, I could play four hours straight hits."
As long as his health continues to improve, Keith said he intends to take his hits back on the road soon.
"All I got to do is see if I can get through two or three nights of work and get a little break in this chemo, and we'll go back to work. I'm ready," he said.
"That's living."
Toby Keith dies after cancer battle:What to know about stomach cancer
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