Toby Keith Announces New Album, ‘100% Songwriter’
The next best thing to Toby Keith returning to performing is the news that he is releasing a new album!
Toby Keith announced the new project on Thursday (Sept. 21), saying that the album titled 100% Songwriter will be available on November 3. The album will feature 13 songs solely written by the multi-talented star, a testament to his legacy as one of the best songwriters in the business.
“Toby prides himself on being a songwriter first and foremost…so what better way to celebrate his songwriting accomplishments than to release an album of songs he wrote alone?,” the announcement read.
Subtly written on the border of the announcement photo are the names of 12 songs that are presumably on the album, including “He Ain’t Worth Missin’,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” “Who’s Your Daddy” and “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” which was the most-played country song of the ’90s with over three million radio spins.
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Toby Keith’s Songwriting Career
Toby’s songwriting catalog is just one of the many reasons his career has had such longevity and earned him a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Keith accomplished a rare feat in securing at least one chart-topping song every year for two consecutive decades.
Toby Keith’s career was built around songs inspired by his life on the road, with most of his songs being written on a tour bus. He often collaborated with writers including Scotty Emerick, Bobby Pinson and Rivers Rutherford. In total, Keith’s solo and partner-written songs include 32 No. 1 hit singles and over 40 million albums sold.
Toby has been named Nashville Songwriters Association International’s Songwriter/Artist of the Decade once and BMI Country Songwriter/Artist of the Year three times. In 2011, he was named Artist of the Decade at the American Country Awards and Billboard’s top country artist and songwriter of the 21st Century’s first decade.
A “greatest hits” album featuring songs solely written by Toby Keith only seems fitting, given his resume.
100% Songwriter is also Toby’s first musical project since his cancer diagnosis.
The 62-year-old was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021. He shared the news on social media six months later saying that he had been receiving chemotherapy, radiation and had undergone surgery.
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Six months later, Toby surprised fans with an impromptu performance at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse In Lexington, Kentucky, where he sang to patrons for nearly an hour. It was the first time the “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” singer sang publicly since his cancer diagnosis.
In the months that followed, Toby delivered more unplanned performances that included crashing another artists’ set in a hotel bar, joining LoCash on stage, and helping the Oklahoma University softball team celebrate a national championship by singing a rowdy rendition of “How Do You Like Me Now?” at his Oklahoma restaurant.
RELATED: WHY TOBY KEITH DOESN’T WRITE MANY SONGS ANYMORE
The new album news is the latest in a series of good news announcements for Toby Keith who is set to be honored at next week’s inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards. He will be presented with the Country Icon Award and will also perform, marking his first televised performance since his health crisis. The People’s Choice Country Awards will air on NBC and Peacock on September 28th at 8/7c. Tune in to hear Toby perform!
