Toby Keith

Though neo-traditionalist country and western star Toby Keith sustained a decade- long career as a successful recording act, he connected with his broadest fanbase on the heels of a national tragedy. When September 11th hit, Keith authored and recorded the rage-fueled, flag-waving anthem "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American") - a paean to ultra right-wing patriotism that threatened to put a "boot in [the] ass" of anyone willing to threaten national security. Unsurprisingly, it connected with the angry and indignant spirits of thousands of country listeners who shared Keith's sentiments; ironically, in light of the controversial events surrounding the Iraqi War, Keith shifted political parties and emerged as a supporter of Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election. Born Toby Keith Covel in Clinton, OK, in 1961, Keith grew up on a farm just outside of Oklahoma City and took to the guitar before he reached the age of nine, growing proficient with remarkable speed and efficiency. As a young man, he worked the oil fields to support himself and formed a musical act patterned after Alabama, The Easy Money Band, but his primary gig fell through when the oil market entered a slump, forcing him to look for work elsewhere. He endured an unsatisfying two-year stint as a semipro football player, then opted to focus all of his time and energy on launching his musical career and began shopping demo records around to various labels and producers. When that tape landed in the hands of onetime Alabama producer Harold Shedd, Keith's fortunes were secured: Shedd helped him land a contract with Mercury. As indicated, Keith's first seven recordings (which witnessed him gravitating from Mercury, to Polygram, to A&M, to DreamWorks) sold fairly well, but the 2002 album Unleashed (which contained "The Angry American" pushed him over the top and made him a household names. He received some of the best notices and highest figures of his career for his successive recordings. Cinematically speaking, most of Keith's on-camera appearances up through 2005 were performance-related, but in 2006, he branched out into acting with a lead (opposite Kelly Preston in the sentimental rural drama Broken Bridges - playing a country and western star who revisits his hometown for a funeral and falls back into love with an old girlfriend. He followed it up by producing, scripting and starring in the 2008 comedy Beer for My Horses, the tale of two small-town sheriffs who set out to avenge a ruthless drug lord.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide