Toby Keith

A true maverick, country artist Toby Keith defied easy categorization, slyly blending genres, threading contemporary attitudes and sounds into traditional country forms, and writing with a sense of humor that alternated between dry and boozy. He sang "Should've Been a Cowboy" on his 1993 debut single, and he always performed with an outlaw swagger that suggested he was one of the last of the real cowboys in contemporary country music. The subtler aspects of his music were often overshadowed by this bravado, particularly his rabble-rousing protest tunes in the wake of 9/11. "Co...