{"id":4094,"date":"2024-04-15T14:25:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T14:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=4094"},"modified":"2024-04-15T14:25:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T14:25:10","slug":"toby-keith-honored-at-cmt-awards-with-emotional-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2024\/04\/toby-keith-honored-at-cmt-awards-with-emotional-tribute.html","title":{"rendered":"Toby Keith Honored at CMT Awards With Emotional Tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toby Keith was recently honored at the CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center in\u00a0Austin, Texas. Keith died on Feb. 5\u00a0after a battle with stomach cancer at 62. Former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens introduced the tribute to his “true friend and patriot,” followed by a set with Brooks & Dunn playing a classic Keith hit, “Should\u2019ve Been A Cowboy.\u201d Sammy Hagar\u00a0sang a rendition of the 2003 hit \u201cI Love This Bar\u201d for his longtime drinking buddy. Before breaking out into song, Hagar remembered the good ol\u2019 days with Keith.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cToby and I, we spent a lot of time in Cabo together over the years. I mean, we closed the Cabo Wabo down a lot more times than we even remember. It\u2019s hard to get thrown out of your own bar, and we managed to do that.\u201d Lainey Wilson\u00a0brought it home with a rendition of \u201cHow Do You Like Me Now?!\u201d from Keith\u2019s 1999 album. Earlier on the red carpet, Wilson said, \u201cI don\u2019t know anybody in this business that doesn\u2019t love Toby.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cHe was truly the soundtrack to my childhood. Seeing all of his stuff and all the visions that he had come to life made me feel like there\u2019s nothing wrong with being fearless; there\u2019s nothing wrong with going against the grain, standing up for what you believe in and being unapologetically yourself.\u201d There were others, like\u00a0Willie Nelson’s son,\u00a0Lukas, who gave speeches showing their love for the music icon. Clemens had tears in his eyes as he raised a red solo cup to toast to Toby on stage, “Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.” A sea of red solo cups sprang up in the air for one final crowd send-off to Keith.<\/p>\n