These Toby Keith Songs Really Tug at Colorado’s Heartstrings

Toby Keith, who built one of the biggest country music careers of his generation, has died. According to a post on his social media pages, Keith died on Monday (Feb. 5) at the age of 62.

Over his 30+ years in the spotlight, Toby Keith reached countless fans in Colorado through his lyrics. I asked on social media, "Name a Toby Keith song that's tugging at your heartstrings today."

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Toby Keith's Music Through The Years

Smart money says you can remember precisely where you were and what you were doing when you heard Toby Keith's first radio hit, "Should've Been a Cowboy." That was almost exactly 31 years ago. The song was released on February 12, 1993, and went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot County Songs chart on June 5, 1993.

If that song speaks to you, it's coming directly from Toby himself. In addition to recording the debut single, Toby Keith also wrote it. According to Wikipedia, Toby Keith said of the song:

This highway patrolman who I had met on the trip, his name was John, he jumps up. He was probably 45 or 50 back then, and he runs over to this 25-year-old cowgirl. He was going to show that he could bust a move. She turns him down. He comes over, and said, ‘She says she doesn’t dance.’ About 15 minutes later, a young cowboy comes in — and off they go on the dance floor. Everybody was making fun of him, and one of the guys said, ‘John, I guess you should have been a cowboy.’

Toby Keith's Essential Songs

Rolling Stone writes, "TOBY KEITH WAS one of the Nineties and 2000s most charismatic country artists, known for songs that were heavy in humor, romance, and patriotism..." With that, the magazine put together a list of "12 Essential Songs." They are, in no particular order:

• Should've Been a Cowboy (1993)
• I Wanna Talk About Me (2001)
• As Good As I Once Was (2005)
• You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This (2000)
• How Do You Like Me Now? (1999)
• Beer For My Horses (2003)
• Don't Let The Old Man In (2018)
• Who's That Man (1994)
• I Love This Bar (2003)
• Huckleberry (2002)
• Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song) (2009)
• Whiskey Girl (2003)

Toby Keith's Songs That Tug at Our Heartstrings In Colorado

Toby Keith played Colorado several times over 30 years. It wasn't that long ago, on October 16, 2021, he played at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado. Along the way, he picked up a legion of fans.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, we asked you to share which songs touched you on a personal level. For some, it was too challenging to narrow it down to a single title. For others, the choice was crystal clear.

Peruse the gallery below to discover which songs really tugged at our heartstrings. In each case, the song titles displayed are copied precisely as they appeared in the replies on the original Facebook post. You'll notice some of the song titles deviate a little from the actual title. Everyone will remember these songs in their own way, so with that, the replies were left in their original form.