Entertainment, Music - Army Times

Toby Keith: I’ll never apologize for being patriotic

Toby Keith puts his money where his mouth is. In 2005 the country star was considering dropping out of the music industry over disputes with his then label, Dreamworks Nashville. Keith wrote the label a six figure check and took his album “White Trash With Money” with him.

The title proved prophetic, spawning two top 10 singles, “A Little Too Late” and “Crash Here Tonight.” Since then Keith’s label, Show Dog Nashville, has released two more No. 1 albums by the country artist and is now releasing albums by other artists.

“You have to live and die with your decisions,” Keith said. “You don’t get a second chance at most of that.”

That decision led Keith to take more chances in his career. He co-wrote and acted in the film “Beer for My Horses,” based on his song of the same name. He also shot most of the film out of pocket until MTV bought the film mid-production. The film has been a success thanks to DVD and cable airings and Keith is considering a sequel down the line.

Keith burst into the national consciousness with his troop-rallying anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” and he hasn’t forgotten the success his fans in the armed forces have brought him. The Military Officers Association recently gave him the Distinguished Service Award, and Keith will soon embark on his eighth USO tour. The shows range from arena-style shows in Baghdad to smaller gigs for a few dozen troops, often performed near firing lines. Talking to a fan at one of those battlefront shows inspired the song “Missing Me Some You” on Keith’s 2008 “That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy.” The song is closer to blues than Keith’s normal country style, and having his own label has let him experiment with different styles.

“That song there was such a true story, the guy broke my heart telling me it through his eyes,” Keith said. “As soon as my band heard me do it acoustic they told me to just come straight blues with it. You just got to let a song be what it is. If I had put fiddles and banjo in, it wouldn’t have gave the message we were trying to make.”

Keith will likely forever be linked to “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” but never meant to get caught in the middle of a political firefight. A longtime registered Democrat, Keith switched to Independent and voted for John McCain in the 2008 election.

Despite that, he says he considers himself a “John Kennedy Democrat, not a Ted Kennedy Democrat” and doesn’t want to be lumped with either political party.

“I think it’s OK to go on TV and say ‘Support the troops, I hope we win’ and I’ll never apologize for being patriotic,” Keith said. “I don’t want to be labeled nothing but an American.”