“Toby’s music will live on forever,” the Nashville institution posted following news of Keith’s death at 62
On a somber night at the Grand Ole Opry following news of Toby Keith’s death, Darius Rucker took the stage to pay tribute to the country star with a cover of Keith’s “God Love Her.”
“We woke up to some sad news this morning. Country music lost Toby Keith, and I wanted to do something special for Toby tonight,” Rucker told the Opry audience Tuesday before launching into Keith’s 2008 single (first reported by Whiskey Riff). “It’s one of his songs, my favorite Toby Keith song. So this goes out to Toby.”
The Grand Ole Opry itself posted on social media following Keith’s death: “We loved the times Toby Keith played this stage, including most recently when he visited the Opry House to accept the first-ever People’s Choice Country Icon Award. Toby’s music will live on forever, and we’re remembering alongside his many friends and family.” (The venue also shared a backstage photo where refreshments were being served in red Solo cups, a nod to Keith’s 2011 smash.)
Keith, the patriotic hitmaker with over a dozen country Number Ones under his belt — including “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” “How Do You Like Me Now?!”, and “Who’s Your Daddy?” — died Monday following a two-year bout with stomach cancer. Keith “passed peacefully” and was “surrounded by his family,” his family said in a statement. “He fought his fight with grace and courage.”
An outpouring of tributes from the country community soon followed, as well as one from Keith’s unlikely friend Stephen Colbert, who remembered the singer on The Late Show.