Toby Keith broke a record and has made history after beating out music giants like Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift to dominate 90 percent of the top 10 songs on the Country Digital Song Sales chart at one time.
Following his death after a battle with cancer on Feb. 5, the late country star’s catalog of music filled the country charts. He is now the first artist ever to claim nine spaces in the top 10 songs on the Billboard chart dated Feb. 17, Billboard reported.
.@tobykeith Makes History as First Artist With 9 of the Top 10 on Country Digital Song Sales Chart https://t.co/AgA1zeiUEP
— billboard (@billboard) February 13, 2024
The list of the songs is as follows and contains everything from his most recent song in 2023 all the way back to his debut hit from 1993.
No. 1, “Don’t Let the Old Man In” (2023)
No. 3, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” (1993)
No. 4, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”(2002)
No. 5, “How Do You Like Me Now?!” (1999)
No. 6, “As Good as I Once Was” (2005)
No. 7, “Beer for My Horses,” with Willie Nelson (2002)
No. 8, “I Love This Bar” (2003)
No. 9, “American Soldier” (2003)
No. 10, “Red Solo Cup” (2011)
The only artist keeping the “American Soldier” hitmaker from owning every single spot on the chart is country artist Luke Combs — whose version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” continues to be a hit, occupying the No. 2 spot on the latest sales chart, Forbes noted.
Outside of the top ten, Keith has even more bragging rights, occupying 13 of the top 15 spots, the outlet noted.
Keith has beat out the only two artists who have ever held simultaneous placements on the top 10 sales chart, Rogers and Swift. In Nov. 2010, the “Love Story” hitmaker became the first artist to ever fill seven of the top 10 spots on the Country Digital Song Sales chart at one time, the outlet noted. The “Gambler” became the second following the country legend’s death in April 2020.
Keith was diagnosed in the fall of 2021 with stomach cancer. In one of his last interviews, he talked about his incredible career.
“Just seeing how enormous the career I amassed over 30 years when they show the video,” he told People magazine at the time. “You know where you were when you wrote all those songs, you hear those numbers and you’re just like, you looked up one day and all of a sudden 30 years went by.”
Related: ‘I Am Shattered’: Toby Keith’s Daughter Breaks Silence Following Father’s Death