@stelenkcovel

An entire year without the legend himself, Mr. Toby Keith.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of the country music legend, who sadly passed away on February 6th, 2024. In a statement at the time, the Keith family shared with social media that on the previous day, Keith had lost his battle with stomach cancer at the age of 62.

“Toby Keith passed away peacefully last night on February 5th, surrounded by his family. He fought his fight with grace and courage. Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”

It was devastating news for his family and the entire country music community, and tributes and stories of his life and character have poured in ever since. Keith was truly a one-of-a-kind man and musician, who made an indelible mark on the world.

At the time, his son Stelen Keith Covel, shared a beautiful tribute about his dad on Instagram, calling him his “guiding star” and “hero”:

“You are the strongest man I have ever known. A fighter. A true titan of your industry. My guiding star. My coach. My hero. An embodiment of the American Spirit. You are a man whose strength, prowess, and talent could only be trumped by his ability to be a father and husband.

Your impact is forever stamped on the world and on millions of people, yet not one person knew you the way I did. You were my biggest champion and the guiding light in my darkest times. The best mentor a man could ask for.

You held a passion that was greater than mountains and it radiates through every lyric and chord. In the everlasting echo from the legacy of your music, you leave me strength and faith to lean on in the silence that follows.

You truly did it your way, from the starting gates to the finish line, and never apologized for it. The only thing I truly ever wanted in life was to make you proud. I promise I will continue to make you proud. It’s not goodbye forever; it’s just goodbye for now. I love you cowboy.”

Words any father would be lucky to hear from their son, and it’s clear just how close they were and how special their relationship was:

And yesterday, Stelen shared a simple tribute to his father on the one-year anniversary of Keith’s passing, which included a video of him playing guitar with his family around a fire singing “If I Was Jesus,” which is a song from his 2003 eighth studio album Shock’n Y’all.

He once again called his dad his “hero,” and hoped that they can one day have more of these special nights:

“A whole year without my hero. Here’s to one day having more of these nights. Love you dad.”

Stelen’s sister, Krystal, also commented how special these times were:

She shared her own, more lengthy post about how much she misses her dad, and how much his grandkids miss him, too:

“It feels like yesterday we said goodbye and yet it somehow has also been the longest year without him. I can’t help but find gratitude in all the time we had because we did all of life as a family unit. It’s hard to find a candid picture where he doesn’t have one of our babies in his arms.

He was their favorite, and they were his. Our littles miss their buddy big time but we all know we will see him again someday. Until then, he will watch over us and walk beside us. Every sunset (and he LOOOOVED his sunsets) is a reminder that he wants us to live our best life and do good in the world. So that’s exactly is what we will do.”

The pictures will bring a year to your eye… what a massive loss.

Rest in peace, Big Dog Daddy.

“If I Was Jesus”