Stelen Keith Covel paid tribute to his late father, legendary country star Toby Keith, on what would have been his birthday on Monday (July 8). He would have turned 63.
“My old man’s that old man,” Covel wrote in his caption on Instagram, appearing to reference the lyrics to one of his dad’s most memorable hits, “Made in America.” “Happy birthday dad, love you.”
Keith “passed peacefully…surrounded by his family,” on February 5, confirmed a statement shared to his social media pages in the early morning hours on February 6. He died after a years-long battle with stomach cancer that he fought “with grace and courage.” The country music community and Keith’s family mourned his loss in an outpouring of tributes, including in heartfelt social media posts and performances in Keith’s honor. The family thanked Jason Aldean, for example, following his performance at the 59th ACM Awards at the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
“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,” Covel wrote in his tribute to his father on Instagram shortly after his father’s passing. “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,” he continued. “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.”
Country artists will join together to honor Toby in a star-studded tribute concert in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Toby Keith: American Icon, supporting The Toby Keith Foundation’s OK Kids Korral and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, will include Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Ashley McBryde, Parker McCollum, Jelly Roll, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, The War And Treaty and others. The show will take place on Monday, July 29. A two-hour television special will air on NBC on Wednesday, August 28 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.