In May, Jason Aldean took the stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards to honor the legacy of the late singer-songwriter Toby Keith with a version of Keith's breakthrough hit “Should've Been a Cowboy.” Keith died in February aged 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. During an interview on Monday (July 1) at The Bobby Bones ShowAldean opened the rendering of his homage.
iHeartRadio personality Bobby Bones noted, “Many of us knew Toby [Keith] in different ways, and you had a relationship with Toby. You want to feel real [the sadness over his loss]? Or do you want to not feel it so you can put on a show?''
Aldean replied, “Yeah, I think it was a little bit more than that. I felt Toby deserved a great tribute for the career he had. I knew it was going to be a big night for his family and the people out there. To be honest, I just didn't want to mess it up. I wanted to go out and give him the sendoff he deserved.” During the ACM Awards, Aldean sat on a stool and was flanked by two additional guitarists as he delivered an earnest, slow version of Keith's hit.
“Especially when we kind of change the song, you just don't know how people are going to take it. You know what I mean?” Aldean said. “If they're going to like it, not like it, or whatever. So for us, we were trying to do something cool and different and something to honor him and his family. His wife he texted me that night after the show which was really the icing on the cake for me though [she] approved, I'm cool.”
After the show, Keith's family publicly praised Aldean's performance, posting on Keith's official account X, “The Covel family would like to thank Jason Aldean for his wonderfully moving performance at the ACM Awards tonight. It was the perfect tribute to Toby Keith.”
Watch Aldean's interview at The Bobby Bones Show below:
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/jason-aldean-reflects-toby-keith-tribute-acm-awards-1235723187/
