Jason Aldean paid tribute to the late Toby Keith at the 2024 ACM Awards on Thursday night (May 16) — produced by Dick Clark Productions — with a stripped-down rendition of one of the country legend's signature hits.
Blake Shelton, who had just finished performing his new single 'Purple Irises' with wife Gwen Stefani, was tasked with presenting the tribute to Keith. “Toby was a really good friend of mine, and he was a straight shooter,” Shelton famously sang country. “To the end of the ride, which ended too soon.”
Aldean performed a ballad of Keith's 1993 hit “Should've Been a Cowboy,” accompanied only by a few acoustic guitarists and a string quartet in the background for accompaniment. As Aldean and his guitarists played in front of a montage of color and black-and-white photos of the late country legend, the crowd could clearly be heard singing along to the song's famous chorus, with cuts to some audience members showing them. to cry “We love you, Toby,” Aldean finished his performance.
“Well done, Jason, that was beautiful,” host Reba McEntire gushed about the show.
“Cowboy” was Keith's first of 39 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 93 in June 1993. It also topped the Country Airplay chart that same month, the first of his 20 songs to do so .
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from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/jason-aldean-performed-toby-keith-shouldve-been-a-cowboy-2024-acm-awards-1235685565/
