Just Weeks After His Death, Toby Keith Is Headed into the Country Music Hall of Fame

Toby Keith is entering the Country Music Hall of Fame — but the legendary singer-songwriter died without knowing he had already received the nation’s highest honor.

The latest Hall of Fame class, which also includes hitmaker John Anderson and guitarist James Burton, was revealed Monday, with Sarah Trahern, executive director of the Country Music Association, explaining during the announcement in Nashville that she received the results of the vote on Feb. 6, just a day after Keith succumbed to a long battle with stomach cancer at the age of 62. Trahern awoke the same morning to the news of Keith’s death.

Toby Keith died at the age of 62 after being diagnosed with stomach cancer: ‘Passed peacefully’

When she saw the results that afternoon, she told guests gathered in the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda, “my heart sank … knowing that we missed the opportunity to let Toby know while he was still with us.”

She added, “But I have no doubt he’s smiling down on us, knowing he’ll always be ‘as good as he used to be'” — an instantly recognizable reference to Keith’s six-week No. 1 single in 2005, “As Good As He Used To Be.”

Keith has long been bound for the Hall of Fame; it was just a matter of when, not if. His string of hits — 32 No. 1 singles in all — includes such classics as “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Who’s That Man,” “I Love This Bar” and “By Red, White, & Blue (Angry American).” He has written or co-written most of his music, which earned him induction into the All Genre Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. He is also a recipient of the National Medal of Arts (2020) and the BMI Icon Award (2022), among many others. other awards and honors in the industry.

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Keith’s 26-year-old son, Stelen Keith Covel, attended Monday’s announcement and told PEOPLE that his father’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame “was always something on the bucket list of things he knew he would accomplish in his life. ”

Trahern explained to PEOPLE that CMA waited about 10 days after Keith’s death before reaching out to his longtime manager, TK Kimbrell, with the news. Kimbrell then contacted Tricia Lucus Covel, Keith’s wife of 40 years.

“I was with my mom when we found out he was going to be inducted,” said Stelen Covel, “and it was relatively hard to process at this point, but we handled it pretty well.” Covel acknowledged the bitterness of the honor, but added, “he deserves it.” We all know he deserved it. We’re happy he’s here and we’re excited for him.”

Stelen Covel at the 2024 Country Music Hall of Fame Induction at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 18, 2024 in Nashville.

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Toby Keith proud of loving family environment outside spotlight: ‘I’ve got great kids’

The vote, conducted by a secret list of industry insiders, closed three days before Keith’s death, and Trahern said she cried when she realized he was going to his grave without knowing the results. No one at the CMA, she said, knew at the time how close the artist was to death.

“For a while, it was a little bit, ‘Oh my God, what a difference it would make one day,'” she said. “But he’ll be here [in the Hall of Fame]will it be this year or will it be in two years.”

John Anderson, James Burton and Toby Keith’s son Stelen Covel attend the 2024 Country Music Hall of Fame induction announcement at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 18, 2024 in Nashville.

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Keith was selected in the modern age category. John Anderson, whose long career peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, is this year’s veteran of the veteran era. In his remarks during the announcement, Anderson said his selection was “probably the greatest honor I could ever receive. I’m still trying to grasp the reality of what’s happening to me.”

Later, Anderson, 69, told PEOPLE how Trahern surprised him with the news a few weeks ago. “If Sarah hadn’t told me,” he said, “I’d have thought it was a joke!”

Along with one of the most distinctive country voices, Anderson also had one of the longest country careers. His hits include “Wild and Blue,” “Straight Tequila Night,” “Money in the Bank” and “Seminole Wind.” What is considered his signature song, “Swingin’,” earned him the 1983 CMA Award for Single of the Year, the same year Anderson received a Horizon Award (a precursor to the New Artist of the Year Award). The Academy of Country Music presented him with a career achievement award in 1994.

John Anderson at the 2024 Country Music Hall of Fame induction at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 18, 2024 in Nashville.

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Standing in the hallowed rotunda, Anderson told PEOPLE of the many record names in his midst that helped him in his early career — Ernest Tubb lending his band to back the 19-year-old Anderson on tour, Loretta Lynn inviting him on her bus to would praise him, and George Jones cheering him on from his car on Nashville Music Row.

“I was carrying my guitar down 17th Avenue … and he rolled down the window,” recalled Anderson, who had performed before Jones. “He said, ‘Hey, boy, you still singing?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He said, ‘Keep singing!’ and the window rolled down and he drove away.”

After what he called “50 long years on the road,” Anderson said being elected to the Hall of Fame was “like the icing on the cake.” He said his greatest pride is his ability to find a balance between work, family and outdoor fun. He and his wife Jamie, to whom he has been married for more than 40 years, have two daughters.

“I don’t care about money or fame,” he said. “I found a really happy medium. A lot of my friends who are here [in the Hall of Fame] he did nothing but work on the road. They missed out on family life and I would never trade with them.”

Guitar virtuoso James Burton, 84, rounds out this year’s Hall of Fame class. He was selected in the recording and/or touring musician category, which is awarded every third year in rotation with the songwriter and non-performer categories.

James Burton at the 2024 Country Music Hall of Fame induction at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 18, 2024 in Nashville.

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Already a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Burton played his Fender Telecaster on songs by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr. and Glen Campbell, among many others, and in 1969 he became the bandleader and lead guitarist for Elvis Presley’s Taking Care of Business band. After Presley’s death, Burton was a key member of John Denver’s band for 20 years.

Keith, Anderson and Burton will all be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at a medallion ceremony to be held at the museum’s CMA Theater in October.

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Source: HIS Education