CMT Awards 2024: Toby Keith's kids tear up during tribute to late dad
The "Who's Your Daddy?" singer was a father of three.
The late Toby Keith was honored at the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday night, and his family was present at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, to celebrate alongside country music's finest.
Brooks & Dunn led the tribute to the longtime country music star with "Should've Been A Cowboy," followed by Sammy Hagar performing "I Love This Bar" and Lainey Wilson finishing with "How Do You Like Me Now?" The artists all united onstage and raised individual red Solo cups to toast Keith, who died at the age of 62 in February after revealing in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Keith's three children -- Shelley Covel Rowland, Krystal Keith and Stelen Keith Covel -- were in the audience and raised their red Solo cups alongside the rest of the crowd.
"Shelley, Krystal, Steel-man, thank you for sharing your dad with all of us. Thank you," former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens said in a post-performance toast.
The late Keith was a proud family man.
"I was raised by good parents and I have great kids," the "Who's Your Daddy?" singer, whose full name was Toby Keith Covel, told People in a 2010 interview.
"They all grew up with me being successful, but they are not hooked on that part of the business," he added.
Keith was married to Tricia Lucus for nearly 40 years. The couple wed March 24, 1984, and became parents of three children, daughters Shelley and Krystal, and son Stelen.
When Keith announced in June 2022 that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021, he wrote that he was taking a break from his public life and "looking forward to spending this time with my family."
Below, get to know Keith's beloved children.
Shelley Covel Rowland
After Keith and Lucus married, Keith adopted Lucus' daughter Shelley Covel Rowland.
Rowland went on to team up with her mother and sister Krystal Keith to launch a golf apparel and accessories line called SwingDish.
Krystal Keith
Krystal Keith was born Sept. 30, 1985. She followed her father into the music industry and has even sung onstage with her dad. Her debut album "Whiskey & Lace" was released in 2013 under her father's label Show Dog Nashville, followed by a 2018 EP titled "Boulder."
In a September Instagram post dedicated to her father, Krystal Keith, a mom of two herself, said her father taught her "everything, even things my mom tried hard to UNTEACH."
"He has been my lCON since day 1 and in the last 6 months he has been honored with not one but 2 Icon Awards for the work he dedicated his life to. I love that he is getting recognition as not just MY icon, but an Icon to the music industry and fans," she wrote.
"Most people know he is a country singer, but what you may not know is he is also one of the most prolific songwriters in the world, not just country music and isn't writing for other artists," she continued. "If you took the time to learn his stats they would blow you're mind. He has written all but a handful of the hundreds of songs he has put out in the last 30 years with over 69 radio singles 65 of which charted- that's UNHEARD OF let alone 30 of them being number ones with many more top 5 and top 10 hits."
She added, "He stuck to his guns and created a legendary, ICONIC career against all odds and wading through every kind of NO. I could not be more proud and in awe of him ❤️❤️❤️."
Stelen Keith Covel
The youngest of the Keith kids, Stelen Keith Covel is now an entrepreneur and venture manager. He married his wife Haley Covel in November 2021.
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