Toby Keith

No one has ever accused Toby Keith of lacking attitude. With 6 hit albums under his belt (4 gold and 2 platinum) including 14 #1 singles, the 6'4" roughneck singer-songwriter from Oklahoma seems to have delivered just the right attitude to shake up country music.

Although Keith may sometimes rub against the safe and the ordinary, he makes no apologies. "I'm a big boy, and I can shoulder any criticism I might get for doing things differently. I talk Southern, I sing stone-cold country cause my roots are there, but nobody's going to make me keep people from wondering, "What's he gonna do next?" "I see compromise all the time," he continues, "and in the end, you lose with that. Most successful people are not afraid, and they don't compromise to suit whoever.

Sticking to his guns resulted in "How Do You Like Me Now?" being named ACM album of the year and landed Toby the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year honors. More recently, Toby's trademark edge led to the canceling of a scheduled 4th of July performance of his new single "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue" when ABC news anchor Peter Jennings deemed the lyric "too angry". The resulting media frenzy and flood of angry letters to ABC from fans and politicians seemed to once again validate Keith's uncompromising resolve.

When it comes to his guitars, Toby has been equally consistent and uncompromising. His mainstay model for the last 10 years has been the Takamine EF-341C until this past March when he asked Takamine if they could build a "flag guitar" for him. Takamine teamed up with the custom shop at Ovation and the result was a stunning, one of a kind EF-341C with a custom American Flag paint job that immediately won Toby's heart and became his "baby". So much so, that while all other gear travels dutifully in the hot and stuffy baggage bay of the tour bus, Toby's flag guitar enjoys the luxury and comfort of it's own upper bunk in the main cabin.

Toby and his flag Tak have since made network television appearances on the CMA's, ACMA's, CMT Flameworthy Awards, and most recently in a Time Magazine feature.

Another place you may have seen Toby with a Tak, is in his series of commercials for 10-10-220 long-distance telephone service. The woman in charge of this ad campaign happened to be a fan of Keith, owning all of his albums. Keith subsequently suggested she also call on two of his buddies, Terry Bradshaw and baseball superstar, Mike Piazza who now also appear in the ads.

Keith's much anticipated new album "Unleashed" is just now hitting the stores and his "Coors Original Unleashed Tour" with "Rascal Flatts" (another Takamine band) is on it's way to a venue near you.

Toby Keith is pictured above with his EF341SC.
He also performs with an EF325SRC, EG330OBB and EF350SMCSB.