Toby Keith Album Clancy's Tavern Turns 15
Pre Order vinyl edition of Toby Keith's Clancy's Tavern
Like one of his many No. 1 singles, Toby Keith was "Made In America" ... at a place called Clancy's Tavern. The late singer, songwriter and entertainer's career path was sparked at the supper club music venue owned by his grandmother, and Keith honored her and her bar with his seventeenth album, which celebrates its 15th anniversary (Oct. 24) with an Amazon exclusive gold vinyl release that will be available on Black Friday (11/27). Pre-orders begin today here.
The title track of Clancy's Tavern – originally released in 2011 – plays like a prequel to Keith's 2005 chart-topper "Honkytonk U." "It's the same grandmother," he explained at the time. "'Honkytonk U' talked about my mother putting me on a Greyhound and sending me to live with my grandmother for the summer, and how things took off from there. Every line in the song is true. This isn't fiction." To that point, Keith specifically chose “Clancy’s Tavern" to perform at the 2015 all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York, telling the prestigious event's attendees how integral his grandmother's support was to his career.
"Made In America," the album's first single, was inspired by co-writer Bobby Pinson's childhood memories of self-reliance. As Keith explained, "If your car broke down your dad could take a wrench, WD40, bailing wire and a screw driver and about fix it." He added, "I just couldn't get past thinking that my old man was that old man."
The album also includes arguably the first fully viral moment in country music history, "Red Solo Cup." The song's video exploded online despite minimal radio airplay, driving album sales as its popularity grew. "Red Solo Cup" is also one of the few smash hits in Keith's career that he didn't have a hand in writing. "I don't remember who played it for me the first time, but it was so stupid I just died laughing," Keith said of the song, which was written by Brett and Jim Beavers with Brad and Brett Warren, all of whom played on the recording as well. "What's great about this song is it does everybody the same way it did me: 'That's the stupidest song in the world and I can't get it out of my head.'"
About Toby Keith
Bursting on to the country music scene with his solo-penned first single “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” Toby Keith began stacking hits through a succession of label permutations, all of which built to the Sept. 1, 2005 launch of his own label, Show Dog Nashville. Keith released 14 albums during that final phase of his career, cementing his place as one of the most prolific self-directed creative forces in country’s modern era. All in, Keith amassed 42 top 10 hits, 33 No. 1s, more than 44 million albums sold, 100 million BMI performances, and more than 10 billion streams largely on the strength of his own songwriting and producing. He was elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame shortly before his passing in February 2024. Among his many accomplishments, the New York based all-genre Songwriters Hall of Fame (2015), the National Medal of Arts (2021), the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2021) and BMI Icon (2022) were his most treasured.