Born July 8, 1961, Toby Keith Covel was the second child of Joan and Hubert Keith (HK) Covel. He was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, and grew up with his sister (Tonnie) and his youngest sibling (a brother, Tracy) in Moore, Oklahoma. After graduating from Moore High School; Toby did not go on to college, but went to work in the Oklahoman oil fields with his father. He later met and married Tricia Lucus, whose child, Shelley Reeve, he adopted. He later had two children with Tricia - Krystal (born in 1985 and married in 2011), and Stelen (born in 1997, and the only son of Toby and Tricia).
At the time in which Krystal was born, the Oklahoma oil industry had collapsed; leaving Toby, Tricia and their two daughters in financial troubles. Touring with his band- the Easy Money Band -, Toby got them all out of debt. After signing a deal at Mercury Records, his debut album "Toby Keith", which contained his first chart topper, "Should've Been A Cowboy", finally established him as a professional singer/songwriter. He then left Mercury for a period of three years. Coming back in 1997, he released his final studio album for Mercury, "Dream Walkin'".
A year after his first Greatest Hits compilation came out from Mercury; he and his producer, James Stroud, left the label. He then signed a deal with DreamWorks Records, headed by his producer. Since releasing his fifth album, "How Do You Like Me Now?!", and its title track (written by Toby and Chuck Cannon); the then-DreamWorks, now-Showdog Tunes-signed singer and BMI-affiliated songwriter has seen success like never before. That success can be measured with at least five more studio albums since "How Do You Like Me Now?", more #1 singles, Academy of Country Music Awards (including two "Entertainer of the Year" awards) and other kinds of awards, and another Greatest Hits compilation (including songs from albums "How Do You Like Me Now?", "Pull My Chain", and "Unleashed", and a cover of "Mockingbird" with his daughter Krystal, who is scheduled to release her debut album in December 2011).
Toby also has since opened his own record label, the aforementioned Showdog Tunes.
