Reba McEntire Praises the Late Toby Keith’s “Big Heart” in Poignant Speech

McEntire paid tribute to Keith during NBC’s special honoring the “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer.

During NBC’s Toby Keith: American Icon special, The Voice Coach Reba McEntire spoke lovingly of her late friend and country star Toby Keith, who hailed from Oklahoma just like McEntire. Here’s what she said.

Toby Keith and Reba McEntire’s Oklahoma pride

“Toby represented the best of Oklahoma. A lot of people dream of making it big so they can leave their hometown. Toby wanted to make his hometown bigger,” McEntire said during a pre-taped segment in the broadcast.

She continued, “And when he made it big, he took the whole state with him.” Keith was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, in 1961; McEntire is from McAlester, Oklahoma.

After he died, Keith  received an honorary degree from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a donor and a longtime football fan.

Reba McEntire poses for “Happy’s Place”. Toby Keith attends the 2023 People’s Choice Country Awards at The Grand Ole Opry on September 28, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: JSquared Photography/NBCUniversal; Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

Reba McEntire praised Toby Keith’s “big heart”

The “Fancy” singer also praised Keith’s dual personality, revealing, “When I was around him, he was a bad-ass country singer. But I found out later on he had a really big heart. Big as Oklahoma.”

Off-stage, Keith was a devoted family man, raising three children with his beloved wife, Tricia. He was surrounded by family when he “passed peacefully” and is survived by his wife, two daughters, son and grandchildren.

McEntire and Keith’s long friendship

“We’re going to miss him so much, not only as a friend but a fellow performer and person in the music business and from Oklahoma,” McEntire told People after Keith passed from stomach cancer in early 2024. “I hope one day to get to see him up in Heaven. Thank God we have his wonderful music to keep us company, even though he’s not here on earth with us.”

She also recalled their performances together in the mid-90s, when they went on a joint tour: “That was a lot of fun…Toby was more of the renegade, the outlaw type, and I’m the Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes, and so it was kind of like two ends of the spectrum.”

“He was a great writer, a great singer. When Toby came on the radio, you knew who that was,” added McEntire. “Toby Keith was a distinctive vocalist, a stylist, that you knew exactly who he was. So, that’s a wonderful trait to have.”