How Toby Keith caused a frenzy inside a North Texas Walmart in 2002. And fans loved it.
Toby Keith, the country music star who died Monday after a battle with cancer, delivered an unusual North Texas performance more than 20 years ago that his fans would never forget.
It was a Sunday on July 28, 2002, when an estimated 2,800 fans crowded the aisle of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in North Richland Hills for a show to promote his newly released album, “Unleashed.”
“Against the backdrop of an American flag and a Yoo-Hoo drink display,” the Star-Telegram reported that day, “Keith strummed the album’s top single, the fist-pumping and controversial ‘Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).’”
It was, of course, only 10 months after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 1, 2001, and the U.S. was at war in Afghanistan. Keith’s song was written after the attacks and was directed toward Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. The day before the Wal-Mart concert, the 41-year-old Keith appeared at Best Buy on Southwest Loop 820 in Fort Worth.
The fans who managed to get into the Wal-Mart, standing amid the produce and frozen food, sang along, their voices rising as Keith sang: “You’ll be sorry you messed with the U.S. of A., ‘cause we’ll put a boot in your ass. It’s the American way.”
Earlier that month, the lyrics had gotten him booted off ABC’s Fourth of July television special. He was invited to perform, but the offer was later rescinded. The network cited a scheduling conflict that would have made it necessary for Keith to perform first, and news anchor Peter Jennings, the show’s host, said the song wasn’t the right opener.
But the Fourth of July flap created a fervor among Keith’s fans. Elaine Krueger of Keller told the Star-Telegram in the Wal-Mart that she “didn’t know much about [Keith] before. I knew his name.”
After hearing the song and learning about Jennings’ comments, she said she was “really disappointed” with the news anchor.
“The song came from his heart,” she said of Keith.
Longtime fan Brenda Clark of Arlington was first in line that day to see Keith, who took the stage about 12:40 p.m. at the Wal-Mart at 6401 N.E. Loop 820. Clark arrived at 4:45 a.m. with her daughter Candice, who was 13 at the time, and friend Susan Fleenor of Springtown.
“I’d die for this man,” said Clark, who gave the singer a belated birthday card. Keith turned 41 on July 8. “I love this man. I own all his CDs, and I just bought six of his new one.”
At least 1,850 people were at the Best Buy in Fort Worth the day before, said Johnny Rose, senior executive for sales and marketing with DreamWorks, Keith’s record label.
Keith died peacefully from stomach cancer at the age of 62, surrounded by his family. “He fought his fight with grace and courage,” they said in a statement.
This story includes reporting from the Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 9:50 AM.
