Country music singer Toby Keith has died of cancer at age 62 – and in the wake of his passing, anecdotes from his life are emerging, including his surprising role in Taylor Swift’s career.
Although Swift, 34, is currently one of the biggest pop stars in the world, in 2005, she was an unknown high schooler with “Wildest Dreams” of making it big.
The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer was an established country music star at the time.
The record label Big Machine Records was launched by former DreamWorks executive Scott Borchetta. Keith launched a record label, Show Dog Nashville, the same year Big Machine launched, and the two labels worked closely together.
“I would encourage people to think of this as one label with two A&R sources,” Borchetta told CMT Insider at the time. “Toby’s the lead act, and we’ve got an incredible opportunity with all the resources that he brings and the music that he loves and his vision for what he wants to do.”
According to the Tennesean, it was Borchetta who signed Swift — but, Keith helped him launch the label that did it.
A 2005 interview with radio station 99.9KTDY explains how Keith was instrumental in getting Swift signed when she was a virtual unknown.
In a 2005 interview featuring a young Taylor Swift, the singer talked about her partnership with Toby Keith and gushed over him.
“You’re in the room with him and you can feel it,” Swift said.
“There’s a power there and you’re just like ‘Oh my god!’ I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t see him and go, ‘Oh my god, that’s Toby Keith!’
Keith also retained stakes in Big Machine Records even after the labels became more separate, so he reportedly earned money from Swift.
In November of 2018, Swift completed her contract with Big Machine Records after six albums. In 2019, Scooter Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, purchased Big Machine – leading to a public feud between Braun and Swift, and Swift releasing “Taylor’s version” re-recordings of songs from her first six albums.
Keith’s death was announced on Tuesday in an Instagram post, reading that Keith “passed peacefully” on Monday evening while “surrounded by his family.”
“He fought his fight with grace and courage,” the statement read. “Please respect the privacy of his family at this time.”
Swift has not yet made a statement about Keith’s passing.
“Taylor Swift has an opportunity to really drive this country insane by thanking Toby Keith for believing in her from the jump (and recording a tribute version of “I Wanna Talk About Me”)” one fan posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“NGL, a Taylor Swift tribute to Toby Keith could bring a lot of healing to America,” another fan commented.
“RIP to the great Toby Keith — all you Swifties out there remember, without Toby there may have never been no Taylor Swift,” another fan proclaimed.
