After battling stomach cancer, the country star passed away on Monday. The 6-foot-4 singer rose to fame in the country music boom of the 1990s, writing songs that fans loved. Throughout his career, he publicly clashed with other celebrities and journalists, and often pushed back against record executives who wanted to tone down his rough edges. He was known for his overt patriotism on post-9/11 songs like “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” and his boisterous barroom tunes like “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” Keith had a powerful booming voice, a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and a range that allowed him to carry love songs as well as drinking songs. Among his 20 No.1 Billboard hits were “How Do You Like Me Now?!,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “As Good As I Once Was,” “My List,” and “Beer for My Horses,” a duet with Willie Nelson. As a young man, Keith worked as a roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields and played semi-pro football before launching his career as a singer. “I write about life, and I sing about life, and I don’t overanalyze things,” Keith told The Associated Press in 2001, following the success of his song “I’m Just Talking About Tonight.”
