HE WAS DRILLING OIL BY DAY — AND DRILLING DREAMS BY NIGHT. Before the fame, before the platinum records, before Nashville ever said his name, Toby Keith was clocking in on Oklahoma oil fields. Steel-toe boots. Long shifts. Red dirt ground into denim. By sunrise, he was tightening bolts and running rigs. By midnight, he was hauling amps into small bars, singing like the crowd was already an arena. There was no safety net waiting. No label executive in the wings. Just a man who believed the same hands that worked iron all day could build something louder at night. When the oil business slowed and paychecks thinned, the dream stopped being a hobby. It became the only way forward. And when Should’ve Been a Cowboy finally hit the radio, it didn’t sound polished. It sounded earned. Like every mile driven after a shift. Like every stage he built for himself before anyone offered him one. Some artists chase spotlights. He carried his own.
HE WAS DRILLING OIL BY DAY — AND DRILLING DREAMS BY NIGHT. Before the arenas. Before the chart-toppers. Before his name was printed in lights, Toby Keith was just another…