Late country music legend Toby Keith is set to be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Keith, whose songs “Red Solo Cup” and “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” were treasured by millions, died last month following a battle with stomach cancer, but he was elected into the hall of fame before his death, according to a report.
There is a rule that bars voting an artist in the year after his or her death, but this does not apply to Keith because he was voted in on Feb. 2, days before his death, according to Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern.
“It was bittersweet that our team received word from Deloitte just a few hours later that he had been elected” into the hall, she said. “My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon that we had missed a chance to inform Toby while he was still with us.”
Still, Trahern is confident he is looking down and realizing he was “as good as he once was,” she said in a nod to Keith’s tune “As Good as I Once Was.”
Keith is being inducted alongside country star John Anderson and country-rock guitarist James Burton, according to the report.
“Many people tried to portray him as one-dimensional, and he wasn’t,” said Kix Brooks, who hosted the hall of fame announcements with Ronnie Dunn. “We know, we’ve been on the road with him.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Keith didn’t write about politics as much as he did about communities.”
A medallion ceremony to honor the new inductees is set for October at the CMA Theater.
