Did Toby Keith write his own songs?

Country lost one of its biggest stars with the death of Toby Keith in early February of 2024. The treasured musician was only 62 when he passed away from gastric cancer, and his loss will leave a hole in country music for a long time.

Following Keith’s death, the Oklahoma native’s fan have been flocking to his music to find comfort. He put out 28 albums in total over the course of a three-decade career, and each of them are wonderful reminders of Keith’s talent and unabashed patriotism. He touts his American identity loud and proud across his myriad releases, embracing that gun-toting, flag waving brand of national pride he made part of his celebrity identity.

Many of his songs lean into that patriotism, along with other elements of Keith’s belief system. With so many of his songs angled so carefully into Keith’s beliefs, passions, and lifestyle choices, it seems impossible that anyone else could have written his songs, but its not uncommon for singers to lean on writing help while producing albums.

Did anyone else write Toby Keith’s songs?

Toby Keith has a distinct style, tone, and voice across the vast majority of his releases. While some musicians are trying out brand new genres or vibes in their music — hello Beyoncé in her country era — Keith stuck with his tried, true, red, white, and blue, and found massive success across his career. He was a near-instant sensation when he arrived on the music scene, and he put out enough hits over the years to number among country music’s wealthiest.

A bulk of those moneymaking releases were, in fact, penned by Keith himself, but there were plenty of exceptions. Its rough to think up enough songs for 28 albums worth of content, and Keith was known to tap longtime collaborator Walter Scott Emerick. Emerick is the songwriting talent behind a number of Keith’s biggest hits, including Number One hits like “I’m Just Talkin’ About Tonight,” “Beer for My Horses,” and “As Good as I Once Was.” He’s credited with collaborating on some of the biggest releases of Keith’s entire career, and you’ll additionally recognize his talent across several other country artists’ discographies.

Keith did write a number of songs himself, and they’re easy to track down — just take a look at his 100% Songwriter album. The album released in late 2023, and contains 13 tracks, all of which were “written 100% by Toby Keith.”