James Burton, John Anderson and Toby Keith join the Country Music Hall of Fame

WE’LL DO ALL THAT COMING UP HERE IN A FEW MINUTES JONATHAN. THANK YOU BELOVED SINGER, SONGWRITER AND OKLAHOMAN TOBY KEITH PASSING AWAY OVERNIGHT. THE COUNTRY SUPERSTAR WAS JUST 62 YEARS OLD AND FIGHTING STOMACH CANCER. AND THIS MORNING WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE AS WE REMEMBER HIM. AND TAKE A LOOK BACK AT HOW HE GAVE BACK TO HIS COMMUNITY. SO LET’S GO OUTSIDE TO KOCO AUDREY GOODSON, WHO HAS A LOOK AT HIS LEGACY. WE. KYLIE AND ALEJANDRA. GOOD MORNING. THE MUSIC WORLD AND OKLAHOMA HAS LOST SUCH A LEGEND OVERNIGHT. TOBY KEITH WAS JUT 62 YEARS OLD WHEN HE PASSED AWAY OVERNIGHT, HIS FAMILY POSTING THIS ON FACEBOOK MOURNING HIS LOSS. THIS COMING LESS THAN TWO YEARS AFTER IT HAD BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT KEITH HAD STOMACH CANCER. THE COUNTRY MUSIC ICON WAS WAS BORN IN CLINTON, BUT HIS PARENTS MOVED TO MOORE WHEN HE WAS YOUNG. HIS 1993 DEBUT ALBUM, PRODUCED A NUMBER ONE COUNTRY HIT, SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COWBOY, AND MANY OF HIS SONGS REFLECT GROWING UP RIGHT HERE IN THE SOONER STATE. OKLAHOMA HAS STAYED HIS HOME THROUGHOUT HIS FAME, AND BY THE END OF 2011, HE HAD 20 NUMBER ONE BILLBOARD COUNTRY HITS. THIS MORNING WE’VE TALKED WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT OF MOORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ABOUT THE LEGACY THIS FAMOUS ALUMNI LEAVES BEHIND. THERE’S GOING TO BE A WHOLE, UH, HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, WITH HIS PASSING AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, JUST, YOU KNOW, OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH, UH, WITH HIS FAMILY. I’VE ALSO TALKED TO BARRY SWITZER THIS MORNING, WHO WAS A VERY CLOSE FRIEND OF TOBY KEITH’S. HE TELLS ME THAT HE’S NOT QUITE READY TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF THIS QUITE YET, BUT HE’S WISHING HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS ALL OF THE BEST, AND HE’S WITH THEM IN THIS TOUGH TIME. BACK TO YOU GUYS. AND SO ARE WE HERE AT KOCO FIVE NEWS. AUDREY, THANK YOU. AND WHILE TOBY KEITH MADE HIS MARK ON NASHVILLE, THE OKLAHOMA NATIVE NEVER FORGOT WHERE HE CAME FROM. YEAH, KEITH GAVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT RAISED HIM IN COUNTLESS WAYS. KOCO SHELBY MONTGOMERY IS LIVE AT TOBY KEITH’S I LOVE THIS BAR AND GRILL IN DOWNTOWN OKC. SHELBY GOOD MORNING. TOBY KEITH OPENED UP SEVERAL RESTAURANTS AND BARS LIKE THIS ONE HERE IN BRICKTOWN. NOW. HE ALSO MADE SURE TO SUPPORT EVERYTHING OKLAHOMA, INCLUDING THE SOONERS SITTING IN THOSE CAMP. FIVE SONGS OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN COWBOY. THAT WAS TOBY KEITH AT ESKIMO JOE’S IN STILLWATER ON JANUARY OF 2023, SINGING WITH THE CROWD NOW, TOBY KEITH GAVE BACK TO HIS COMMUNITY IN SO MANY WAYS, STARTING THE TOBY KEITH FOUNDATION, HELPING CHILDREN WITH CANCER SINCE 2006. THEY OPENED THE OKAY KIDS CORRAL, A COST FREE HOME FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING TREATMENT. THE KIDS CORRAL JUST HIT THEIR TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY LAST MONTH, DONATING $10,000 TO THOSE CHARITIES THAT MAKE THEIR WORK POSSIBLE. WE DO WHATEVER WE CAN IN OUR ABILITY TO HELP THESE FAMILIES SURVIVE WHILE THEY’RE HELPING THEIR CHILD BEAT CANCER. FOR WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE OKAY KIDS CORRAL FOR COMMENT. REPORTING LIVE IN OKLAHOMA CITY, SHELBY MONTGOMERY KOCO FIVE NEWS. ALL RIGHT, SHELBY, THANKS FOR THAT UPDATE THERE. AND GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT REMEMBERING TOBY KEITH THIS MORNING IN A POST ON LINE SAYING THAT HIS LEGACY WILL FOREVER BE IN THE HEARTS OF OKLAHOMANS AND FANS AROUND THE WORLD. I KNOW HIS SPIRIT WILL LIVE ON AND JUNIOR US SENATOR MARKWAYNE MULLIN SAYING, QUOTE, TOBY WAS AN OKLAHOMA WAS OKLAHOMA PROUD. HE LOVED HIS FAMILY LIKE HE LOVED HIS COUNTRY. MAY HE REST IN PEACE. AND FINALLY, OKLAHOMA HAS OTHER U.S. SENATOR JAMES LANKFORD CALLING KEITH, QUOTE, A GREAT

James Burton, John Anderson and Toby Keith on Monday became the newest members to join the Country Music Hall of Fame.The Country Music Association announced the 2024 inductees in Nashville, Tennessee, with Burton, a guitarist who was Elvis Presley's band leader, entering in the recording/touring musician category. Meanwhile, Keith, who passed away just days after voting for inductees concluded, joins as the modern era artist. Anderson, a country star known for his distinctive voice and songwriting, joins as the veteran era artist.The three will be formally inducted during a ceremony in the fall.While the celebratory ceremony focused on all three of the artists' contributions to country music and their influence, the event took a somber tone to reflect the passing of Keith, who died from stomach cancer in February."My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us, but I have no doubt that he's smiling down on us, knowing that he'll always be 'as good as he once was,'" said Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association.Trahern added that Keith's posthumous induction did not violate the Hall's rules against inducting an artist in the year of their death because he was selected before he died.Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, died Feb. 5. The induction vote was finalized Feb. 2.The "Should've Been a Cowboy" singer-songwriter, broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s and later became known for his overt patriotism on post 9/11 songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," and boisterous barroom tunes like "I Love This Bar" and "Red Solo Cup."Burton said Monday that he initially thought he was being pranked when he got the call sharing the news that he was being inducted. He hung up the phone and quickly called back just to double check the call was real."So much of my career was spent playing for incredible country artists and to now be going up on that wall with all those innovators and industry greats is just incredible," Burton said.Along with leading Presley's "Taking Care of Business" band in Las Vegas, Burton also played in Emmylou Harris' Hot Band and later joined John Denver's band after Presley's death in 1977. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.For Anderson, the country icon has enjoyed a sweeping discography spanning more than 40 years — with particular breakout fame in the 1970s and 1990s. This included the career-defining hit "Seminole Wind," which touched on environmental themes by referencing the development of the Everglades and its diminishing size."Florida native John Anderson helped steer Country Music back to its traditions with his bold honky-tonk style," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young in a statement."James Burton, who hails from Louisiana, blended Country and blues to create a fiery picking style that distinguished countless hits and has inspired guitarists the world over. Toby Keith from Oklahoma brought a sly swagger and a patriotic passion to songs that made him one of the best-selling Country artists of the past 30 years," Young said.

James Burton, John Anderson and Toby Keith on Monday became the newest members to join the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Country Music Association announced the 2024 inductees in Nashville, Tennessee, with Burton, a guitarist who was Elvis Presley's band leader, entering in the recording/touring musician category. Meanwhile, Keith, who passed away just days after voting for inductees concluded, joins as the modern era artist. Anderson, a country star known for his distinctive voice and songwriting, joins as the veteran era artist.

The three will be formally inducted during a ceremony in the fall.

While the celebratory ceremony focused on all three of the artists' contributions to country music and their influence, the event took a somber tone to reflect the passing of Keith, who died from stomach cancer in February.

"My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us, but I have no doubt that he's smiling down on us, knowing that he'll always be 'as good as he once was,'" said Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association.

Trahern added that Keith's posthumous induction did not violate the Hall's rules against inducting an artist in the year of their death because he was selected before he died.

Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, died Feb. 5. The induction vote was finalized Feb. 2.

The "Should've Been a Cowboy" singer-songwriter, broke out in the country boom years of the 1990s and later became known for his overt patriotism on post 9/11 songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," and boisterous barroom tunes like "I Love This Bar" and "Red Solo Cup."

Burton said Monday that he initially thought he was being pranked when he got the call sharing the news that he was being inducted. He hung up the phone and quickly called back just to double check the call was real.

"So much of my career was spent playing for incredible country artists and to now be going up on that wall with all those innovators and industry greats is just incredible," Burton said.

Along with leading Presley's "Taking Care of Business" band in Las Vegas, Burton also played in Emmylou Harris' Hot Band and later joined John Denver's band after Presley's death in 1977. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.

For Anderson, the country icon has enjoyed a sweeping discography spanning more than 40 years — with particular breakout fame in the 1970s and 1990s. This included the career-defining hit "Seminole Wind," which touched on environmental themes by referencing the development of the Everglades and its diminishing size.

"Florida native John Anderson helped steer Country Music back to its traditions with his bold honky-tonk style," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young in a statement.

"James Burton, who hails from Louisiana, blended Country and blues to create a fiery picking style that distinguished countless hits and has inspired guitarists the world over. Toby Keith from Oklahoma brought a sly swagger and a patriotic passion to songs that made him one of the best-selling Country artists of the past 30 years," Young said.

James Burton, John Anderson and Toby Keith join the Country Music Hall of Fame

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

Top Picks