What is country music star Toby Keith's surname?

Toby Keith Covel (7/8/1961 Clinton, Oklahoma) is an American country singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer.

After leaving Mercury Records (1998) he signed with DreamWorks Records in 1998, Keith released his breakthrough single "How Do You Like Me Now?!" in the late 1990s. This song, the title track to his 1999 album of the same name, was the number one country song of 2000 according to the Billboard Year-End chart.

Keith was born to Carolyn and Hubert Covel. While he was still young he would spend his summers with his grandmother who owned a supper club, where he spent his time doing odd jobs and would get up on the stage and sing with the band.

Toby attended Moore High School, where he played football (gridiron). After graduation he went to work in the Oklahoma oil fields. When Keith was twenty he and his friends started the Easy Money Band, which played in local bars.

In 1982, the oil industry in Oklahoma began a rapid decline. This is when he began to play semi-pro football while still playing with the band.

In the early 1990s, Keith went to Nashville, Tennessee and began climbing Music Row. A flight attendant, a fan, gave a record executive from Mercury Records one of Keith's demo tapes. They enjoyed what they heard and after seeing Keith perform live, signed him to a recording contract.

Some of Keith's associated acts include, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Krystal Keith among others. Toby plays guitar and is a vocalist.