Toby Keith Deserved More Than a “Toast” at the 2024 CMA Awards

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There was a lot to second guess and look side-eyed at during the 2024 CMA Awards Wednesday night (11-20). All one had to do was see the countenance of “King” George Strait as he had to wade through two hours of schlock to get to his 12-minute tribute to start off hour three. Whenever the camera caught him out of the side view, Strait looked like he was passing a kidney stone during most of the performances.

But the most obvious omission of the night was a proper tribute to Toby Keith, who passed away on February 5th, 2024. Aside from a passing “toast” the hosts offered while various people held up red solo cups, there was nothing.

Kris Kristofferson got a stunning tribute thanks to Ashley McBryde, who sang “Help Me Make It Through The Night” solo with just an acoustic guitar, and arguably turned in the landmark performance of the entire night. Somehow, Tom Petty got a tribute. But we won’t look that gift horse in the mouth, since it was a vehicle for bluegrass maestros Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes to take the stage.

But ultimately, the Petty tribute was more about giving attention to a Tom Petty tribute record arranged by the major labels that was released earlier this year, underscoring how most everything on the presentation was arranged, and safe. The CMAs would never allow Molly Tuttle to get up there and sing “Crooked Tree,” and then remove her wig at the end, making for a moment, and a message American wouldn’t forget.

The CMAs could’ve had someone come out and sing at least 90 seconds of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” heading into commercial break. Or it could have been a “moment” just like the one Ashley McBryde had. But for some reason, there has always been a frosty relationship between the CMAs and Toby Keith.

Toby Keith was the best-selling artist of the 2000s. He won 14 ACM Awards, but the CMAs only gave him three. And two of those were for Video of the Year, which is usually considered an also-ran award. He did win Male Vocalist of the Year in 2001. As underscored in Saving Country Music’s recent post about country music and politics, after the cancellation of the [Dixie] Chicks and the backlash that ensued, the CMA’s distanced from Keith.

Both the ACMs and the CMT Awards both did Toby Keith tributes on their presentations. Furthermore, the lack of a Toby Keith tribute also underscores the lack of a In Memoriam segment on the 2024 CMA Awards entirely, which the CMAs have gone without for a few years now. Say what you want about the Grammys, and In Memoriam segment is a staple of the presentation each year, and usually features more country personalities than the CMAs and ACMs combined.

Thankfully, 2024 hasn’t been as brutal for big country music deaths as some previous years. But folks like songwriter JD Souther, Allman Brother Dickey Betts, guitarist Pete Wade, yodeling legend Margo Smith, songwriter Malcolm Holcombe, Texas legend Tommy Alverson, Johnny Cash’s brother and fellow performer Tommy Cash, and Tom Foote and Erv Woolsey from George Strait’s camp all deserved some love, as did others.

Remember a few years ago when the CMAs failed to even mention the passing of John Prine, and it’s one of the primary reasons Jason Isbell turned in his CMA Membership card? How hard is it to take a moment to honor these fallen legends? Multiple artists got multiple performances on the 2024 CMA Awards, but not one took the time to honor Toby Keith.

Toby Keith was recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and his legacy is secured. Ironically, it’s a committee fielded by the Country Music Association that picks Hall of Fame inductees, though it’s a separate process altogether from the CMA Awards.

Either way, it sets a bad precedent that when a titan of country music passes, we don’t take anything more than 20 seconds and a box of plastic cups to pay tribute. This is country music, and we honor our past legends.



© 2024 Saving Country Music

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