Staying In Focus Toby Keith Tried The Oil Business And Football Before Reaping Success In The Music Business

Used to be, you could count on country music stars to get in a little trouble every once in a while and entertain us with chaotic personal lives as well as music.

Sure, there’s still Tracy Lawrence, but more and more the solid businesslike approach is the norm.

Enter Toby Keith, the image of clean, suburban country in the 1990s. Don’t look for him to be in hock to the IRS like Willie Nelson, get married as often as Tammy Wynette, drink like George Jones or die young like Hank Williams Sr.

He’s not even ambitious to be No. 1 like fellow Oklahoman Garth Brooks, the prototypical country superstar.

What Toby Keith does - methodically - is make records that country radio station programmers love. Artistic heights that come attached with a price of self-destruction won’t be his.

The new album is “Blue Moon,” and its hit ballad, “Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You,” is rising on the charts. The album is No. 10 and the single No. 15 on this week’s Billboard country charts.

Since he debuted with the No. 1 “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” in 1993 (still his best, most original single), there’s been a parade of Top 5 hits: “He Ain’t Worth Missing,” “A Little Less Talk (and a Lot More Action),” “I Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” “Who’s That Man” and “You Ain’t Much Fun.”

Born in Clinton, Okla., on July 8, 1961, Keith worked the wildness out early, as a rodeo hand during high school and in the oil fields afterwards.

The domestic oil market collapsed in 1983. Keith had married in the meantime and blown most of the money as fast as it came in. “It about broke us,” he said.

“So I just learned. I’ve taken care of my money this time.”

After failing in the construction business (not a smart pursuit in a collapsing economy, he admits today), Keith had another dream to pursue.

Music? No, football. The 6-foot-4 Keith spent the next two seasons playing defensive end with the Oklahoma City Drillers, a farm team for the now-defunct United States Football League.

“It was just something I had to go and do,” Keith said. “I did that. Once that was all over with, then we just loaded the van up and said, ‘Lets go do what we do best.’

“All through this whole thing the only constant thing we had was music. But it’s hard to sit back and say, ‘I’m going to go make my fortune singing music or writing music.’ I had no contacts.”

He did it anyway, on the tough Oklahoma-Texas roadhouse circuit where there is still a good living to be had for a rough-and-tumble regional country music band. His was called Easy Money and they’re still with Keith today.

Keith had become as big locally as he could by the time Harold Shedd of Mercury Records signed him up. His single, “Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine on You,” was a favorite with fans during that period.

With Shedd producing, Keith had a No. 1 hit his first time out and was fully ready for what followed. His response to stardom’s diversions was to put his nose to the grindstone and write more songs.

Professionally, he is out of goals except for more of the same - more hits and more shows.

“I don’t have to do nothing but what I want to do the rest of my life,” Keith said. “By me ever asking for anything else it would be selfish on my part. Greedy.”

So he plans to continue concentrating on the basics and “roll with the flow.” There is another dream fermenting, but it will have to wait until the hits stop, which could be awhile.

“I’d love to own a professional sports franchise, if you want to talk about having a goal. I’m a big fan. I could own a sports franchise, whether its hockey, the NBA or NFL.

“I think anything’s attainable, if you want to go get it bad enough.”

But that dream will have to wait while he enjoys the fruits of this one: “I’m not even close with trying to be through with this thing.”