Editing Toby Keith (section)

==Early life and education==
Toby Keith Covel was born on July 8, 1961, in [[Clinton, Oklahoma]], to Carolyn Joan (''née'' Ross) and Hubert K. Covel Jr.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/toby-keith-mn0000510805|title=Toby Keith biography|last=Huey|first=Steve|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=July 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reitwiesner |first=William Addams |author-link=William Addams Reitwiesner |title=Ancestry of Toby Keith |url=http://www.wargs.com/other/covel.html |access-date=September 12, 2008 |publisher=wargs.com}}</ref><ref name="cmtbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/keith_toby/bio.jhtml|title=Toby Keith : Biography|work=Biography|publisher=[[CMT (American TV channel)|CMT]]|access-date=September 12, 2008|archive-date=September 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922072137/http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/keith_toby/bio.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> He had a sister and a brother. The family lived in [[Fort Smith, Arkansas]], for a few years when Keith was in grade school but moved to [[Moore, Oklahoma]] (a suburb of [[Oklahoma City]]), when he was still young.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="cmtbio" /> Before the family moved to Moore, he visited his grandmother in Fort Smith during the summers. His grandmother owned Billie Garner's [[supper club|Supper Club]] in Fort Smith,<ref name="allmusic"/> where Keith became interested in the musicians who came there to play. He did odd jobs around the supper club and started getting up on the bandstand to play with the band. He got his first guitar at the age of eight.<ref name="cmtbio" />

After the family moved to Moore, Keith attended Southgate Elementary,<ref>{{cite news|last=McDonnell|first=Brandy|date=November 2, 2012|title=Toby Keith keeps on writing|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/brandy-mcdonnell/2012/11/02/toby-keith-keeps-on-writing/61032002007/|url-access=limited|work=The Oklahoman|access-date=February 2, 2025}}</ref> Highland West Junior High and [[Moore High School (Oklahoma)|Moore High School]], where he played [[defensive end]] on the [[American football|football]] team.<ref name="allmusic"/>

Keith graduated from Moore High School<ref name="Oklahoman">{{cite web |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/2024/02/06/country-icon-toby-keith-dies-look-at-decades-music-philanthropy/72490121007/ |title=Timeline: A look at Toby Keith's storied life from Oklahoma oil fields to climbing charts |date=February 6, 2024 |access-date=February 6, 2024 |website=[[The Oklahoman]]}}</ref> and worked as a [[derrick]] hand in the oil fields. He worked his way up to become a supervisor. When Keith was 20, he and his friends  formed the Easy Money Band, which played at local bars and [[Roadhouse (premises)|roadhouses]]<ref name=nyt>{{Citation |last=Friskics-Warren |first=Bill |title=Toby Keith, Larger-Than-Life Country Music Star, Dies at 62 |date=February 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/arts/music/toby-keith-dead.html |access-date=February 6, 2024 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> as he continued to work in the oil industry. At times, he would have to leave in the middle of a concert if he was paged to work in the oil field.<ref name="KJRH">{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2024 |title=Remembering Toby Keith |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/remembering-toby-keith |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa |language=en}}</ref>

In 1982, the oil industry in Oklahoma began a rapid decline, and Keith soon found himself unemployed.<ref name="taste">{{Citation |last=Dukes|first=Billy|title=Before they were famous: Toby Keith|date=September 19, 2012 | work=Taste of Country|url=https://tasteofcountry.com/before-they-were-famous-toby-keith/|access-date = February 13, 2024}}</ref> He fell back on his football training and tried out for the professional [[Oklahoma Outlaws]]. When he did not make the team, he joined its unofficial semi-pro [[farm club]], the Oklahoma City Drillers,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did Toby Keith play college football? Exploring Oklahoma football fan's brief career |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/college/sooners/2024/02/07/toby-keith-oklahoma-football-sooners-college-semiprofessional/72506523007/ |access-date=February 19, 2024 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}}</ref> and played defensive end while continuing to perform with his band.<ref name="ten">{{Citation |last=Dowling |first=Marcus K. |title=Toby Keith, country music singer-songwriter, dies at 62 after stomach cancer battle |date=February 6, 2024 |work=[[The Tennessean]] |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/02/06/toby-keith-country-music-singer-songwriter-dies-at-62-obituary/72489631007/ |access-date=February 6, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref> He then returned to focus once again on music.<ref name="KJRH" /> The Easy Money Band then began playing the [[honky-tonk]] circuit in Oklahoma<ref name="pitchfork">{{Citation |last1=Lindert|first1=Hattie|last2=Monroe|first2=Jazz|title=Country Singer Toby Keith Dies at 62|date=February 6, 2024 | work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/country-singer-toby-keith-dies-at-62/|access-date = February 13, 2024}}</ref> and [[Texas]].<ref name="Oklahoman" />