Country star Toby Keith makes no bones about his opinions, and it’s winning him plenty of praise and criticism.
He’s the patriotic singer/songwriter who hated on the Dixie Chicks when they spoke out against the war, sold nearly 600,000 copies of his latest album-which debuted at No. 1 in November-and wrote a song called “Beer For My Horses.”
Keith’s detractors say the lyric of his songs, namely those of “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” are jingoistic. The single was released shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and features vengeful lyrics, most notoriously, “You’ll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A./ Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass/It’s the American way.”
Keith’s supporters, among them some high-profile figures including Oliver North, say the patriotic singer is a good role model for other musicians.
So what are Mississippi State University students saying about Toby Keith?
Senior Sarah Crain said she has been a fan for a few years now and she likes Keith’s music, especially his song “I Love This Bar.”
Crain said she feels Keith’s patriotism comes from his heart.
“In a way, when he wrote the song (“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”) it was the right way to go. He wrote it after Sept. 11 because that’s what he felt,” Crain said. “He just did it. He wasn’t trying to cause an uproar.”
Senior Matt Copeland is another Toby Keith fan. Copeland said he likes “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue’s” bold lyrics.
“I don’t think he’s too patriotic. He’s got that right, just like the Dixie Chicks had the right to say whatever they wanted to say,” Copeland said.
But there aren’t just positive opinions floating around about Toby Keith.
Jeremiah Jones said he listens to country music only if it’s original and the performer is truly a good artist-such as Hank Williams. Keith, he said, is just a copy of Tim McGraw or Kenny Chesney.
“All he is is a product like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, only he’s in country music,” Jones said. “He’s just one of many.”
Jones said he is not impressed with Keith’s musical talent or songwriting skills, even though he grew up listening to some of his music. He also said he felt that the Dixie Chicks fiasco was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
“He just did that to get attention for himself. He’s fake, like Britney is fake, like Christina is fake, like half of the music industry is fake,” Jones said.
Jones said the main reason he dislikes Keith is because of his high priced concert tickets.
“His tickets are $50 apiece,” Jones said. “If you’re about your fans, you’re not going to do that. He’s one of those people.”
Senior Emily Stinson is not a fan of Keith’s music, either. She said all of his songs are so simple that a third grader could have written them.
“Nothing about his music makes you feel better or worse about anything,” Stinson said. “If I had to choose hearing one song over and over in my head for the rest of my life or listening to all of Toby Keith’s albums, I would definitely choose hearing that one song over and over.”
The singer will be in Biloxi Saturday and Jackson Sunday. Tickets for the Biloxi show are between $39.95 and $49.95 and tickets for the Jackson show are $45.75.