Oklahoma singer-songwriter Toby Keith pays tribute to the late Wayman Tisdale with the new music video to his song “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song).” The video premiered exclusively this morning on CMT.

The new single may be the most personal and emotionally raw offering of the country music star’s entire career. “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” and its accompanying video offer a heartfelt homage to Tisdale, whom Keith considered a close friend.

An all-American basketball player for Oklahoma and NBA star before launching a second career…

Toby Keith performs at Wayman Tisdale’s memorial service in May. (Associated Press photo)

The emotional music video for Toby Keith’s “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song)” will premiere Monday morning exclusively on CMT.

The heartfelt ballad is a tribute to Keith’s friend and fellow Oklahoma star Wayman Tisdale. Tisdale, a former University of Oklahoma and NBA standout turned jazz bassist, died in May after a long battle with cancer.

A reliable source tells me the video is sure to break hearts and put lumps in throats, so my advice is to have some tissues handy…

Toby Keith took America by storm with the No. 1 debut of his new CD, “American Ride,” on Billboard¹s Top Country Albums Chart and two weeks consecutive on Billboard’s and Country Aircheck/Mediabase’s single charts with the title track. And now he’s taking Europe by storm as well.

Keith’s first-ever European tour, set to kick off next month, is selling out all over including The Hammersmith in London.

Stateside, Keith’s “America’s Toughest Tour,” presented by Ford F Series, will play to more than a million people, marking the ninth consecutive year the hard-touring artist…

Toby Keith

Oklahoma country star Toby Keith has taken his new album, “American Ride,” to the top of Billboard’s country albums chart, according to CMT.com.

First-week sales for the album exceeded 90,000 copies.

Keith’s title track and lead-off single for the album slid to No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list after two weeks in the No. 1 spot.

Chris Young’s “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” climbed into the top spot after debuting on the chart 35 weeks ago.

-BAM

Jeff Dunham – hailed by Time magazine as “perhaps the most popular comedian in the U.S.” -meets the press today when he and his comedic sidekicks appear as a prestigious newsmaker speaker at the National Press Club, the world’s largest professional organization for journalists.

According to a news release, the invitation to speak at the dinner is part of a month filled with such high-profile events for Dunham as he nears the premiere of his Comedy Central TV series “The Jeff Dunham Show” on Oct. 22.

The ventriloquist also will make a…

University of Oklahoma Sooners football fan Toby Keith cheers on the bench during a 2005 game at The Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, in Norman. (Photo by Jim Beckel/The Oklahoman Archives)

It’s no secret Toby Keith is a huge University of Oklahoma fan: In the fall, the country superstar and Norman resident often can be seen on the sidelines at the Sooners’ home football games.

An experience in the OU locker room inspired the singer-songwriter to pen the blues-rocker “If You’re Tryin’ You Ain’t,” one of the tracks on his new album “American Ride.”

In…

Brad Paisley (Associated Press photo)

Brad Paisley is being pictured on two magazine covers in two weeks.

The country star  is featured in the “Country Stars & Their Families” issue of People Country, on newsstands today through Nov. 9. The feature is titled “What My Father Taught Me” and lists several things that Brad has learned from his father, Doug: Be dedicated, drive them anywhere (and don’t charge for gas!), do your best … and then do better, be of service and it comes back to family.

Along with five pages of text and…

Brooks & Dunn (Associated Press photo)

Toby Keith (AP photo)

Oklahoma country star Toby Keith will play his first Stagecoach Music Festival next year, while duo Brooks & Dunn, which includes former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, have added the California festival to their final tour.

According to CMT.com, Keith and Keith Urban will put in their first Stagecoach performances in the 2010 installment, set for April 24-25 in Indio, Calif.

Brooks & Dunn and Sugarland, who played at the inaugural Stagecoach festival in 2007, will also perform headline sets. In August, Dunn and Kix Brooks…

A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

“American Ride” covers new turf for Toby Keith
Oklahoman’s tour to include Europe, Nobel Peace Prize concert

The latest leg on Toby Keith’s journey through musical superstardom has the country singer-songwriter zipping up the charts, jumping across the Atlantic and traversing a personal loss.

The Norman resident’s busy autumn revved into high gear Tuesday with the release of his latest album, “American Ride.” But the new record is just the first milestone Keith, 48, will reach before 2009 ends: He…

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Country

Toby Keith “American Ride” (Show Dog Nashville)

Prolific country superstar Toby Keith confidently and capably cruises through romantic ballads, funny party songs and brash social commentary on his new album “American Ride.”

The Norman resident already has topped the country charts with the buzz-generating title track, a frank and foot-stomping critique of American culture, from lawsuits and plastic surgery to terrorism and YouTube. While Joe West and Dave Pahanish penned “American Ride,” Keith wrote or co-wrote the remaining 11 tracks.

The Oklahoma native keeps the toe-tapping…