Blake Shelton paid tribute to Toby Keith at the Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony on October 18.
Three artists are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame every year. They include one person from their three categories: Veteran Era, Modern Era, and a rotating category, with this year’s being Recording and/or Touring Musician.
See the 2024 CMHOF class below:
Veteran’s Era – John Anderson
Modern Era – Toby Keith
Recording and/or Touring Musician – James Burton
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The inductees were announced in March, just one month after Toby Keith passed away from stomach cancer. However, the ceremony where the artists were officially inducted and received their medallions occurred on October 20.
Each artist was honored through performances from their peers and could give a speech.
Eric Church, Post Malone, and Blake Shelton all performed in honor of the late Toby Keith. Church performed Keith’s poignant song “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” the last song Keith performed live on television.
Malone performed an incredible rendition of “I’m Just Talkin’ ‘Bout Tonight,” while Shelton performed a mash-up of “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.”
Shelton’s performance caught the attention of fans not only because Toby would have loved it but also because he was playing a guitar that looked just like one the “American Soldier” singer has played on many occasions.
Fans thought the guitar Shelton played could have been Toby’s. But Toby’s daughter Krystal Keith shared a photo of her dad’s exhibit at the Hall of Fame, and the guitar was there.
We could only speculate until Shelton came out to reveal what guitar he was playing.
Luckily, he did that during an interview with the radio show Taste of Country Nights, where he explained everything.
Shelton explained that Takamine Guitars made Toby four American flag guitars. Toby possessed three of them, and a Takamine guitar employee, David Vincent, had the fourth. Vincent, who was friends with Toby and Blake, held on to it for the last 20+ years to give it to the “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” singer should he ever need it.
When Blake was asked to perform at the Hall of Fame induction, he called Vincent and said, “I’m doing this induction thing for Toby at the Hall of Fame, and his family is gonna be there…I really wanna honor Toby. I wanna buy one of those red, white, and blue guitars.”
Shelton was ready to buy a replica, but Vincent did him one better. He gave the “God’s Country” singer the last iconic American flag guitar.
“And so that actually was the other one that Toby — he never got it, he probably never even knew it was made,” Shelton said. “I was able to get that and they went ahead and gave it to me, which is gonna be a prized possession for me for the rest of my life.”
Blake’s love for Toby Keith runs deep, not just because they are both from Oklahoma. Shelton opened for the late legend for two years and has performed with him countless times, even honoring him with the Country Icon Award at the People’s Choice Country Awards, which ended up being Keith’s final television appearance.
Watch a clip of Shelton performing in honor of Toby Keith at the Hall of Fame induction below.