Jason Aldean’s ‘Should’ve Been A Cowboy’ Praised by Toby Keith’s Family

Toby Keith's family was thrilled with his new take on the song.

Jason Aldean brought an entire crowd to tears with his performance of “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” at the ACM Awards, in tribute to the late Toby Keith., who passed away on February 5 from stomach cancer. Aldean followed the performance by releasing the song, another way to honor Keith and his enduring legacy.

“The ACMs asked if I’d come do a tribute for Toby,” Aldean recalls on Audacy’s Rob + Holly. ”They told me what they wanted to do — show some pictures of him from throughout his career and his life. We wanted to make sure we did something that was equally as epic as his career was.”

It was only when Aldean sat down with some of his band members at rehearsals that they nailed down how they wanted to perform the song, and the best way they felt to honor the future Country Music Hall of Fame member.

“Me and a couple of my guitar players just sat around one day in rehearsals and just came up with the slower version… where it just felt a little moodier and set the tone a little bit more for what the performance and what the moment was going to be,” Aldean says.

“It’s always tough when you change up a song like that so drastically. Obviously, I’ve sang that song the way he did a million times, but we wanted to do something different for the show,” he adds.

Fortunately, Aldean’s version of Keith’s debut single — and first No. 1 hit — earned the praise of not only country music fans all over the world, but Keith’s own family as well.

“His wife called me that night and thanked me, kind of gave it her stamp of approval from her and the family, which was the icing on the cake for me,” Aldean recalls. “I was glad I got a chance to be a part of it and honor him and I’m glad that his family and everybody approved.”

Being able to perform one of Keith’s biggest hits was a bittersweet moment for Aldean, who counted Keith as one of his good friends.

“It was cool to be able to do it, but it was equally sad at the same time, sort of saying goodbye to somebody who was that legendary in our business,” Aldean shares. “His family was sitting’ in front of me and I looked down at his family I think once and I was like, ‘Nope! Can’t do that.’ You can tell they’re still hurting, and it’s something they may never get over. It was tough to see, but I’m glad they liked the way we honored him and approved of it. That meant everything.”

Ahead of his performance of “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” the father of four reflected on what it meant to be the one to honor the country music legend.

“I met him almost 20 years ago, probably 20 years ago,” Aldean said. “I had a chance to tour with him over the years and different things. He’s just one of the guys, so I think for us in the business, he was one of those guys that was always there, and you knew what you were going to get from him, you knew what he stood for. He never shied away from things; he spoke his mind.”

Download or stream Aldean’s version of “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” here.

Photo byACM/Shock Ink