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The death of country music superstar Toby Keith in early 2024 covered the genre’s biggest stars and other inspired celebrities in a shadow of mourning, including Keith’s old friend Clint Eastwood, country singer Jelly Roll, and fellow Oklahoma native, Reba McEntire. Upon the tragic news of his passing, McEntire shared memories of Keith during the time she knew him as a friend and occasional music collaborator.

“He was a great writer, a great singer. When Toby came on the radio, you knew who that was,” McEntire told People around the time of Keith’s passing. McEntire went on tour with Keith and Rhett Atkins in 1995, when Keith and Atkins opened for the “Fancy” singer. Keith’s budding career in the ’90s quickly made him into a country sensation, with his 1993 debut single “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. His other chart-topping songs include “I Love This Bar,” “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This,” and his response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American).”

“Toby Keith was a distinctive vocalist, a stylist, that you knew exactly who he was,” said McEntire. “The Voice” coach recalled what it was like performing with the “Red Solo Cup” hitmaker, telling the outlet how great their opposite personalities worked together. “Toby was more of the renegade, the outlaw type, and I’m the Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes, and so it was kind of like two ends of the spectrum.”

Reba McEntire spoke fondly of Toby Keith after his death

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During NBC’s “Toby Keith: American Icon” special, which honored the late country musician, Reba McEntire commended her friend for his heart and his pride for Oklahoma, the state from which they both hail. “Toby represented the best of Oklahoma,” McEntire said in the broadcast (via NBC). She recalled his efforts to spotlight his Southern roots, putting emphasis on his Oklahoma origin, rather than trying to escape it. “Toby wanted to make his hometown bigger,” she said. “And when he made it big, he took the whole state with him.”

Keith lost his long battle with stomach cancer and passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024, surrounded by family. The beloved singer was diagnosed several years earlier, sometime in the fall of 2021, according to an Instagram post from 2022. McEntire told ABC affiliate KOCO 5 that she was “very proud of him” for the influence he yielded in the music industry. “I was very honored to get to work with Toby and be a part of the era of country music he was in,” she said. “We’ll sure miss him.”

McEntire also noted that she’s glad the music legend is no longer suffering. “I hope one day to get to see him up in Heaven,” the “I’m a Survivor” artist told People. “Thank God we have his wonderful music to keep us company.”