| "Don't Let the Old Man In" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Toby Keith | ||||
| from the album Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years | ||||
| Released | December 7, 2018 [1] | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:51 | |||
| Label | Show Dog-Universal Music | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Toby Keith | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Toby Keith singles chronology | ||||
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"Don't Let the Old Man In" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Toby Keith. It appears on his 2019 compilation album Greatest Hits: The Show Dog Years , and is also featured in the 2018 film The Mule .
Keith met actor-director Clint Eastwood at a charity golf tournament in Pebble Beach, California, in 2018. At the time, Eastwood was working on his film The Mule . Keith told Billboard that he was surprised by the energy Eastwood seemed to have despite being 88 years old at the time, at which point Eastwood remarked, "I don't let the old man in". Keith liked this line and immediately wrote the song, which is a ballad about a man dealing with his increasing age. He was also inspired by an anecdote told to him by his grandmother, about a friend of hers who did not know her exact age due to her not owning a birth certificate. Billboard writer Cathy Applefield Olson described the song as "at once emotionally resigned and quietly triumphant". [2] Olson also thought that the song's central theme of old age was appropriate to the plot line of The Mule, which is about an elderly person becoming a drug courier. [2] Soon after writing, Keith recorded a demo which he submitted to Eastwood. Keith was sick the day he recorded the demo, creating a "raspy, sleepy, tired, sick vocal". Eastwood liked the recording and decided to put it in The Mule, feeling that the raspy delivery fit the mood of the song and the movie. [2]
Keith also produced a music video for the song, directed by Michael Salomon. [3]
On September 28, 2023, five years after the song's original release, Keith performed the song at the 2023 People's Choice Country Awards after being awarded the Country Icon award. The performance was one of his first following his diagnosis with stomach cancer the previous year. [4] Following the performance, the song was reissued as a single to country radio with an impact date of October 30, 2023. [5]
Following Keith's death in February 2024, a tribute special entitled Toby Keith: American Icon was put together to celebrate his career with performances of his hit songs by other country music recording artists. It aired on August 28, 2024, and featured his youngest daughter, Krystal Keith, performing the song. [6]
"Don't Let the Old Man in" debuted and spent one week at number 45 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of December 22, 2018. After Keith's death on February 5, 2024, the song would re-enter the Hot Country Songs chart, reaching a new peak at number 22 for the week of February 17, 2024. It was one of five Toby Keith songs to re-enter the chart that week.
| Chart (2018–2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Country Airplay ( Billboard ) [7] | 41 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [8] | 45 |
| Chart (2023–2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [9] | 3 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [10] [11] | 22 |
Toby Keith Covel was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman.
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.
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American country music singer Toby Keith released 21 studio albums and seven compilation albums. He released 70 singles, with 65 of them charting on the Billboard country chart; 54 reached the Top 40, 40 made the top 10, and 20 went to number one from 1993 to 2021.
"Wish I Didn't Know Now" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Toby Keith. It was released in February 1994 as the fourth and final single from his self-titled debut album. The song peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and at number 17 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
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Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, as part of the history of the Country Airplay listing. The chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored by Nielsen BDS, weighted to each station's Nielsen ratings.
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