Toby Keith honored the late Jimmy Buffett with a heartfelt performance during the first of three sold-out shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas, as part of his mini Vegas residency.
The country music legend paid tribute to his longtime friend and “Too Drunk To Karaoke” collaborator with a performance of “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,” the title track to Buffett’s seventh studio album. The project, titled Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, went on to become Jimmy Buffett’s breakthrough album and remains the best-selling studio album of Buffett’s career.
“There’s me and Jimmy B right there,” Keith said in the midst of the performance, pointing at the slideshow of images flooding the massive screens behind him before going into the song’s chorus.
“It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes/ Nothing remains quite the same/ With all of our running and all of our cunning/ If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane,” Keith sangs on the tune’s chorus.
He continued singing the iconic Buffett tune before concluding by saying, “the great Jimmy Buffett folks,” which was met with a roaring applause.
Watch Toby Keith’s Tribute To The Late Jimmy Buffett Below
Jimmy Buffett Died In September 2023 At 76 Years Old
Buffett, best known for his hit “Margaritaville,” passed away on Sept. 1, 2023, following a four-year battle with Merkel Cell Skin Cancer. He was 76.
“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1, surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many,” a statement reads on Buffett’s official website.
As with many other artists and entertainers, Toby Keith didn’t hesitate to take to social media to pay tribute to his longtime buddy.
On Instagram, he shared a photo of himself alongside Buffett, which he captioned, “The pirate has passed. RIP Jimmy Buffett. Tremendous influence on so many of us – T.”
Longstanding Friendship
Toby Keith and Jimmy Buffett had a longstanding friendship through the course of their respective careers. In fact, according to CMT, Keith asked Buffett to join him on his chart-topping hit, “Red Solo Cup,” however the “Margaritaville” singer declined his offer.
“It’s kind of a funny story, actually,” Keith shared with the outlet, before explaining, “I’d tried to rope Jimmy into doing ‘Red Solo Cup’ with me, and he passed. He said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’” Fast-forward several years to when Buffett asked Keith to join him for the “Too Drunk To Karaoke” duet, which he obliged and did. At the time, Buffett told Keith “you can tell me no if you want,” but Keith didn’t and instead said, “Jimmy, I’m in!”
Although Buffett declined Keith’s offer to sing “Red Solo Cup,” the pair did record “Sailboat For Sale,” a song that appears on Keith’s album, 35 MPH Town.
In the same interview with CMT, Toby Keith also recalled covering Buffett songs when he played happy hours in dive bars. “Back when it was just me and my acoustic guitar, and I was playing some little happy hour somewhere, I did all of [Buffett] hits,” Toby previously shared while reminiscing on the early days of his career. “‘Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes,’ ‘Come Monday,’ ‘Margaritaville.’ I did those right along with all the Haggard and Willie covers, but the Buffett stuff was hard to beat.”
Toby Keith Las Vegas Residency
In addition to honoring the late Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith also delivered an impressive show that feature a slew of his biggest hits, including “Beer For My Horses,” “Who’s Your Daddy,” “Red Solo Cup,” “I Love This Bar,” “How Do You Like Me Now” and more. He also surprised fans by bringing Trace Adkins out for a duet of “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (Angry American)” to close out the show.
Keith kicked off the trio of sold-out shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Sin City on Sunday evening (Dec. 10). Keith’s trio of Sin City concerts coincide with the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), which takes place in Las Vegas from Thursday, Dec. 7 through Saturday, Dec. 16.
“It was a triumphant return. One hell of a night in Vegas. Ready to do it all over again tonight,” Keith shared alongside a series of images from the first night of his three shows in Vegas, which he hashtagged: #TobyInVegas.
The country music icon’s mini-residency stint at Dolby Live marks Keith’s first official set of live shows following his stomach cancer diagnosis. That being said, fans were anxious to see Keith return to the stage and quickly sold out the trio of concerts, making Keith’s shows the fastest-selling shows in the history of Dolby Live at Park MGM.
Toby Keith will return to the Dolby Live stage on Monday night (Dec. 11) as well as Thursday night (Dec. 14).
