Craig Morgan Reveals His Final Conversation With Toby Keith

Craig Morgan will never forget his final conversation with Toby Keith. The two country stars were sitting on Keith’s tour bus after a show, talking about something that meant a great deal to both of them: their service to the United States.

Morgan recently joined me on Taste of Country Nights to discuss his upcoming album, My Country, arriving Nov. 6. During the interview, he opened up about his friendship with Keith, the plans they had to tour together and the last conversation they shared before Keith died in February 2024.

It was a moment that stuck with Morgan, especially because the two had developed a close friendship later in their careers after spending years crossing paths in country music.

Craig Morgan Reveals The Final Conversation He Had With Toby Keith Before He Died [EXCLUSIVE]

When asked if he remembered the last thing he ever said to Keith, Morgan immediately recalled sitting on the singer’s tour bus following a performance.

“Yeah, I remember sitting on his bus after a show, and he wasn’t doing well at all, and talking about our service to our nation. I had just then contemplated going back into the military.”

Morgan said Keith was incredibly supportive of the idea, although he also managed to get in a little friendly teasing.

“I remember he poked fun. He’s like, ‘You know, are you going to be able to hang with these guys?'”

Morgan wasn’t about to let that question go unanswered.

“I’m like, well, yeah. You know, this is what I do. It’s who I am. The music is just my living, and I’m grateful that I have it, but I’m a soldier,” he explained.

That conversation was especially meaningful because military service was something the two artists shared a deep passion for.

Craig Morgan and Toby Keith Had Plans to Tour Together

“We had plans to do a big tour together. We were super excited about it again, because of our support for our nation and our military in particular,” Morgan said.

Morgan said he and Keith didn’t spend a tremendous amount of time together during the early part of his career.

Read More: Toby Keith’s Political Views Were More Complicated Than You Might Think

“It wasn’t until later in my career and we had started doing a bunch of shows together and established this great friendship, both with the passion for supporting our military,” Morgan said. “It was a little frustrating. I wish that Toby and I had had all of my career time.”

The two eventually had plans to take that shared passion on the road with a major tour, unfortunately, Keith died before those plans could become a reality.

He also hinted that there was more to their relationship than he was willing to share publicly.

“There’s a story behind it that I’m not going to indulge in, divulge anybody in. That’s between Toby and I, but I can tell you that we had a great relationship, and I was, I had such a great deal of respect for him, especially again, later in my career.”

Craig Morgan Recorded Toby Keith’s Song for His New Album

Morgan’s upcoming album, My Country, also gave him an opportunity to pay tribute to Keith by recording one of his songs, “American Soldier.”

As someone who writes songs himself, Morgan admitted that covering another artist’s music isn’t something he typically does.

Morgan said, “I’ve told people, you know, as a songwriter, I was always frustrated to see people covering song after song, after song, when there’s so many great songs that people don’t get to hear.”

However, he felt the song was a perfect fit for his upcoming album.

“This was a song that was perfect for this project, talking about my country, the patriotism that we have for our country, and as a soldier, especially being able to do this song, I was honored to be able to do it.”