CMT Music Awards honor Toby Keith with Sammy Hagar, Brooks & Dunn tributes
Country legend Toby Keith died in February following cancer battle. He was 62
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Toby Keith was honored at the CMT Music Awards on Sunday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Keith died on Feb. 5 after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62.
Roger Clemens introduced the tribute to his "true friend and patriot," followed by a set with Brooks & Dunn playing a classic Keith hit, "Should've Been A Cowboy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR TOBY KEITH, LEGENDARY ‘COURTESY OF THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE’ SINGER DEAD AT 62
Sammy Hagar flashed a Toby Keith T-shirt in honor of the late country legend at the CMT Music Awards. (Getty Images)
Sammy Hagar sang a rendition of the 2003 hit, "I Love this Bar," for his longtime drinking buddy. Before breaking out into song, Hagar remembered the good ol' days with Keith.
"Toby and I, we spent a lot of time in Cabo together over the years," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CMT MUSIC AWARDS: LAINEY WILSON, KELSEA BALLERINI AND JANE SEYMOUR SHINE ON THE RED CARPET
"I mean we closed the Cabo Wabo down a lot more times than we even remember. It's hard to get thrown out of your own bar, and we managed to do that."
Lainey Wilson paid tribute to Toby Keith at the CMT Music Awards. (Getty Images)
Lainey Wilson joined Roger Clemens in the toast to Toby at the CMT Music Awards. (Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lainey Wilson brought it home with a rendition of "How Do You Like Me Now?!," from Keith's 1999 album.
Earlier on the red carpet, Wilson said, "I don't know anybody in this business that doesn't love Toby."
She added, "He was truly the soundtrack to my childhood… Seeing all of his stuff and all the visions that he had come to life, it made me feel like there’s nothing wrong with being fearless, there’s nothing wrong with going against the grain and standing up for what you believe in and being unapologetically yourself."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brooks & Dunn performed "Should've Been a Cowboy." (Getty Images)
Clemens had tears in his eyes as he raised a red solo cup to toast to Toby on stage, "Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses."
A sea of red solo cups sprang up in the air for one final crowd send-off to Keith.
WATCH: LAINEY WILSON SHARES HOW TOBY KEITH INSPIRES HER
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Toby Keith released 19 studio albums throughout his career. (Erika Goldring)
The Oklahoma-based country music star was best known for his 1993 hit song, "Should've Been a Cowboy." His breakout hit was played three million times on radio stations and became the most played country song of the '90s.
Among his 20 No. 1 Billboard hits were "How Do You Like Me Now?!," "As Good As I Once Was," "My List" and "Beer for My Horses," a duet with Willie Nelson.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.