On July 23, 2005, Toby Keith’s “As Good as I Once Was” started a six-week run atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It became the 15th of his 20 career No. 1s and tied his longest command, first set by his Willie Nelson team-up “Beer for My Horses” in 2003.
Keith co-authored “As Good as I Once Was” with longtime collaborator and bandmate Scotty Emerick and co-produced it with James Stroud. It was released as the second of three singles from his LP Honkytonk University, which arrived at the Top Country Albums summit, becoming his fourth of 10 No. 1s. The set’s lead track and title song hit No. 8 and third single “Big Blue Note” reached No. 5.
The wry “As Good as I Once Was” finds Keith proudly owning his middle-age prowess (in a variety of situations) with its signature lyrics, “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good, once, as I ever was.”
Chuck Dauphin of Billboard described the song as “a realistic look at the masculinity behind the lead character. Just like with many of Keith’s songs, this one was accentuated by the humorous video, which ends with a bar fight — and the singer being taken off in an ambulance. Ah, the life of a country music star.”
Keith, who passed away at age 62 on Feb. 5, 2024, following a long battle with stomach cancer, was born July 8, 1961, in Clinton, Okla. He was a football star at Moore High School, where he played defensive end. He went on to play semi-pro ball for the Oklahoma City Drillers.
An ardent supporter of the U.S. military, Keith performed on 18 USO tours, including stops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Starting in 1993, Keith rolled up 76 Hot Country Songs appearances, including 42 top 10s. His debut anthem, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” led the list for two weeks.
Keith seems as popular today as he, well, ever was. That was made clear by his performance on the July 19-2025, dated charts, where, following the July 4th holiday, his 35 Biggest Hits set skyrocketed back to the top 10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums.
