The new Country Music Hall of Fame class was announced on Monday, which includes the legendary Toby Keith, weeks after he passed away at 62.

Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern revealed during Monday’s announcement that the voting results came in on February 6, one day after Keith’s passing from stomach cancer.

Trahern added at the ceremony, ‘my heart sank … knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us.’

She added, ‘But I have no doubt that he’s smiling down on us, knowing that he’ll always be “as good as he once was,”‘ referring to Keith’s 2005 hit As Good As I Once Was.

Keith will be joined in this latest Country Music Hall of Fame class alongside John Anderson and guitarist James Burton.

The new Country Music Hall of Fame class was announced on Monday, which includes the legendary Toby Keith, weeks after he passed away at 62

Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern revealed during Monday’s announcement that the voting results came in on February 6, one day after Keith’s passing from stomach cancer

Trahern added at the ceremony, ‘my heart sank … knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us’

Keith will be joined in this latest Country Music Hall of Fame class alongside John Anderson (left) and guitarist James Burton (center)

The singer – who has 32 #1 singles to his name over an illustrious career – is already a part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2015) and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2021).

His 26-year-old son Stelen Keith Covel was in attendance at the ceremony, telling People that the Country Music Hall of Fame, ‘was always something on a checklist of a lot of things that he knew he was gonna accomplish in his life.

Trahern added that she waited 10 days after his death before contacting his manager TK Kimbrel and then Keith’s widow Tricia Lucus.

‘I was with my mom when we found out that he was gonna be inducted, and it was relatively hard to process in the moment, but we dealt with it pretty well,’ Covel said.

While Toby’s son said it was, ‘bittersweet,’ he added, ‘It’s deserving. We all know he deserved it. We’re happy he’s in here, and we’re excited for him.’

Trahern added that voting closed three days before Keith’s passing, adding she wept when she learned he wouldn’t be able to know the results.

She added that no one at the Country Music Association knew how close to death Keith was at the time.

‘For a while, there was a little bit of, “Oh my gosh, what a difference one day would make,”‘ she said.

The singer – who has 32 #1 singles to his name over an illustrious career – is already a part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2015) and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2021)

His 26-year-old son Stelen Keith Covel was in attendance at the ceremony, telling People that the Country Music Hall of Fame, ‘was always something on a checklist of a lot of things that he knew he was gonna accomplish in his life

While Toby’s son said it was, ‘bittersweet,’ he added, ‘It’s deserving. We all know he deserved it. We’re happy he’s in here, and we’re excited for him’

Keith was elected in the Modern Era category while Anderson was elected in the Veteran Era and Burton was elected in the Recording And/Or Touring Musician category

‘But he’ll be in here [in the Hall of Fame], whether it was gonna be this year or if it was gonna be two years from now,’ she added.

Keith was elected in the Modern Era category while Anderson was elected in the Veteran Era and Burton was elected in the Recording And/Or Touring Musician category.

Keith, Anderson and Burton will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony in October.

The Country Music Hall of Fame was established in 1961, with Hank Williams, Fred Rose and Jimmy Rodgers in the first class, and Patty Loveless, Tanya Tucker and Bob McDill inducted in 2023.