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Toby Keith to Be Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame. The newest Country Music Hall of Fame class was announced on March 18, 'People' reports. Toby Keith, who died from stomach cancer on Feb. 5, will be an inductee. Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern told 'People' that she received the Hall of Fame voting results one day after Keith's death. "My heart sank … knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us.” "But I have no doubt that he's smiling down on us, knowing that he'll always be 'as good as he once was.’"Trahern went on to say that she cried after learning that Keith had died without knowing he would be in the Hall of Fame. "For a while, there was a little bit of, 'Oh my gosh, what a difference one day would make.’" "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.", Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern, to ‘People'. Keith's son, Stelen Keith Covel, said that the induction "was always something on a checklist of a lot of things that he knew he was gonna accomplish in his life”. "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.” "It's deserving. We all know he deserved it. We're happy he's in here, and we're excited for him.", Stelen Keith Covel, to ‘People’. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT