Toby Keith was, essentially, a plumber. At least, that's what his daughter, Crystal Keith, remembers telling friends who begged to know more about her father.
For Crystal, growing up in the Keith household was pretty normal, even though her father achieved instant country music stardom with his 1993 smash hit “Should've Been a Cowboy.”
Curious outsiders trying to get into Crystal's life would ask her what kind of work her father did, and she would often reply that he had a regular nine-to-five job.
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Crystal Keith told friends that her father, Toby Keith, was a plumber. (Crystal Keith)
“I think people assumed their dad had a job like my dad's. Maybe he was a plumber,” Crystal told Fox News Digital exclusively. “I actually told people he was a plumber. And later, when people found out who my dad was, they would come up to me and ask me questions, and they'd say, 'What does your dad do for a living?' And I'd say, 'I'm a plumber.'”
“And they’d ask, ‘What’s his name?’ And it was always Mark.”
Even if her friends didn't believe Crystal's story, she had a back-up plan with a name they'd recognize right away.
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“My second favorite was to say Garth Brooks because everyone knew he was a singer,” she said. “Everyone was expecting Toby Keith, so I was like, 'My dad is Garth Brooks!'”
“I didn't want to give them what they expected.”
Toby Keith rose to fame in 1993 with the release of his first song, “Should've Been a Cowboy.” (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Crystal said not much changed when her father became famous in the '90s. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Crystal was just a child when Toby released his first song, and she remembers that not much changed at home, even as he became a superstar.
“My next favorite was to say Garth Brooks because they already knew he was a singer. They were hoping for Toby Keith, but I said, 'My dad is Garth Brooks!'”
“We had a pretty normal childhood, so our lives didn't change dramatically,” she says, “just the things we could afford. My mom wasn't stressing about where she was going to pay the electricity bill. That was something we didn't know at all from living in a trailer.”
“We could have been well off then and we wouldn't have known the difference. We never lacked for anything. We always had everything we needed.”
For Crystal, her sister Shelley and brother Stellen, their lifestyle “gradually changed” as they simply had more money, being able to travel and attend their father's shows.
VIDEO: Toby Keith's daughter tells friend her dad was a 'plumber'
“He never changed,” Crystal said, “It's just that the people around him changed, the way they treated us and talked about him.”
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“And that let me know as a kid that, wow, this is not normal, he's not like everyone else's dad.”
“We could have been well off then and we wouldn't have known the difference. We never lacked for anything. We always had everything we needed.”
When Crystal forged her own path Music IndustryHer father imparted words of wisdom in his own unique “Toby Keith” way.
Toby Keith and his daughter Crystal often performed together on stage. (Getty Images)
“He never said, 'Don't do this, don't do that,' he was like, 'You're free to do whatever you want to do, but here's my advice, and it's up to you to accept it or not,'” Crystal recalled. “And he really let me pave my own path. And he rarely said, 'Hey, I have this idea for you.' He always let me come up with my own ideas and do things the way I wanted.”
“Whenever I was stuck or needed advice or a push, I'd go to him and say, 'Hey, what do you think about this song?' and he'd give me advice.”
WATCH: Toby Keith 'prepared' his daughter for life in the music industry
Crystal performed alongside a star-studded cast on Wednesday in “Toby Keith: American Idol,” a television special dedicated to the country music star Toby Keith, who died on Feb. 5 after a long battle with cancer.
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New “American Idol” host Carrie Underwood covered Keith's “A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action,” and Rainie Wilson covered “Beer For My Horses” after riding horses into Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville.
Giving back to the community is important to Toby, a longtime advocate for childhood cancer research and advocacy through the Toby Keith Foundation. The event benefited the Toby Keith Foundation's OK Kids Corral, a free daytime, nighttime shelter for children undergoing cancer treatment and their families.
Although Crystal felt pressured to sing at her father's memorial show, she also knew her father was watching over her. (Getty Images)
Parker McCallum took part in the “Toby Keith: An American Icon” tribute. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Universal Music Group)
Carrie Underwood performed at a Toby Keith tribute. (Jason Kempin)
“We were handed a legacy that no one else could ever claim,” Crystal said. “My dad left us with such an incredible legacy. Our family just said, 'This falls on our shoulders. It's our duty to see this through.' He was really concerned… if he didn't survive cancer, who was going to carry the torch?”
She added: “This is a really special place and I want it to continue. Our community needs it. Kids come from all over the country to be treated here. It's a fantastic hospital and it means so much to our whole family.”
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