On Monday morning (March 18) the Country Music Hall of Fame announced its 2024 class of inductees. Burton will be inducted in the Recording and/or Touring Musician category. Anderson will be inducted as a Veterans Era artist. Lastly, Keith will be inducted as a Modern Era artist.

Toby died on February 5, 2024, at the age of 62 following a years-long battle with stomach cancer.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has a rule prohibiting an individual from being inducted the year after their death. This rule is to prevent sympathy voting.

However, as CMA CEO Sarah Trahern clarified at the inductee announcement, voting for this year started before Toby died. Because of this, he remained eligible for induction.

They got the final tallies “a few hours” after news broke that Toby died.

“My heart sank that Tuesday afternoon knowing that we’d missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us,” Sarah said.

Toby Keith’s Son, Stelen, Speaks On His Family’s Behalf At Ceremony

Toby shared three children with his wife, Tricia Covel. They have two daughters (Shelley and Krystal) and a son (Stelen).

Stelen attended the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee announcement ceremony. He delivered a short, but emotional speech on his family’s behalf.

CMA Country Music Association / Facebook

“On behalf of my whole family, we want to thank the Hall of Fame,” Stelen said. “It’s an honor to stand here and represent my father. He’s an amazing man, husband, father, and artist. And I just want to thank everybody for being here, thank you.”

You can also watch Stelen’s speech in the video below. Our hearts go out to him and Toby’s entire family.