Keith claims 'Big Dog' status on latest album

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Toby Keith

called his new album "Big Dog Daddy," and yes, it's more bravado from the brash country star.

Keith, a pitchman for Ford trucks, was asked to come down to Dallas to unveil the new F-450 Super Duty. "I walked up on it, got in it and one of the Ford guys said, 'Well, what do you think, Big Dog?' And I said, 'This is a Big Dog Daddy.' " The line got such a laugh that Keith decided to write a song around it.

Of course, Keith being Keith ("How Do You Like Me Now," "I Wanna Talk About Me"), he made it a first-person chest-thumper about a guy who's "got 'em all screaming from here to Cincinnati."

"Big Dog Daddy" is also the moniker for his summer tour, stopping at the Tweeter Center in Camden on Sunday.

For the first time in his career, Keith produced most of his latest disc, which came out in June, on his own. "Big Dog Daddy" might be the first album in any musical genre to include a song about an oil pump jack.

Released on his own Show Dog Nashville Records, it finds Keith returning to more familiar territory after experimenting with horns and R&B rhythms on his last record. The disc topped Billboard's country and Top 200 charts last month.

The 45-year-old Oklahoman spoke recently about his music and his sometimes controversial politics.

Q: This is the first album you've produced on your own. Is that something you've wanted to do for a while?

A: I never thought I had the time or energy. I'm at a point in my life where it's time to do it.

Q: You recorded two songs by outside writers on this album, "Love Me if You Can" and "White Rose." That's rare for you.

A: Both are so good I couldn't resist. They're very well-written. I've been sitting on "White Rose" for five or six years. Craig Wiseman wrote "Love Me If You Can," and the amazing thing is it's exactly where I stand, word for word. I couldn't have written it any truer.

Q: You do a lot of shows for the troops overseas. Have you ever had any close calls?

A: I set the standard for other artists to go there. I want the troops coming home and talking about where they saw me and they can't believe I was there. Maybe other acts will be inspired to do it, but I don't want to scare them off either.

We spent three or four nights on the Pakistani border in small tents. We stayed at a camp where you had to worry about getting hit in the head by sniper fire. But . . . [y]ou can go to the green zones or stay in the country and go to the military hospitals.

Q: Do you consider yourself a traditional country singer?

A: I'm one of the only guys who've sold as many records as I have in our business and never had a crossover hit. I've sold 30 million records and written enough songs to be in the 50 million airplays club, which is the Bee Gees, Elton John, John Lennon. And not one time have I ever had a pop spin. So the pop world doesn't view me that way. I take a lot of pride in that.

Q: People view you as being very outspoken. What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?

A: I supported the ousting of the Taliban [in Afghanistan] 100 percent. My 9/11 song ["Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue"] was all about that. But the far left won't allow that to be. They have to plug me into every pro-war thing they can find. I'm not a political person [Keith describes himself as a lifelong Democrat more interested in "right or wrong" than "left or right"]. I get painted that way.

I never said I support the Iraq war, but I never said I didn't either. . . . I don't say we shouldn't be in there. I say we should be there and step back and let them have their own fight. The U.S. should stand back and make sure the Syrians and the Iranians and the Saudi Arabians don't get involved and allow it to unfold. *

"Big Dog Daddy Tour," Toby Keith with Miranda Lambert and Flynnville Train, plus the Trailer Choir, Tweeter Center, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, $20-$70.75, 856-365-1300, www.livenation.com.