Roger Clemens brings OU-Texas Red River Rivalry to CMT Music Awards tribute to Toby Keith

With the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin as the setting, it's no surprise that the CMT Music Awards' tribute to the late Oklahoma country music superstar Toby Keith quickly waded into the Red River Rivalry.

Baseball legend Roger Clemens, who played college ball for Texas, introduced the all-star tribute to Keith, a well-known University of Oklahoma superfan, during the awards show, which aired live Sunday on CBS.

Wearing a black ball cap with "Toby" emblazoned in white letters, Clemens called Keith, who died Feb. 5 at the age of 62 after a multi-year battle with stomach cancer, "a true friend, patriot and great American."

"Toby was in Houston, my hometown, off and on for three years while he was battling that damn C-word," Clemens said, referencing Keith's time getting treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. "Through it all, he always kept his sense of humor and his wit."

Telling the Lone Star State audience they couldn't boo at the mention of OU — "not tonight: y'all can't boo tonight, this is Toby's university, this is for Toby," he said, turning the boos to cheers — Clemens opened the CMT Music Awards' homage to Keith with a story about his two younger sons, who play baseball for Texas, coming to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners.

"Toby told my boys, 'If you hit a home run off our Oklahoma pitcher today, I'll sit on your dugout, and I'll sing "The Eyes of Texas" with you,'" Clemens said, reminding the crowd of the UT spirit song's familiar tune, which is shared with a classic American folk song.

"Guess what? It happened, and true to form, Toby sat on the dugout and ... sang, 'I've Been Working on the Railroad.' No chance Toby was gonna sing 'The Eyes of Texas.'"

Lainey Wilson, Brooks & Dunn and Sammy Hagar play Toby Keith hits during CMT Music Awards tribute

Clemens' story kicked off a 13-minute all-star tribute to Keith that featured his longtime band, complete with horn section, performing three of the Norman-based icon's chart-topping hits.

The crowd at the Moody Center was on its collective feet and singing along as Country Music Hall of Famers Brooks & Dunn crooned Keith's 1993 debut single "Should've Been a Cowboy," with Kix Brooks finishing the song by taking off his trademark black cowboy hat and pointing it and his eyes to the heavens.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar lived up to his nickname the "Red Rocker," taking the CMT Music Awards stage in white pants, a red jacket and a white T-shirt adorned with Keith's name, a red shape of Oklahoma and a white OU logo.

"Toby and I, we spent a lot of time in Cabo together over the years, and we closed the Cabo Wabo down a lot more times than probably we even remember. Just put it like this: It's hard to get thrown out of your own bar, and we managed to do that," Hagar said with a grin, referring to his original Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The former Van Halen frontman performed Keith's ode to good times "I Love This Bar," slinging his arm affectionately around the shoulders of backup vocalist Mica Roberts, a Locust Grove native, as they sang.

Former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, one-half of Brooks & Dunn, and Hagar were among the performers who played Keith's 2013 Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert at OU's Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Taking the stage alongside fellow singer-songwriter Riley Green, Lukas Nelson recalled when his famed father, Willie Nelson, worked with Keith on the 2008 movie "Beer from My Horses."

"Toby was not a shy guy. He had a big personality," the younger Nelson said. "I got lucky I got the opportunity to watch his artistry in person."

Green added, "That guy could come up with a hook like no other and sang the hell out of every song that he wrote, somehow while making it look easy."

They introduced the final singer for the tribute, hitmaker Lainey Wilson, who brought her feisty attitude to her cover of Keith's chart-topper "How Do You Like Me Now?!" She finished her performance with the words, "We love you Toby."

How did Toby Keith's family react to the CMT Music Awards tribute in his honor?

Keith's three children — his daughters Shelley Covel Rowland and Krystal Keith Sandubrae and his son Stelen Covel — made the trip from Oklahoma to Texas to attend the CMT Music Awards.

On the CBS telecast, Keith's children were shown wiping away or blinking back tears multiple times during the tribute in honor of their father, who will be posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October.

Clemens closed out the tribute by leading the crowd on and off the stage in raising their red Solo cups and toasting Keith with the words "whiskey for my men and beer for my horses," a nod to the Oklahoman's movie and the hit Willie Nelson duet it was based on.

The Texas Sports Hall of Famer was choking back tears when he spoke to Keith's family from the CMT Music Awards stage.

"Shelley, Krystal, Steel-man, thank you for sharing your dad with all of us," Clemens said, also thanking Keith's widow, Tricia Covel, who did not attend the awards show, for "sharing your husband with the world."

On the CMT Music Awards red carpet, Keith's son said he thought his father would be excited by the tribute.

"He made some amazing music throughout his career, and it's amazing that we get to see that come to fruition and see his due given," Stelen Covel said on the red carpet.

As a follow-up to the CMT Music Awards tribute, CMT is planning a new one-hour standalone special, "CMT Music Awards Celebrates Toby Keith." The celebration of his most memorable moments from the awards show is scheduled to premiere at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 11 on CMT.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Toby Keith's CMT Music Awards tribute features OU-Texas rivalry