It was the perfect match when Toby Keith brought his hit song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” to the 2002 CMA Awards. The patriotic song that ended up becoming one of the Big Dog Daddy’s many, iconic hits was written in late 2001 – shortly after the United States was attacked on September 11th. The unfathomable terrorist attacks, as well as the death of Keith’s father in March of 2001, contributed to Toby penning the song in the later months of 2001 and releasing it in May of 2002. For a while, Toby refused to officially record the song. He felt as though it only felt right to perform live, and specifically during performances for the military. In case you didn’t know, Keith was very passionate about giving back to the United States military. He went on 18 USO tours, and its estimated that he played in front of 250,000 active duty service members during his lifetime. However, as Toby Keith played “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” more and more, he was made aware of how powerful the track was, and knew he’d need to record it. Once he was told by a Commandant of the Marine Corps that it was his duty as an American citizen to record and release the song, he gave him the ol’ “Sir yes sir” and obliged. After Toby followed those orders, he included the song as the lead single from his 2002 album Unleashed. The track ended up being Keith’s biggest solo hit, and quickly became engrained with in the patriotic American culture with songs like Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The U.S.A.” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” was nominated for both “Song of the Year” and “Single of the Year” at the 2002 CMA Awards – and it’s a shame it didn’t win either, but there’s a valid explanation why. The patriotic song – which was released during a time when patriotism across the country was higher than ever post-9/11 – lost at the 2002 CMA Awards because there was an even more poignant, pro-America song that took home “Song of the Year” and “Single of the Year”. Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” was also released in 2002, took home both of those awards. Jackson actually debuted the track at 2001 CMA Awards – two months after the September 11th attacks. So though Jackson took home the CMA Awards in 2002 (5 in total), it was Toby Keith that took the stage to perform his American anthem. When the awards show took place on November 6th of 2002, it had been over a year since 9/11 left the United States devastated. The collective wound was still very fresh at the time, and Toby Keith’s passionate performance of “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” was just what the doctor ordered. Keith’s performance is as memorable as they come, and the images of Toby’s red, white and blue guitar paired with an entire audience of country music artists and fans waiving around small American flags will resonate for years to come. Everyone in attendance that night will never forget the moment, and those that were watching from home and afar will always remember the tribute. Toby Keith would go on to play this song live many times throughout his career, but one could argue that this “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” performance stands above the rest. RIP to a country music legend. Check it out: The post CMA Awards 2002: Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue” Perfectly Met The Post 9/11 Moment first appeared on Whiskey Riff.