Toby Keith Opens Country Charts To Indie Music Hero

Toronto, Canada (Top40 Charts/ Show Dog Nashville) - Toby Keith may be one of country music's reigning superstars as well as, with the movie Broken Bridges, a budding film star, but the music still comes first with him. That's why when it came time to release the next music video from the soundtrack to his movie debut, Keith's Show Dog Nashville label chose "Thinkin' 'Bout You," written and performed by Fred Eaglesmith, one of the most respected artists on the North American alt-country music scene.

The Toronto Star declares Eaglesmith as an artist who is "without doubt, relentlessly true to his craft, to his world view, and to his fans." With 16 independent albums to his credit, Eaglesmith has won a Juno Award — the equivalent of a Grammy in his native Canada — for Best Roots and Traditional Album – Solo and the Canadian Independent Music Award. He is the subject of not one but two tribute albums of Eaglesmith's work that have been recorded, and his devoted coterie of fans, known as "Fredheads," follow him from show to show. In addition to "Thinkin' 'Bout You" in Broken Bridges, his songs have also been used in films by noted director Martin Scorsese and actor James Caan.

Having grown up working on a series of family farms in Southern Ontario and known for writing songs about genuine people living real (and often picturesque) lives, Eaglesmith is actually a natural for the country charts. The video for "Thinkin' 'Bout You" featuring Eaglesmith performing the song interwoven with scenes from Broken Bridges debuted on CMT as its Wide Open Feature Clip and is already in rotation on both CMT and its Pure Country Channel.

"It is nice to be recognized by an artist of Toby's stature," says Eaglesmith. "He didn't have to support me but he did. I appreciate it."