Six months following Toby Keith’s death, Luke Combs pays tribute to the country music icon with a new release. On Thursday, the official video of Keith and Combs recording a cover of Joe Diffie’s classic “Ships That Don’t Come In” was unveiled. This collaboration, which marks Keith’s last studio performance before his passing in February, was released earlier this year.
In a press release, Combs expressed his excitement about the project, stating, “To be on a song with Toby was a no-brainer when it got presented to me. It was something I had always hoped to do but never knew if it would happen or not.” Combs also shared that recording the song with Keith and honoring Diffie, who passed away in 2020, was particularly meaningful to him. Diffie had previously awarded Combs his Opry member award.
Combs reflected on the significance of the recording, saying, “I grew up listening to both of those guys’ music, so to be a part of this version of the song and it now be Toby’s last recording is kind of hard to put into words.” He added, “Country music misses them greatly, but I hope we’re doing justice to continue what they started.”
The release coincides with the launch of Hardy’s Hixtape Volume 3, “Difftape,” which features 17 duets of Diffie’s classics. The tribute album includes contributions from Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, Blake Shelton, Chris Young, and Clint Black, alongside previously unheard recordings of Diffie from 2016. Keith’s passing from stomach cancer followed a long battle with the illness, while Diffie died at 61 in March 2020 due to complications from Covid-19.
